Co-creation is a term that was widely introduced by business guru C.K.Prahlad and Venkat Ramaswamy belonging to the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. In 2010, Ramaswamy co-authored the management bestseller ‘The Power of Co-Creation’ with Francis Gouillart that inspired many firms to take the step towards understanding the concept of Co-creation.
According to the book, Co-creative enterprises follow a simple principle: they focus their entire organization on the experiences of all their customers and stakeholders that stem from interactions with products, processes and people. They design these interactions with participants through engagement platforms. The new experiences and the improved economics constitute the fruit of this process, while the engagement platforms are like the trees that bear the fruit. There are three equally important aspects to Co-creation: engagement platforms, human experiences and the collaborative process of creating with individuals.
In generic terms, ‘Co-creation’ is about participative growth by actively involving the experience based insights of all stakeholders in the organization including employees, suppliers and most importantly, the customers. The concept of Co-creation has been implemented successfully by giant corporations like Dell, Starbucks, Nike and Apple. Several small and medium businesses have also benefited from adopting the concept of Co-creation in their business model.
At the heart of the concept of Co-creation lies Engagement. Engagement is the key when it comes to giving your business a strong online voice. It is through participative discussions with various stakeholders including customers on the internet that a brand can make itself acceptable to the average netizen (internet citizen).
At Snowman Branding, we believe strongly in the power of engagement and Co-creation. We understand that a strong online brand presence for our client can best be achieved by co-creation with at least three stakeholders – Snowman Branding, our client and their customers. It is through the brand experience and expectations of these stakeholders that we visualise the online brand identity of our client’s business.
