co creation and client participation john griffiths newmr

© SPRING RESEARCH LTD

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John Griffiths, Spring Research, UKFestival of NewMR 2011 - Session x Schedule: xx:xx-xx:xx (time zone)

Co-creationThat takes clients seriously

Presentation

10 April 2023

Prepared for: newMRBy: Spring Research

Contact: 020 7428 7370


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Thanks and a caveat

• Thanks to Anna Wills of Spring Research and Doug Dunn of Tuned in who talked through these issues with me

• Their opinion are not necessarily the ones I am sharing here

• This is part of an initiative to draw up a code for client participation to create an even playing field so that both client and customers can create as equals


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What we’re covering

What is co-creation?

What do we require of participants?

What is the role of clients in the meeting?

How do we level the playing field?

What should we require of clients?

How do we prepare participants

to give of their best?


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What is Co-Creation?


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Co-creation is..

• When clients and customers collaborate to create new ideas and products

• Intermediaries may get involved but the market conversation is between the 2 main parties


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The mind of the market

“A market is a dialogue between the conscious and unconscious perceptions of those marketing products and those consuming them”

consumersmarketers

Unconscious processes

Conscious processes

Source: Gerald Zaltman: How Customers think


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What do we require of customer participants?


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in a word..


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vulnerability and risk taking!


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What do we expect of participants?

• Joining in• Curbing cynicism and negativity• Making creative leaps• Risking failure• Sharing their life experiences• Sharing professional expertise• Co-operation with the creative process

– Being willing to give their ideas away– Tolerating blocking and redirecting by

facilitator and others• No right of association with co-creators

afterwards


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What is the default setting for client participants?


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Clients and co-creation

• Their reputation in their own organisation is based on their ability to judge and shape ideas..

• Their own organisations may not always recognise or reward creativity and risk taking

• They’re paying.. So its up to them how involved they want to be

• And they’re busy people so don’t have the time for preparation that we require of other participants


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But..

It takes two to co-create

We need them both!


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The problem

• Mismatch between their expectations, confidence levels and willingness to participate

• Power relations are completely distorted• There is a danger of lower engagement even

refusal to participate ..unless we created some kind of basic social contract and preparation for the session


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What are our obligations to those who create on our behalf?• They’re not employees but do they have

rights?– A sounding board for the idea seeds of

others– an oven to bake amplify their own ideas?

Or is this a form of creative bonded labour?


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Arguably they enjoy being part of a creative project• We prepare them to do the best they can to

minimise failure• And we make co-creation an enjoyable activity

IS THIS ENOUGH?


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How do we level the playing field?


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Pay each client who attends

It’s a contract with a creative person


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How we motivate respondents (both kinds)• Interesting tasks that teach them something

about themselves• Icebreaker exercises – to create group

dynamics and “buy-in” to a novel kind of social group

• Use of space and time to maintain energy and rest periods for refreshing imagination

• Progress waypoints so they feel what theyare doing matters and is valuable

• Treats/props including alcohol!• Oh and the money too..


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How we prepare participants (both kinds)

• Psychological profiling – what creative skills are you bringing?

• Pre-exercises so they immerse themselves in the problem

• Focus questions to smoke out assassins who haven’t bought into the group

• Focus questions to smoke out assassins/ negativees whohaven’t bought into the group

• Break existing alliances and create new ones, or make use of existing friendships

• All parties need to participate• All need to refrain from criticism• There needs to be mutual respect


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This should be seen as an opportunity to broker creative skills into client organisations

These tools can be used everywhere!


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Are there hopeless cases? And what should we do then?• If even in spite of briefing and

preparation the client is not willing to participate as an equal then as intermediaries we need to confront the issue

• Revert the client to observer or expert witness – both honourable roles –but don’t call it co-creation..


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Thanks for listening

co creation and client participation john griffiths newmr

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