Long before the crowd sourcers got their hairy paws upon this and tried to call it their own, many, many brands have their customers in the process of co creation. Good brand planning supported by qualitative brand research does just that.
Last night as a stumbled home, I came across this poster, which led me online to find a wonderful example of customer co creation which involved the whole community, by Vans shoes.
Van picks a destination, Bondi Beach, Sydney Australia and sets up a skate competition and invites the community. The people who show up to the event are the trend setters for their culture. The event is a brilliant photo opportunity, with shots of people and action that is sure to go viral.
There is heaps of creative energy in the shots, with people actively silk screening t-shirts at the event to give away. All reinforcing the feeling that this is a creative community. I am thinking creativity must be one of Van’s brand values.
I could not find this out at first glance but the American accents in the next video tell me this is a global event. We then switch to a “Van” man and 4 world champion skaters who work with Van to design the perfect shoe. Lots of shots of extreme action to test the respective benefits of the shoe, and hey presto the final design. I presume this video was played at the Bondi Beach event to launch the new shoe.
Finally they wrap with a party, lots of bonding, and a nice “carrot” to get the community back together again, all captured on youtube. Suddenly I am in awe of the genius of it all, after marveling at the co creation with the pro skaters, I now sit back and watch their customers become co creators of their branded content.
Louise Kelly
Hearts and Minds
References
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