Co-creating with consumers: a new way of innovating

Ana Medeiros and Andrew Needham

This article argues that the debate about whether consumers can drive help innovation has moved to a new level, and the old argument about lack of imagination is now out of date.

Co-creating with consumers: a new way of innovating

Ana Medeiros Unilever

Andrew NeedhamFace

It is no secret that the past 20 years have seen a major decline – some would say the slow death – of corporate and brand innovation, but the debate about why, and what needs to be done about it, is very much alive (1).

Some, such as Doug Hall, speaking at the Marketing Society's Innovation Masterclass at the end of last year, argue that consumers have much to answer for. And he isn't alone. In an interview with Researchmagazine (...

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