Co-Creation: The Source of all Wisdom – or the Blind leading the Blind?

The article discusses co-creation of advertising, NPD etc., and questions the belief that co-creation is the only way for researchers to work with consumers and that direct experience with consumers – often unmediated by a researcher – is superior to traditional research methods.

Co-Creation: The Source of all Wisdom – or the Blind leading the Blind?

Dr Sheila KeeganCampbell Keegan

INTRODUCTION

This paper grew out of mild irritation at the faddish and ubiquitous use of the term co-creation applied to any activity labelled 'research' which involves a group of people, either face to face or as part of an online community, doing something – often experiencingsomething – together. Meanwhile, traditional research techniques, such as focus groups or depth interviews, steered by a professional researcher and involving thorough analysis and interpretation are, in some quarters, being dismissed...

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