The idea that “consumers can’t innovate” is being turned on its head. The rapid invasion of the Internet into our homes has allowed consumers to express their creativity on a greater scale — something unimaginable earlier. Companies are now co-developing products along with their consumers. A computer games maker, Electronic Arts, for instance, sends programming tools to its consumers. Their ideas are incorporated into making new games and the suggestions made by consumers are even posted online. Rewind further to 2004. Boeing did something that no one could’ve imagined earlier. It invited its customers to create a dream airplane. And the response was overwhelming. Around 1,20,000 people around the world signed up for the programme. They actively participated in what they liked or disliked about air travel — suggestions that were incorporated by Boeing.
Cut to the present. Sometime ago Pepsi started a campaign asking consumers to develop a potato chip flavour. “Give us your delicious flavour,” was how the campaign ran. And of course, there was the prize money of `50 lakh for the person who came up with the winning flavour. Says Saumya Chattopadhyay, Head, Strategic Planning, Rediffusion Y&R, “These are definitely fresh approaches to engage the consumer. Basically advertisements have to engage and this is a new form of engagement.”
Frito-Lay also followed a strategy similar to the above. It asked consumers to click photos of friends and family in their “happy moments.” “The ‘Happiness is Simple’ campaign worked wonders and it definitely focused on the brand’s ability to deliver life’s simple pleasures,” says Chattopadhyay. After all, who would not want his or her own photograph on a packet of chips?
And there is something else that Burger King did. The campaign, although a bit outlandish, created an overwhelming response. It asked consumers to drop friends on Facebook (FB) in order to receive a ‘free whopper.’ The fact that FB banned them is of course a different story. But by then, the brand had managed to create quite a stir. Engaging consumers can be quite unpredictable and expensive. So, companies are constantly looking for new, innovative, out-of-the-box solutions. “And interaction with the consumer is definitely one such mode,” believes Monica Datta, a copywriter with a Bangalore-based agency. She also says that the “voice of the consumer” is definitely a standard part of the marketeer’s kit. Datta is of the opinion that these non-traditional techniques can create a “greater emotional resonance” with consumers. However, many of the ideas provided by clients may not be executable. They could, in fact be just “wishful thinking.” But with a little bit of re-design, even this can prove to be the perfect springboard for the company to re-launch itself. The trick is to seek out the “concept nuggets” hidden within a consumer’s unrealistic ideas and work on them to make the idea/s executable.
“However, if everyone starts doing this, consumers will soon get bored. Also not every campaign of this kind works. Remember the “Ponds to be continued” ad that was a big flop, although it had celebrities like Saif Ali Khan and Priyanka Chopra? Sometimes, it also detracts from the brand’s message,” concludes Chattopadhyay knowingly.
The writer is a well know industry watcher