OK… secrets might be a bit extreme. Shall we say hard won knowledge? Mistakes you don’t have to make? You’ll need to hold me at gunpoint before I call these ‘hacks’.
Latimer have been building niche youth communities and co-creating with young talent since 2012. We believe that the best way to speak effectively to young audiences is to involve them in the creative process. We’ve built a whole methodology around that core principle.
So here they are – 5 secrets useful and important things to consider in any co-creation project:
Start early
Focus-grouping to verify existing ideas is not co-creation. We’ve tried this, and more than once the insight we got from the audience challenged the existing creative at a fundamental strategic level and took the project back to square one. Start with the audience.
Get the right people
Recruitment is the most important part of co-creation projects. It’s the bit that has everyone asking how we do it, and it’s also the bit that makes our process so special, so we won’t give it away that easily! And that’s because you can’t throw a net into a barrel of millennials and hope to catch the right people. Think about the creative community you want to build. They’re going to be your teammates. Make sure that community reflects diversity in skill-sets, passions and behaviours. This ultimately leads to diverse content, that has mass appeal.
Time to develop
You can get a long way in a three-hour co-creation workshop, (or Latimer Labs as we like to call them), but I guarantee you’re going to want to speak to that community again. Have the right milestones built into your process so that you stay in contact with your community, allowing the best ideas to emerge and develop.
Champion and reward co-creators
The community should be represented as important stakeholders in each stage of the project. If they feel listened to and empowered, that community will become your first evangelists. We make sure to treat everyone we work with as we’d have brands and causes treat us. It means ensuring you pay and credit the people who created the campaign with and for your brand.
Your project is only as good as your brief
Your co-creation community are important stakeholders, but usually they are at the beginning of their careers, so it’s important to fully guide them through the process, always being transparent and clear. Make sure all expectations are clear and specific and that the community has timely access to all the resources and stimulus they need is vital to ensure you get the best possible output.
Interested in reading more? Get in touch with to receive the full ‘5 secrets of co-creation’ white paper, free of charge.
And for anyone who wants a complete methodology geek out, contact me directly at
