This might be one of the more interesting co-creation contests I have read about in a while: Proctor & Gamble is looking for help reinventing their signature Olay product, Pro-X. It’s generally a drug store brand, and the goal here is to figure out how to make it appeal more to the type of high-end consumer who generally shops for their skincare regimen at department stores.
While co-creation contests seem to generally focus on coming up with a new product or improving an existing service, the concept of figuring out how to reinvent or re-imagine an existing product’s marketing is a different take. This one seems especially interesting, because it’s both complex and simple at the same time.
First you have to compare the department store shopping experience to the one that you find in a drug store. The atmosphere, sales strategies, and consumer expectations in each are totally different. Then you have to think about the type of consumer who frequents both stores and what their motivation is for being in each. Wrap all that up with an idea that bridges that gap to make the shopper momentarily suspend disbelief, in front of this one particular line of products, and be overcome by the same sense of “must-have” that would encourage them to make that purchase in a department store, and you’ve got a winner.
It’s a rare contest that can cull from a wide range of passions: marketing, package design, branding, predicting user behavior, just to name a few. Interested in throwing out an idea or two? Check out the contest on Proctor & Gamble’s Co-Creation Channel.