Profiles in CoCreation: Gaurav Bhalla
We talk to Gaurav Bhalla, the host of our upcoming discussion on the Clinic of Innovation, about his introduction to co-creation and where he sees it going.
How did you get involved in co-creation?
Around the late 1990s, early 2000s when the rise of Interactive Communication Technologies literally landed the customer at the gate and sometimes within the walls of companies, and companies started realizing (slowly at first) the value of engaging with customers beyond just commerce.
What tools do you use to foster co-creation?
The Listen-Engage-Respond framework discussed extensively in my book, provides an excellent context within which a variety of digital tools and platforms can be used; such as software tools for listening to customer conversations on the web, community platforms for forming and interacting with customer communities, and tools for developing and refining prototypes or finished products as companies like Pepsi-Frito Lay and Anheuser Busch do when co-creating Super Bowl commercials.
How did you first learn about the Clinic of Innovation?
When I was researching unique and one of a kind international examples for my book – Collaboration and Co-Creation: New Platforms in Marketing and Innovation.
What’s something great you’ve read lately?
Actually I have read several very thought provoking books recently. Three books I highly recommend that discuss big picture issues related to the economy, jobs, innovation, and social well being - things, which mainstream media should be discussing, but are unwilling to, because of their obsession with recycling dead ideas – are, The Great Stagnation (Tyler Cowen), Abundance (Kotler and Diamandis), and Race Against the Machine (Brynjolfsson and McAfee).
What do you see as the next step in co-creation?
An accelerated adoption of co-creation by Governments, NGOs, and other non-commercial organizations wrestling with vexing social problems such as education, health care, pressures on the quality of life due to rapid urbanization and aging, tangible job creation, entrepreneurship, and innovation. I honestly believe that the future of co-creation is the brightest where tangible, incremental value can be created for society as a whole.
About Gaurav Bhalla
Gaurav Bhalla is a strategy, innovation, and marketing professional with global experience, having worked on three continents and with companies in over 20 countries. Since the mid-70s, he has been associated with the business world as a consultant, executive, entrepreneur, and academic/executive educator.
He is the CEO and founder of Knowledge Kinetics, an organization that specializes in co-creation and customer value innovation. They help provoke deeper thinking and more rigorous execution of initiatives related to innovation and business growth, through a mix of consulting, executive education, and research/analysis. He also currently serves as the Chief Innovation officer at Passenger.