Where educational publishers usually start from the wishes and needs of the teacher when developing a new method, Blink wanted to put the motivations of children themselves at the centre of the development. That is why we initially spent a lot of time with children, to find out what role the English language plays in their lives, what their motivations and barriers are to learning English and in what ways they learn English.
We soon discovered that music is a common thread in this: children want to learn English to understand popular music and at the same time they learn English through this music. The teacher and the English method at school appeared to play only a subordinate role. "Our teacher can't really speak English well at all", was a frequently heard remark.
grooveme
Activating teaching method based on English music
The translation into an activating teaching method based on popular English music, with a primarily coaching and inspiring role for the teacher, was made relatively quickly. Although the first version did not meet educationally tested principles, children and teachers responded so enthusiastically that Blink decided to invest in it. A team of experts was formed that, in co-creation with children and teachers in the classroom, came up with a well-founded and at the same time unprecedentedly swinging teaching method, based entirely on learning for and through music.
When Groove.me was introduced in 2011, it quickly became the most successful launch of a new educational method in recent years. The 50% increase in sales since its introduction is impressive compared to the 20% market standard, especially since Blink, as a new, unknown and small educational publisher, managed to gain a substantial share in an already saturated, conservative market. In a customer satisfaction survey (2012), 90% of teachers indicated that the method meets or exceeds their expectations. Moreover, scientific research shows that Groove.me achieves learning effects that are not achieved with other methods.
The main benefits of complete co-creation
There are six key benefits of complete co-creation. These relate to the areas of relevance, marketing, support, motivation, results and costs.
There is a relevance advantage because, in collaboration with the end user, only products are developed that are actually relevant and attractive to the target group.
In addition, complete co-creation provides marketing benefits because what has been created already starts to 'resonate' among the intended user target group long before it is developed.
Complete co-creation also provides support benefits , because the open nature of the process results in the feeling of 'mine, by me, for me' for all groups involved.
Motivational advantage occurs because it is clear from the very beginning for whom and how the new product or service, facility, experience, brand or communication tool and everything around it is developed and why. Everyone working on it has the same mission and vision. This is motivating and has a positive effect on the collaboration within the co-creation team. In addition, in practice, working together with the end user proves to be extremely refreshing and inspiring for the other parties involved.
Complete co-creation is accompanied by a result advantage , because the 'something' to be oman mobile phone number list developed optimally matches the wishes and needs of the user target group. In the long term, good results are achieved that reach further than just the financial picture. -of-mouth advertising from the end user.
Last but not least, complete co-creation yields a major cost advantage . Despite the fact that costs must initially be incurred to work productively with the end user and possibly other relevant parties, the final financial picture is generally favorable because the chance of success is greatly increased. Experiencing a complete co-creation process step by step together with the end user and possibly other crucial parties prevents wrong decisions, unnecessary expenses, wasted time and assumptions that lead to tensions and incorrect elaborations. Organizations that still operate from the traditional focus on product development instead of customer development tend to underestimate this.
Co-creation requires a cultural shift
A cultural shift is needed in a company to embrace complete co-creation as a way of thinking and working. This means that complete co-creation is not just a way of working, but a corporate culture. The organization must be structured in such a way that the end user and other relevant parties are actively involved in many aspects of the business operations in various ways and at various stages of development. This requires courage. After all, you give external parties a great deal of influence on decisions and developments.
However, it does not mean that organizations share decision-making authority with the end user and other relevant parties. Organizational management remains ultimately responsible for the choices the organization makes, even if they engage in complete co-creation. It does mean that the organization structurally opens itself up to receiving crucial information, inspiration, ideas and advice from the unique perspective and knowledge framework of relevant external parties, including at least the end user.