If you've chosen a career as a creative, you'll know our primary function is to rock up each day and rattle out some sweet ideas. Who doesn't want to get paid for doing arts and crafts all day? We're not looking for pity, by the way, we bloody love what we do.
Interestingly though, despite being a multi-discipline agency offering a range of support functions to our clients, such as paid activation, brand development, design and strategy, we're only ever really tasked with one thing. To make money.
Don't hate us for being blunt with the truth; you know it's true.
Whatever the ambition or the challenge's specifics, it inevitably returns to making money. It's the equivalent of producing energy. What's the point of trying if the energy you put in is less than the energy you get out?
There are many ways to make money - some more obvious than others. However, we think there is an exciting solution that is often overlooked or deemed too risky. Partnerships. Hear us out...
So, keeping an open mind about collaborating with other businesses, even those you might consider competitors, might be your next most brilliant move.
We're big advocates of brand partnerships.
In fact, in the last 12-month we've instigated or played a role in three brand partnerships between The Ocean Conservation Trust, DFDS Ferries and Plymouth Gin. The good news: they all won.
There have been some stellar examples of beautiful brand partnerships: RedBull & GoPro, Finisterre & RNLI, Nike & Apple, RSPB & Netflix & Aardman, Greg's & Primark.
Look, not all partnerships work, and they're also not always easy to broker, but there are so many benefits when done right (actually, even if it's done wrong):
- Sharing of audiences (instant access to each other's hard work)
- Splitting of the bill OR no costs whatsoever, just effort
- Shared risk
- Boosted sales out of trust or referral by the partner
- New product lines
- New data and insight
- Recognition and respect for being exciting and not rigid
Partnerships aren't new, but they are still relevant and often lucrative. So if you fancy getting the chat going about a possible collaboration, chat with us.
On a final note...
The next time you walk through a market, take notice of the fruit and veg stalls - they're likely to be next to one another. This wasn't by accident. Working together helps attract a larger audience than one stall alone.
Duncan Burgess
Duncan has 18 years of experience thinking, making and creating for brands of all shapes and sizes.
If you want your brand to stand out, your creative to impress, and your ads to deliver, Duncan’s your man.