The Collaborative Model: Succeeding Better Together.

Lack of resources or time, or one-off projects requiring specific expertise, are often reasons to build a different relationship between an organization and its partners. Many strategic and operational marketing functions can be shared with a partner who has the expertise, tools and specialists to provide a full range of marketing, branding, strategy, innovation and creative services.

With this in mind, it is easy to see how collaboration can be an interesting business model. It grants the client resource allocation agility and offers a fresh perspective on resolving complex strategic challenges. For the agency, it allows it to be at the centre of the decision-making process and consequently to be more accountable for the results. In short, it allows the agency to be a true partner and to move away from the traditional “client–service provider” model.

In this era of work dematerialization, traditional outsourcing is being transformed: the role of resources external to the company is shifting to a kind of collaboration that was previously difficult, if not impossible.

Given the communication and remote working tools now available, the collaborative model allows one to provide ad hoc support when certain imperatives arise for which only experience and/or specific accreditation are deemed essential.

“The BrandBourg team allowed us to take a step back from all of our products and to map out the visual logic across our Romeo’s gin line. Their expertise allowed us to strengthen and clarify our on-shelf presence. A successful exercise!”

• Nikolaos Lerakis, Creative Director, Duvernois Esprits créatifs

BrandBourg's collaborative approach

Core to BrandBourg’s business model, this approach has been put to good use with several clients and has proven its relevance and power. It ensures a fluid and efficient implementation of both strategic and creative projects. The approach is flexible and can be adapted to the client’s needs and context, whether the organization has its own creative department or entrusts creative to external collaborators. This method allows the collaborating team to be totally immersed in the reality of the client’s organization.

“We didn’t want to be handed a document and a logo, but rather to understand the process. The BrandBourg team worked with us throughout the process and ensured that the entire team took ownership of the project.”

• Nadine Leclerc, Vice-President, Marketing and Brands, Premier Tech

A powerful creative and collaborative tool

Any company with an internal creative department should consider bringing in outside experts. This is a very promising approach. While we believe that the client is the most knowledgeable about its brand(s) and product(s), it is wise and valuable to get an outside perspective to ensure the most comprehensive view of the market it is in. This is the role of the agency.

Employee buy-in and mobilization are critical to the success of any project. Design sprint and design thinking workshops are powerful tools for team appropriation and training and an effective and sustainable method of knowledge transfer. The ultimate goal of the exercise is to empower internal teams.

Design sprint is a creative process that uses design thinking tools to come up with successful solutions in a very short period of time. Participants from different parts of the organization are brought together in a team that will be entirely dedicated to the project for the duration of the exercise.

This highly effective way of working accelerates problem-solving and creativity within the company, whether it is a start-up or a multinational. It leads to solutions that are perfectly in line with the organization’s needs, since they are informed by the ideas and experience of its members. Design sprint is one of many innovative processes BrandBourg has put forward as part of its business model, which is based on collaborative work focused on brands.

“It is always relevant to get an external perspective on certain elements of our strategic projects. BrandBourg is an ideal partner, as the team comes from the marketing field (and therefore knows our reality) and is a recognized expert in branding.”

• Marc Brassard, Senior Manager – Desjardins

Benefit from the insights of others

The co-creation experience is based on a series of meetings where the exchanges demonstrate the benefits of the BrandBourg method benefits: a fusion of strategy, marketing and creation that optimizes the client’s input and deep knowledge of its brand and key markets.

Integration with the client’s marketing communications team through a highly flexible formula, built around pre-defined budgets that are approved on a monthly basis as needed, maximizes the relevance of decisions and builds stakeholder engagement. With the firm belief that no one knows the brand better than those who live it every day, we have implemented this participatory approach that is BrandBourg’s signature to provide a full range of marketing, branding, strategy and creative services.

“BrandBourg is an important partner for us, not only for our packaging design but also for their contribution to strategic projects. Their understanding of the food industry and product innovation is remarkable and makes them a valued contributor to our team.”

• Tania Goecke, Vice-President Marketing, Commercial Bread, Bimbo Canada.