Collaboration is defined as the action of working with someone to produce something. A way of working together for a greater goal – regardless of personal opinion or stance. We find it crucial to work with all of our clients and suppliers collaboratively, but why?

Collaboration is in the heart of what we do at The Business Creative. It’s intrinsically built into the fabric of the company. I’m going to take a look at four reasons why we find a collaborative approach the best approach to take when working on any of our projects.

Reason 1: Bye-bye, elephant

I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we’ve worked on a project that becomes a power contest with ideas and egos in the mix – it’s a huge elephant in the room that nobody wants to discuss. Collaborative projects remove this from the very beginning!

Let’s face it, we’re all in this together (little High School Musical reference for you all). You all want the best for the project. No matter if you’re the client, the supplier or the end user – you want to create the best experience possible.

Any project is a balancing act, and a tender one at that. Imagine the experience, whether an event or family entertainment centre, is a giant set of scales. On one side you have the client, on the other the supplier. Each have hundreds of their own weights to add from ROI (return on investment) and customer satisfaction from the client through to budget constraints and timelines on the suppliers’ side. The more weight you add can quickly escalate to the scales tipping in one direction – which will cause a lot of stress on the other side.

It’s so important that this balance is kept at an even split – a collaborative approach to any project makes sure that this movement is maintained at an even scale which better enhances the project.

Reason 2: Those beautiful blue sky sessions *chef’s kiss*

Recently, Ben, Jane and Mark visited the World Museum in Liverpool to discuss a top-secret project. This wasn’t an already client/contractor meeting. It was a creative workshop with key stakeholders of the business to get their influence at the beginning of the experience journey.

I speak for Ben and Jane when I say that this approach to the beginning of a project is absolutely invaluable for a supplier. We could ask probing questions, snowball ideas, and really finesse what’s important to the team.

Some of the ‘take home’ material we collated during the day’s workshop has drastically progressed the concept of the event and has curated some incredible ideas! It’s so easy as creatives to rest on ‘what we know’, what we know works, what doesn’t, what feels good, what makes the audience say wow!, but sometimes we can be constrained by ‘what we know’. Having new, fresh ideas thrown into the mix from brilliant minds that are not confined by ‘what is possible’ can REALLY help get the ball rolling.

We have another couple of workshops planned with the team at National Museums Liverpool and cannot wait to start the concept development of this fantastic new experience … more on that to come!

Reason 3: Talk About It!

At The Business Creative, one of our core values is to talk about it. A brand pillar for the company that allows us to openly discuss issues, pinch points, or just about anything. This extends not only to the internal team, but with our external partners.

Collaborations allow you to be an extension of your client’s teams, working with or on behalf of the client to make sure the event or experience is created to the best possible standard.

Our ‘talk about it’ value really comes into fruition with our clients – having open conversations about the project, where it’s up to and what’s happening along the way. It alleviates the pressure points between teams and allows for a much smoother and more enjoyable journey together.

Reason 4: Building trust

Admittedly, we’ve had some quirky, left-field and unique ideas for our clients’ briefs. In fact, it’s what we pride ourselves on! But sometimes, the client needs a level of trust that the concept is the right move and the right experience for them!

Building trust can be really difficult, especially in the beautiful age of the NDA (non-disclosure agreement), where it’s becoming harder and harder to share work that you’ve created for clients to the outside world. So, how do you do it … COLLABORATE!

In the proposal phase, ideation phase or even delivery, by collaborating with the client throughout the process you gain trust and faith with your work and the magic you can create.

We really could talk forever about the importance of collaboration and why it is built into the very basis of every experience we create, but the best way to find out is to get in touch and see how we can collaborate with you!