The beginning
After almost 20 years in marketing, what convinced you that The Partnership Studio needed to exist?
For years, people encouraged me to create something of my own. They saw that almost 20 years across different areas of marketing had given me a broad perspective and a way of approaching problems that felt different. That encouragement planted the seed but The Partnership Studio still took time to come to life because I did not want to create another advertising agency, marketing consultancy or digital agency.
I wanted to build something that reflected how I actually work. I am naturally collaborative and I believe the best work is rarely the product of one person or one discipline. That is why partnership is not simply in the name. It is the operating principle behind the business.
When I sit with a client, I do not begin with the assumption that they need a campaign, a new identity or more social media content. I want to understand what is happening inside the business. What problem are we actually trying to solve? Who are we trying to serve? What has worked before? What has not? What resources are available and what would a meaningful result look like?
From there, we bring together the research, data, insight and specialist partners needed to create the right solution. Nothing is pulled off a shelf and nothing is produced simply because it is fashionable. The work is designed around the realities and ambitions of that particular business.
The moment of clarity
Was there a single moment when the idea became real?
There was no dramatic moment when I decided, “Now I am going to create The Partnership Studio.” The idea had been quietly forming for years.
My career allowed me to work in different countries, across different businesses and on campaigns with very different outcomes. Some were highly successful and others were not. Both taught me something. Over time, those experiences gave me a clearer understanding of how businesses operate, where marketing succeeds and why even good ideas sometimes fail.
I also began to recognise the value I bring when I am in the room. I can sit with commercial, technical and sales leaders and contribute to a conversation that goes beyond explaining what marketing needs to do. I can question the assumptions behind a decision, offer a different perspective and sometimes plant the seed that helps the team see the problem differently.
Eventually, the accumulated experience became clarity. The Partnership Studio was not created because I rejected corporate life. It became possible because of everything corporate life taught me.
A different model
What did you want the Studio to do differently?
I have always been uncomfortable with doing something solely because “that is how it is done.” That does not mean rejecting established practice automatically. If the traditional approach still makes the most sense, I am willing to accept it. I simply believe it should withstand the question.
We often hear, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” There is wisdom in that but something not being broken does not mean it cannot be improved, reimagined or replaced with something better. Functioning should not be confused with being the best we can do.
I did not want clients to encounter the same rigid experience they might already be trying to escape. Although the Studio sits outside the client’s organisation, it should feel genuinely invested in the outcome. We are not simply completing a brief and handing over the work. We are sharing responsibility for the success of the campaign, project or business challenge.
Marketing in the room
What do you notice when commercial, sales or technical leaders begin telling marketing what to produce?
I often notice that the conversation has jumped directly to tactics. We should run radio advertisements. We need a newspaper spread. Something should go on social media and this is when it should happen. The outcome has already been prescribed and marketing is expected to run off and execute it.
My instinct is to slow that train down. What exactly are we bringing to market? Why are we bringing it to market? Who do we expect to buy it? What do we know about those customers? What problem are we solving for them? What are the commercial targets and how will we determine whether the activity has worked?
A strategy does not materialise out of thin air inside the marketing department. It must be informed by what commercial, sales and technical teams bring into the process. I need to understand what is happening inside the business and what success needs to look like. Those are the ingredients marketing has to interpret and work into the strategy.
I have heard marketers complain that they enter meetings and are simply told what to do. My response is always the same: do not let anyone take over your role in the room. That does not mean dismissing other teams. It means bringing customer and market judgement into the discussion and distinguishing between a requested tactic and the solution the business actually needs.
Challenging constructively
How do you challenge those assumptions without becoming the person who slows the business down?
Part of the reason I sit in the room is not only to answer questions. It is also to educate when that becomes necessary.
When someone prescribes the channel or outcome before we have properly examined the problem, I do not assume it comes from ill will or disrespect. Sometimes it comes from a lack of understanding and I mean that in the kindest possible way. People are often recommending what they know or what they have seen done before.
I have no issue breaking down the thinking behind the marketing. I can explain why I am asking certain questions, what information is missing and how those answers will influence the direction. The questions are not there to complicate the process. They are there to ensure that we are solving the right problem and investing in something that has a reasonable chance of working.
That is often where the aha moment happens. The conversation shifts from “Marketing should do this” to “Now I understand what marketing is trying to achieve.” You do not simply reject the request. You help people understand the strategy well enough to participate in building a better solution.