Have you ever thought of building creative partnerships to grow your business? Partnerships are essential for growth, but they take time to build and require constant communication between you and your creative partners. The better the communication, the more likely your creative partnership will evolve into a mutually beneficial relationship.

Partnering with an agency is the best way to build creative relationships. Creative Partnerships Group is a full service advertising agency , which can bring consistent, creative marketing to your message across various communication channels: press, print, web and social media. Partners are open to begin with, to make your trust build. When creative partners work together, it's like having two heads in the same boat.

The most common creative partnership agreements begin with one partner investing money in a campaign, which requires a creative staff to develop the message over a period of time. The head of the creative team, who is also usually a copywriter or design engineer, works with the marketing manager to come up with the story, concept and graphics that will make the campaign succeed. Once the concept is approved, the two teams collaborate to come up with the short run ad copy - the first "sewer ad". This is where the synergistic relationship really pays off: each team brings their individual strengths to the table, and the resulting product is spectacular!

Some creative services agencies offer a more traditional type of campaign, using a fixed daily quota and a certain amount of research to create winning campaigns. Creative Services agencies are best known for using consultants and freelancers to do some of the work, while the agency recruits a core team of creatives to do the jobs that need to be done. The result is a short term project, which usually meet its deadlines, but may not necessarily have a long-term effect. Agencies like Creative Services usually have a specific range of projects they're contracted to complete. The result is a more permanent positioning for creatives on a good agency roster, and a steady flow of work over time.

Some creative services agencies offer an "in person" approach to working with clients. They take a look at the portfolios of their current clients, meet them in a semi-private setting and give them helpful feedback, giving them the opportunity to ask for clarification. In an even more intimate setting, creatives to get to know their clients and truly work to develop a customized campaign. However, some agencies prefer to keep things rather private, concentrating instead on ensuring quality throughout a project. For some agencies, this provides more helpful feedback, allowing creatives to build a better sense of trust with their creative partner.

Sometimes social media engagement can help to spark inspiration among creatives. Creating a campaign based around a social media account, for example, allows for creatives to network with their peers and leverage what they already know about their client's strengths. When working with an agency, social media can provide a helpful feedback loop for helping to refine what works. However, agencies can choose not to participate in social media marketing, saving the time and effort for their creative services provider to focus on getting results from their client. This approach often lessens client cost, as agencies don't need to pay an outside party to manage the account.

Whether working with an individual or a company, finding creative synergy between partners requires more consideration than just finding a compatible style. For instance, it might make sense to partner with an agency where the lead creative has experience in media planning, design, and SEO. However, this isn't always feasible, as one partner's strengths might mean the agency loses opportunities for content or focus that could have been achieved by the other partner. It's important to consider the impact of each partner's style and approach to work. If they both share the same vision but divergent goals (for example, one partner's goal is to increase website traffic for an established brand while the other works to build organic SEO), it might not be worth the long-term commitment.

Creative partnerships aren't all smooth sailing, however. Agreements often fail if one partner doesn't adhere to the vision and goals of the other. If creative differences are prominent, creative partners should work together to iron out the issues to create a successful long-term relationship. As the client and agency have come together to form a productive creative partnership, the benefits of such relationships will become evident.