Most of us grow up thinking, “when I grow up, I want to be…” and we probably all had good intentions of setting the general direction for how we would get there. However, I think it is probably safe to say that the majority of us fall into our occupation, often in an industry or a company we may not have originally considered.
“As we partnered with new clients, we found ourselves working more and more as an extension of our clients’ teams”
Simon Cristal, Co-Founder, SWC Partnership
This processes of falling into things also happens in business and so I’m going to share with you how this happened to us at SWC Partnership. We initially set up SWC 5 years ago as an integrated full service marketing agency.
Since each of the founders derived from integrated backgrounds, we were able to offer integrated expertise from the very first day.
As we partnered with new clients, we found ourselves working more and more as an extension of our clients’ teams, as opposed to the typical agency/client arrangement. Clients without marketing departments often used us for just that, and so our teams and individuals were frequently put on secondment within these businesses on a full/part-time basis. Some brand owners without a UK or European presence were also beginning to ask for our specialists to act as their people ‘on the ground’ and represent them as an extension to their team, here in the UK.
Naturally, more clients quickly became interested in our offering and regularly asked for our specialists to work for them. Secondments can last for several weeks, months or even years; providing an extra pair of hands during busy periods, working on particular projects or when there are staff shortages.
By working both agency and client side, our teams are able to appreciate exactly what a marketing manager will need to report back on in their next board meeting. What makes this flexible approach to our clients’ businesses possible, is the sheer versatility and attitudes of the people who work at SWC. For example, our account managers are a hybrid between traditional account managers and campaign planners.
And so, having found ourselves being taken in this direction, we adapted our offer to service and advise our clients in the best possible way. A ‘one size fits all’ approach really wasn’t going to be the best solution. Which is why we launched SWC Flexi as a new division to SWC Partnership. Something we fell into…
Find out more about SWC Flexi here.
I’d love to know how you fell into your career or what you want to be when you grow up! (some of us still are…)
