The background
When you’re a multinational company , people around the world will be watching – and scrutinising – every single thing you say. That means each piece of comms – whether it’s delivered internally or externally – needs to be thoroughly thought out. Each word considered. And each interpretation accounted for.
That’s not always an easy thing to do on your own – especially in the midst of shrinking teams and hiring freezes – so it can be very useful to partner with a team of content experts who work as an extension of your team.
The brief
How can you maintain the quality of content and comms you’re used to in the face of ever-changing headcounts, economic uncertainty and wider industry trends? Better yet, how can you actually ramp up the rate at which you produce it, without overextending yourself? And do all that while maintaining a long-term strategy rather than simply focusing on short-term wins?
What does a 15-year
content partnership
look like?
The background
When you’re a multinational company , people around the world will be watching – and scrutinising – every single thing you say. That means each piece of comms – whether it’s delivered internally or externally – needs to be thoroughly thought out. Each word considered. And each interpretation accounted for.
That’s not always an easy thing to do on your own – especially in the midst of shrinking teams and hiring freezes – so it can be very useful to partner with a team of content experts who work as an extension of your team.
The brief
How can you maintain the quality of content and comms you’re used to in the face of ever-changing headcounts, economic uncertainty and wider industry trends? Better yet, how can you actually ramp up the rate at which you produce it, without overextending yourself? And do all that while maintaining a long-term strategy rather than simply focusing on short-term wins?
What we bring
During our 15 years working with Shell, we’ve helped multiple departments and teams with:
Working in partnership means we’re often able to share ideas and insights that might not otherwise break out of the silos that naturally start to emerge in big companies. Plus, we know the processes and ways of working, so we can work effectively.
We might call all those benefits synergies (if a career in B2B hadn’t made us shudder every time we hear that word). So, let’s simply call it experience.
A selection of materials
we have delivered
A selection of materials we have delivered
Why working with
a content partner works
1. You get an advocate for new ideas
You don’t need someone trying to reinvent the wheel, or pushing you into being something you aren’t. Instead, you should find someone who gives you the confidence to show more of who you are, in new ways.
You need a safe pair of hands. Someone who can sit you down for a few hours, let you get everything out of your head (and off your chest), then turn that into a compelling strategy. The kind of strategy you didn’t even know you needed until it was right there in front of you.
After all, if you’re facing a fair amount of internal wariness in your sign-off process, it needs to be an idea you believe is worth fighting for.
2. You gain a trusted partner
You need to deeply trust a content partner. Not just in terms of honesty, but that they have the ability to deliver. After all, a great freelance writer might not have a design eye, or a great videographer might not write a script worth recording. You need to know that they’ve got the skills and processes behind the scenes to make sure that the final work you get is up to your standards.
Plus, you need someone who knows enough – and cares enough – to push back. You don’t want blanket approvals when it comes to changes, you want someone who will fight for the piece to be as strong as it can be.
That’s what real partners do.
3. You get long-term strategic support, not just quick content wins
Short-term partnerships deliver short-term results. And sometimes that’s fine. But it’s often more valuable to find someone who can support you with a long-term strategy than box-tick the short-term tactics. Let’s say you have budget for five blog posts. Getting someone to write them isn’t the hard part – deciding on the topics is the real challenge. Then there’s the content funnel position, the SEO strategy, thoughts about CTAs, distribution, cross-linking and all the other parts that make projects actually work. Miss any of them, and your results fall.
Then there’s the other side of long-term support. Let’s be honest, people leave roles. Sometimes for good reasons (we’ve seen a lot of talented people get promoted), sometimes for less happy reasons. But a long-term partner can act as a constant thread of support even in the face of people moving on – and as a reassuring presence for those coming in.
Why working with a content partner works
The outcome
You don’t get a multi-decade partnership without delivering a thing or two.
We’ve interviewed just about every kind of employee – from graduates talking about why they chose to work there, through to senior stakeholders on how they launched new companies under the banner. We’ve talked to people across most time zones, worked on just about every content format, and have continued to grow that partnership every step of the way.
We’re pretty sure they value us, because they tell us.
“I have worked with the team for years and personally would recommend them. They combine behavioural science know how with excellent copywriting skills to add value to the projects we have worked on together. Their account management is consistently first-rate and generally I find the team to be a pleasure to work with.”
– Charlotte Crittenden, Shell Energy B2B Global & Asia Marketing Lead
But we know they value our work because they keep asking us to bring our expertise to more and more projects.
And that’s about the highest praise of all.
The outcome
You don’t get a multi-decade partnership without delivering a thing or two.
We’ve interviewed just about every kind of employee – from graduates talking about why they chose to work there, through to senior stakeholders on how they launched new companies under the banner. We’ve talked to people across most time zones, worked on just about every content format, and have continued to grow that partnership every step of the way.
We’re pretty sure they value us, because they tell us.
“I have worked with the team for years and personally would recommend them. They combine behavioural science know how with excellent copywriting skills to add value to the projects we have worked on together. Their account management is consistently first-rate and generally I find the team to be a pleasure to work with.”
– Charlotte Crittenden, Shell Energy B2B Global & Asia Marketing Lead
But we know they value our work because they keep asking us to bring our expertise to more and more projects.
And that’s about the highest praise of all.
Looking for a long-term partner who’ll have your back come hell or high turnover? We’ve got you covered.
Set up a chat with Jess to see about how we can help.
(Don’t worry – you don’t have to commit to 15 years straight out of the gate).
Set up a chat
Looking for a long-term partner who’ll have your back come hell or high turnover? We’ve got you covered.
Set up a chat with Jess to see about how we can help.
(Don’t worry – you don’t have to commit to 15 years straight out of the gate).
Set up a chat