I was listening to the radio in the car the other day and the song “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” came on – sung by Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles, lead singer of the country duo Sugarland.
It got me thinking about collaborations – especially those that might seem weird or counterintuitive at first. (Who would have thought that rock n’ roller Jon Bon Jovi would go for a duet with a country music singer… but it works!)
Much of what we do in PPR Strategies involves collaborating with other businesses or contractors, like our clients, graphic design partners, photographers, website developers, videographers, and the list goes on.
By collaborating with other experts and bringing your skills together, the end product can be even better.
You can take this a step further by collaborating with other businesses that might otherwise be seen as competitors.
A great example of this is one of our clients, the organization MATPRA, which stands for the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Association. MATPRA is made up of communities in five states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and DC. This October, they’re celebrating their 20th year of operating, and we’re working with them to create their 20th anniversary campaign.
What’s so cool about this organization is that for 20 years, tourism professionals from places all around the mid-Atlantic region that would be otherwise competing decided that they could be collectively stronger by working together.
Over the years, they’ve been able to get more media coverage by collaborating with each other in MATPRA rather than, with limited resources, trying to pitch their stories individually.
With so many similar community stories, why compete when you could collaborate together and pitch yourself as a region? Instead of competing to be seen, you can create a multiplier effect by bringing your reach and your partner’s reach together.
It’s similar to something as simple as posting about an upcoming event on LinkedIn and tagging the various speakers that are participating. You’ll reach more viewers on various LinkedIn feeds than if you were just promoting yourself.
So how are you currently collaborating and partnering with others? What are some new partnerships that could allow your organization to benefit from the multiplier effect? For example, a tourism organization could talk to different entities in your community such as economic development, higher education, public school education, or businesses in the private sector.
We can help you figure out ways to creatively partner with other organizations to magnify your impact. Contact us to set up a free 15-minute consultation to get started.
‘Til next time,
Sandy
