It’s actually one of the reasons they chose to work with us, the fact we weren’t ‘specialists’ in education – although we obviously had to prove our ability to learn and apply our insights within a really thorough credentials pitch process (as we always do our homework).
Which got me thinking…
Each to their own, and I get why focusing on sector specialism gives you gravitas and is therefore a potentially easier ‘sell’ with many clients… but I’ve always thought that a variety of brand challenges, and therefore a variety of people to work with – keeps you fresh and interested.
And after 25+ years, I still am (well, most of the time).
Naturally, we’ve been unsuccessful in the odd pitch for not having a certain level (or any) sector experience – but I’ll always back us to put the hard yards in and learn what we need to learn. Because we’ll always bring some fresh insight and ideas to the table (or a graffitied desk in this case) – as opposed to a sector specialist who has seen and done it all… or have they?
That’s not a snipe, just our preferred approach.
To cut a long story short, we love telling new stories and every day should definitely be a school day… as long as it’s not maths, obviously.