Unconventional collaborations through partnerships — Scott Harkey // OH Partners

Scott Harkey, CEO and Co-Founder of OH Partners, talks about brand positioning and why brand collaborations always make sense. Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer found that consumer trust is at an all-time low and many companies are investing in more collaborative opportunities to rebuild that trust. While the right collaborations and partnerships can grow your brand’s reach, bad ones can just as quickly destroy the trust of your audience. Today, Scott discusses unconventional collaborations through partnerships.
About the speaker

Scott Harkey

OH Partners

 - OH Partners

Scott Harkey is Co-Founder and CEO of OH Partners—one of the largest, most heavily decorated independent ad agencies in the Southwest. Harkey is also Co-Founder and CEO of OH Holdings, which operates a family of specialized marketing service agencies in film, digital media, strategy, analytics, research, and more.

Show Notes

  • 03:13
    Why collaborations with influencers make sense for businesses
    Collaborations with influencers help to expand your audience. Partnerships are also impactful in the way they help to transfer trust.
  • 05:45
    Managing influencer partnerships
    Establish a relationship and a foundation of trust. Be willing to compromise on expectations while ensuring the collaborations remain beneficial for your and the influencer's brand.
  • 08:28
    Matching influencers to your audience
    Collaborations with the wrong person or wrong company can lead to distrust from your audiences. The best collaborations are built on trust and alignment in messaging.
  • 10:55
    How to evaluate influencers
    Many influencer platforms exist today, but influencers should be found and vetted manually. Platforms like Meta provide details about an influencers audience and engagement rates.
  • 13:39
    Finding good collaboration partnerships
    Good marketing clubs and industry events are great places to start collaborative partnership conversations. These events are ideal for networking with like-minded businesses.
  • 15:22
    Tech solutions for finding good collaboration partnerships
    Scarborough provides data on where you over-index with certain audiences and activities. Mintel highlights where your audience is going and what theyre looking for.

Quotes

  • "You don't want a friend that has different values than you. I think its the same with influencers and collaborations." -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

  • "Partnering together is like two clubs coming together that have the same values and you can maximize your audience together." -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

  • "I think influencers are brands and creators. They're not just somebody to use as a distributor of content." -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

  • "Most of the time that I've seen any collab, surprisingly, it's not about the money. It's about it being the right fit and gaining the trust that you're not going to make each other look bad" -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

  • "Influencers have been known to use steroids. Differentiating what's paid and what's steroid use is pretty easy through the existing platforms that we have." -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

  • "Meeting other people that do your job is really beneficial. Micro industry events are where a lot of conversations can get started and where I've seen a lot of collaborations happen." -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

  • "I know people want some silver bullet influencer platform. I haven't seen it exist yet, and there are thousands of them. It comes down to going through and searching Metas platform." -Scott Harkey, CEO, OH Partners

About the speaker

Scott Harkey

OH Partners

 - OH Partners

Scott Harkey is Co-Founder and CEO of OH Partners—one of the largest, most heavily decorated independent ad agencies in the Southwest. Harkey is also Co-Founder and CEO of OH Holdings, which operates a family of specialized marketing service agencies in film, digital media, strategy, analytics, research, and more.

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