By Ayobami Ifetogun
This Is A Must-Read If You Want To Collaborate And Partner Successfully
What’s the power of collaboration in the fashion, film, entertainment and Cooperate world? What’s the best way to go about collaborations? How do you know what collaboration to take up and which to not? How do you achieve a successful collaboration? What are established individuals and organizations looking out for in accepting young ideas and sponsoring or partnering with them to make their ideas bloom and execute them successfully?
All these questions were answered at the second edition of the Accelerate Fashion Talks themed The Power of Collaboration.
From Left: Tokyo James (Moderator) with the panelists: Bolaji Kekere-Ekun, Shekudo, Seyi Shay and Amaechi Okobi
The event was a success as the topic was strategic and the entire panelist did well to address the topic adequately. Collaboration is a central theme in the fashion, music, film and cooperate world and dissecting and discussing it is necessary to doing it right.
The panelists included Seyi Shay: an amazing Nigerian artiste who has been able to carve a niche for herself in the entertainment industry; Bolaji Kekere Ekun: a fantastic film director; Shekudo: a Nigerian/Australian who majors in the shoe making and accessory industry in Nigeria; and finally Amaechi Okobi: the Head of Marketing and Communications, Access Bank.
The session was moderated by British-Nigerian fashion designer and head of Fashion in Accelerate TV, Tokyo James.
Seyi Shay discussed collaboration in the Music industry as a beneficial path to take. She identified that it helps you reach into your collaborators’ fan base and add them to yours as well as widen your horizon of knowledge as you come together to birth different ideas. It can even make you fall in love with your collaborators’ genre of music and bring you to the realization of other interests you can explore as was the case when she collaborated with Patoranking on “Murda”.
Seyi shay also spoke about her concern for entrepreneurs, startups and young talents; she urged already established individuals to take the chance to believe in brooding talents and give them opportunities to prove their fantastic abilities.
I took a chance with a young talent to produce my music video and that has been one of my hit songs and videos. From that trial where he proved himself fantastically, he got other opportunities and is one of the best music producers now
Bolaji Kekere emphasized the need for brands to develop themselves on their own too and their works will speak for them.
“Keep doing what you do and be excellent at it, people will recognize you and want to collaborate with you. Don’t be afraid to go the extra mile to build your profile even if it means doing it for free at the beginning,” he said.
He also emphasized that it’s also okay to pay for what you want even though collaborations are fantastic.
Shekudo took a different turn in talking about challenges she has faced in collaborations and the do’s and don’ts of collaborations. She said that in collaborating, you have to be as concerned about the value you will give as you are about the values you will receive.
“Remember, it’s collaboration and not a parasitic relationship. It’s important that you put your best foot forward and be professional in your dealings in order to not severe the relationship and ruin the collaboration. Protect the image of your brand and don’t ruin collaborations. Also make sure you are consenting to it because you have thoroughly looked at the terms of collaboration and you have the time to take it on so it doesn’t go south.”
Amaechi Okobi took a corporate dimension of collaboration as he talked about what organizations are looking out for in collaborating with other individuals as there are usually tons and tons of proposals for collaborations and partnerships, while very few tick the requirements. He spoke of the requirements as; the value the collaboration will bring to the organization, how it will project Nigeria to the world in a positive light and if the values and work ethic of the organization is commendable.
It’s inevitable for you to engage in collaborations so make sure you are doing it right by following the guidelines that we got from this amazing event, The Accelerate Fashion Talks.
Cheers to successful collaborations!
See photos below:
From Left: Bolaji Kekere-EKun, Shekudo, Tokyo James, Amaechi Okobi, Seyi Shay and Had of Accelerate, Colette Otusheso
Read also: Accelerate Fashion Talks – Influence Of Digital Media On The Fashion Industry
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