DEVELOPING THE CO-CREATION DEPARTMENT FOR STRATEGIC BRAND PARTNERSHIPS.
The primary goal was to establish and develop a new department focused on co-creations and co-designed collections with industry pioneers. This initiative aimed to enhance brand awareness through profitable partnerships. The project involved research to align with the company's growth objectives (as well as defining the growth objective), identify potential partners, and strategically plan product launches for maximum impact as well as shoot preparations and event planning.
Client: BRUNA The Label
Role: Department Creator and Project Leader (Research, Strategy, Partner Management)
Approach
I adopted a structured approach, beginning with in-depth research to understand the company's current position, market mix, and organic growth opportunities. Key steps included:
1. Conducting a detailed analysis of brand values, market demands, and customer behavior.
2. Developing a pipeline of potential partners aligned with market needs and brand strategy.
3. Creating a Profit & Loss (P&L) statement from scratch to project costs and profitability.
4. Drafting and negotiating contracts to safeguard business and partners interests.
5. Managing the end-to-end project lifecycle—from partnership negotiations to design, product quality refinement, launch execution, and post-launch analysis.
Outcome
1. The first co-creation project for BRUNA The Label launched October 2024 and the second one in May 2025 (previously signed 60 collections for NA-KD). This initiative has laid the groundwork for a sustainable and scalable department that aligns with the company's long-term vision. The structured approach has ensured that all elements are in place for a successful and profitable launch, with ongoing processes established for future collaborations.
2. Impressions & Reach: We reached over 2.66M impressions across Instagram and TikTok.
Influencer Engagement: The campaign leveraged organic coverage from 11 influencers, alongside one paid partnership with our partner, with whom we launched the collection.
Product Performance: The newly launched products have quickly become part of the best-selling products, showing a strong market demand.
Engagement & Posting: We saw a significant 233% increase in posting activity compared to our contract obligations, indicating high engagement and enthusiasm around the campaign.
3. The results demonstrate that the partnership contributed effectively to the success of the product launch, and we can confidently conclude that the launch was profitable.
Challenges
The project faced several challenges, including navigating external factors that could influence partnership outcomes, such as partner exclusivity with other brands, delays from suppliers, contract negotiations, and timing issues. Additionally, managing partner communication, wishes and desires, response times, and ensuring alignment on terms and conditions were hurdles. For which all mutually beneficial solutions were found.
Feedback
While the first project launch is upcoming, internal feedback has been positive, highlighting the comprehensive planning, strategic partner selection, and framework established for co-creation initiatives.
