We can hardly believe it’s 12 months ago today that The Difference Collective launched with a plan to prove quality healthcare communications and content support can be delivered via a totally ‘Different’ project-led, flexible and virtual model.
What have we done?
One year on, we’re thrilled to have worked with 24 clients on over 40 different projects, with plenty of repeat work – the proof of the pudding in terms of client satisfaction with our ‘Different’ approach. We have 50+ members: between them they’ve helped reposition a leading management consultancy, launched and branded a new health and wellbeing show, supplied PR and social media support for a leading consumer health brand, provided launch, web and media support for two new biotech companies, audited the communications function of a leading mid-size pharma business, led new business initiatives for leading agencies, and provided go-to copywriting and internal engagement support for two leading pharma companies.
The Collective’s senior-level expertise now ranges from corporate communications, patient engagement, internal communications, strategic consultancy, issues and crisis management, social and digital media relations, Rx and consumer health, medical communications to print and broadcast media relations, copywriting and creative direction.
Why we did it
We were motivated to create The Difference Collective because we saw droves of senior talent being lost to the industry due to inflexible working policies and rigid agency constraints. At the same time, we saw an industry undergoing significant change, with smaller budgets and re-structuring of in-house communications capabilities. We realised that clients needed access to senior counsel and support more than ever before, and that agencies, with their traditional pyramid structures, were struggling to provide it.
And so, The Difference Collective set out to invert the pyramid – wrapping our arms around the best in the industry and acting as a stamp of assurance or ‘talent kite-mark’ for clients. We had lofty ambitions and a fundamental belief that working differently was the future for successful organisations.
Power beyond our imaginings
Of course, we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved this year in volume and variety of successful projects. But what has surprised and impressed us, even more, is the true extent of the power of Collective working. It’s the positive mindset people bring to a project they have chosen to work on. It’s the speed and agility of Collective creative thinking and the quality of the output. It’s the exceptional insight and advantage that connecting the best people produces for our clients. It’s even more and better than we’d dared to hope.
Playing to our individual strengths benefits Collective members in deep job satisfaction. But crucially, this year has proved how it benefits our clients, who can access the breadth and depth of knowledge and skills they need under one ‘virtual’ roof and achieve exceptional results in a rapid, hassle-free way.
Thank you – it’s a truly collective achievement
We want to say a huge thank you to all the clients that have put their faith in us: we hope we’ve shown you the power of working differently in tangible results for your business. We’re looking forward to more exciting, stimulating and fun projects this year.
And I want to say a really special and personal thank you to all The Difference Collective members who have come together to make the difference in practice. They’ve inspired and taught me more in 12 months than I’ve learnt in many years in this industry. Thank you for sharing the vision and showing me over and over again how we can make a real difference collectively, in ways I hadn’t even imagined.
That was our first year and it’s just the beginning!
We’re on a mission to prove work is an activity not a place. Working differently is all about choice and professional freedom. We’ve seen the proof that bricks and mortar don’t connect people – rather, it’s collective knowledge, passions, beliefs and values intersecting and amplifying, for supercharged results and productivity.
Our goal for year two is to encourage the healthcare communications industry to fully embrace the extraordinary power of flexible working to deliver better results for clients. We have a track record to demonstrate it and lots of exciting plans to use it to further the cause. This year has inspired us to continue connecting the best to provide a cutting-edge healthcare communications solution that can genuinely make the difference.
