Since the 2000s, there are more and more brands that call on artists. Art is no longer compartmentalized in museums or galleries, it is everywhere! The emergence of Instagram and unconventional traffic levers is pushing companies to innovate and engage the services of personalities, other brands, influencers or artists. These are the assurance of a unique campaign that stands out, they bring depth and unprecedented thinking.
How to make a Collab?
Are you wondering how to infuse an artistic touch into your marketing, communication, or event strategy?
How can you convey your brand’s universe and share your values? How can you stand out and create an emotional connection with your consumers? Our solution: artistic collaboration!
Here are some key elements to help you understand how to implement it. We will be happy to guide you through this process !
The role of the brand in an artistic Collab?
Getting into an artistic collaboration is often the fruit of a long reflection for a brand. But Collab Factory sees this decision as the start of a new world. By opening up your strategy to collaboration, you are now an actor in cultural creation: you support art by developing your visibility.
The role of the brand is a bit like that of a patron. By funding a collaboration, you participate in the development of creation and the existence of new artistic productions. Bringing art into marketing is your role as a brand, here are the steps to complete such a project.
FIRST STEP: CHOOSING THE ARTIST
Before the start of the collaboration, it is necessary to clearly define the desired objectives and the criteria for choosing the artist.
Your role: provide us with as much information as possible about the artist you’re looking for so that we can refine our pre-selection: nationality, popularity, preferred medium (painting, sculpture, photography, illustration, digital, etc.), artistic style (abstract, figurative, minimalist, expressionist, etc.), themes explored in their works, their background or artistic training, their exhibition network (galleries, fairs, collections), their presence on social media or in the media, as well as the values or messages they embody.
The more details we have, the better we can propose artists who precisely match your expectations. We will find the artist that suits you!
This step is the foundation of a healthy and effective collaboration moving forward. With a clear idea of the message you want to convey through your collaboration, we will know which storytelling approach and which artists to propose. After your final selection, the collaboration can begin.
Once the objectives are defined and the artist selected, it is essential to keep in mind that an artist’s popularity should not be the only determining factor. Indeed, a good artist is not necessarily a community manager. Today’s visible talents can sometimes be fleeting. It is important to consider their long-term potential, not just their instant popularity, such as the number of followers on social media.
We are fully capable of guiding you, even if you already have an artist in mind with whom you wish to collaborate.
SECOND STEP: COLLABORATION
In the collaboration process, it is essential to understand the artist’s work and trust them: this is a piece of art, and allowing the work and the artist to thrive is key for the outcome to be unique.
Once you have the keys to the project, you become an advisor to the artist: your opinion in the creative process is crucial, but be careful not to hinder their artistic freedom. Collab Factory facilitates this relationship and manages all the contractual aspects, so that your role remains focused on creativity and project development. Unlike a design agency, where rights are often transferred, here, the authorship of the work – that is, the right for the artist to be recognized as the creator – always stays with the artist. This concept of authorship is fundamental: it ensures that the artist remains associated with their work and acknowledged for their talent, thereby enhancing the artistic value of the collaboration.
Your role is therefore to find the balance between a defined framework and giving freedom when it comes to creation!
THIRD STEP: ACTIVATION
Once the product is finished, it is just the beginning of your campaign. You choose the methods and scale of distribution, and Collab Factory takes care of producing content to make this collaboration live on over time.
Videos, packshots, motion designs, interviews, press releases—a whole custom storytelling effort is offered to save you precious time. We support you at every step, adapting our approach so that the storytelling works perfectly with different formats and media. This collaboration allows us to create coherent and impactful content, fully aligned with your communication objectives. Your role then is to distribute this content. The artist then becomes a brand ambassador and brings you a unique image.
The role of the artist in a collaboration with a brand
Artists are experts. They have been working on their subject for years with his own technique. It is a universe that is both unique and open, they seek to create in each of their projects while keeping a common thread all of their own. Each work is the result of several spatio-temporal and sociological factors that interact with the artist’s sensitivity: it is a unique creation. Having it integrate new symbols like those of a brand is a fundamental adventure and influences the artist’s choices.
AN INVITATION
The artist’s role is to invite you into his world, but also to give the brand the benefit of their seasoned eye. If a brand chooses it, it is because it relates to a universe, but also because it complements it. The artist must bring the brand to another dimension of which only they have the keys. Its technical expertise but also its sensitivity become levers of inventiveness for a brand.
The artist must engage the brand in his work, they bring it into their studio as they brings inspiration. For the duration of a collaboration, the artist integrates a new component into his creative process.
A CO-CREATION
Thus, the brand and the artist navigate from one hull to the path of collaboration! The opinion of a brand matters to the artist and they must soak up his identity in order to stand out in their creativity. The artist has the task of going beyond the role of provider. they will build an idea with the wishes of the brand. The relationship must be fertile. The brand conveys its desires to the artist who offers them lines of thought.
Several round trips are necessary to fully understand each other’s challenges. The artist can and should discuss certain directions, to make sure that the final work will be perfect. Because “the triumph of art must lead to something other than oneself” (Simone Weil), the artist must see themself as a brand ambassador.
The more they communicate about their work, the more impactful the campaign will be, because the success of a project is only possible if a person embodies it and carries it with conviction. The target audience must feel, in addition to being innovative, a real connivance between the brand and the artist, as if they have been working together for years.
This is why dialogue between the two entities is essential, if the artist is confident with his subject, he will surpass himself.
A COLLABORATION
The finished product is only one step in the entire collaborative campaign. Bringing this collab to life over time is also one of the artist’s roles. The latter obviously has the choice of giving their image or not, but they can grant visibility otherwise, through interviews or derivative visuals for example.
Adapting the work created by the artist for social media, a landing page, or merchandise will help the collaboration gain more impact.
In addition, a collaboration, as unique as it is, is intended to be renewed. The artist can project themselves and create a desire in the brand and the target audience. They must become indispensable for the brand in the same way that we understand that art is indispensable in a communication campaign.
By nurturing this relationship, the artist helps build a strong and lasting artistic identity for the brand.
The role of the agency in a collaboration between a brand and an artist
At Collab Factory, we apply our expertise and focus our skills on a mission that excites us: the democratization of art. Art everywhere, art for all, art is the answer, until its presence becomes essential. We firmly believe that art should be accessible to everyone, as it has the power to enrich our lives and stimulate creativity.
As experts in marketing, storytelling, and contemporary art, our goal is to encourage brands to collaborate with artists. This approach not only strengthens their identity but also adds an artistic dimension that enhances their communication.
THE BRAND, THE FIRST ART SPONSOR
We work with brands that are aware of the win-win outcomes that a collaboration can generate. Our goal is to awaken and harness the creative potential of brands, encouraging them to invest in art and contribute to projects that enrich culture. By fostering these partnerships, we aim to establish an ecosystem where brands and artists thrive together, creating a positive and lasting impact.
We carry out initial outreach with brands to show them that they have the opportunity to diversify their image through limited editions, digital activations, murals in offices, or custom events with artists. We like to compare our clients to true patrons; we choose them because we trust their artistic potential.
DEVELOP AN ARTIST CATALOG
In parallel with this business research work, we are expanding our network of artists who would be open to collaborating with brands. This constellation of over 250 artists forms our portfolio, which we make sure to keep active: we aim to offer several projects to our artists, spread over a long period. The artists we work with are part of our DNA and share our values and mission, and it is in our best interest to continue these collaborations.
FIND THE PERFECT DIALOGUE
Each collaboration is unique. When a brand provides us with their brief, the agency teams work to find the artist and medium that will best align with the company’s goals.
Initially, we share a moodboard with proposals for artworks without revealing the artist’s name to avoid influencing the brand.
The brand then gives us initial feedback so that we can refine our approach.
We then propose a selection of artists who could align with the project’s constraints, such as the budget, the desired medium, and the type of art envisioned.
If an artist already in our portfolio meets the client’s expectations, we prioritize their candidacy so they can work on the project again.
PROVIDE CLINICAL FOLLOW-UP
Once an artist has been selected, the agency has a very specific primary role which consists in making the relationship between the two entities as fluid as possible. We take care of all the legal aspects so that the brand and the artist can focus on the creation. We have articles on the roles of the artist and the brands in a collab, the function of the agency is to ensure that these roles are respected. Once the project is successful, we work on another aspect of our expertise. Collab Factory offers communication activation thanks to its storytelling skills to bring collaboration to life over time and develop its visibility. We take care of proposing a coherent communication strategy by providing the supports (videos, photos, texts) to the company.
We are here for you !
Interested in starting a collaboration with a talented artist? Contact us today to discuss how we can help bring your brand’s artistic vision to life.
