IN PROFILE
COLLABORATIVE CREATIONS With signs pointing to a return to some sense of normality in the live events sector, TPi checks in with Collaborative Creations’ Tom Wilkes to discuss what advice he is giving to his clients as we all prepare for mass gatherings to return.
“We moved into our new building two weeks before the first lockdown,” began Wilkes, speaking to TPi over the phone as we went though the usual ‘how has the past 14-months been for you’ conversation. As regulations slowly begin to ease in the UK, Wilkes, Co-Founder and Director of Collaborative Creations, believes that now is the prime time to ease back into working life and start rebuilding the connections that have laid dormant for such a long time. Having worked in the industry for a number of years for the likes of White Light and CHAUVET, during his time on the road, Wilkes noticed a demand among his clients for an in-house business development manager, but very few had the funds or the time to bring someone in. “This was the spark that would lead to Collaborative Creations,” he explained. “We do the jobs that you know are important but not urgent. Feeling like a full-time employee but at a fraction of the cost.” Officially forming in 2019, Collaborative Creations offers event industry-specific PR and content,
business development, sales, training, and digital marketing services. “We are not salespeople,” he assured while laying out the company’s USP. A world away from cold calling, Wilkes explained how Collaborative Creations’ goal was to develop the company’s network by bringing more people into its circle. “In essence, Collaborative Creations is all about listening to clients and then offering practical solutions and, arguably more importantly, knowing when you might not have a solution,” he stated. “It’s important to know that we won’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole.” After a year, Wilkes and the team proudly took the keys of their new facility a short walk from Waterloo in the heart of South Bank. The initial idea was to create a space that could be used for hot-desking for clients as well as a meeting or training space. “We moved in two weeks before the lockdown and we had to send everyone home,” stated Wilkes, although, ever the optimist, he explained that this had provided the team with the opportunity to fix up the space 46
