Watch Advertising Week Europe Live

Can't make it to Advertising Week Europe? Catch the live stream from the Sun Room right here - we're on at 11:30am. It's the first day of Advertising Week Europe in London! Four days of incredible back-to-back talks, workshops and networking sessions from the marketing and advertising industry's best will be heading to Picturehouse Central. And we're chuffed to be taking part for the second year in a row.

Last year we spoke about what brands and agencies need to be ready to work with startups, inviting along some of our dedicated brand and agency representatives and Stephen Lepitak from The Drum to moderate. The discussion was a huge success, and the perfect segway into the Class of 2015 Demo Day just a few weeks later. This year we're doing things a little differently.

With the Class of 2016 Demo Day just behind us, we're looking forward to how startups can transform into scale-ups. What network of support is necessary for entrepreneurs to go from 0 to 100 while balancing the expectations of investors, co-founders, employees and customers? How do expectations change from being a hand-to-mouth company, to being a fast-growth company? What qualities should founders look at in mentors they will keep close for the rest of their days? We're discussing this at 11:30am Monday morning (that's today) live at Advertising Week Europe from the people who have done it before.

Guy Wieynk, CEO Western Europe at Publicis, Sarah Wood, Co-Founder & Co-CEO Unruly, Gabbi Cahane, Chairman of Multiple and our very own Rose Lewis, Co-Founder of Collider will be taking to the stage to discuss. They will then be joined by Emily Forbes, Co-FOunder of Seenit, Andrew Foyle, Co-Founder of Miappi and Ofri Ben-Porat, Co-Founder of Pixoneye - three Collider alumni who will be on stage for some live mentoring.

Tune in and tweet at @ColliderGB to get in on the conversation!

Brands and Agencies Must Embrace a 'New Startup Order'

** This article first appeared in The Drum Opinion **

During Advertising Week Europe, there was a lot of talk about how brands and agencies need to embrace innovation. And on the panel Collider hosted, moderated by Stephen Lepitak of The Drum, senior brand and agency executives from Havas, Ogilvy & Mather Group UK and Unilever talked about how one of those ways is by working with startups.

Common questions from the audience reflected how major changes would need to happen internally to effectively be able to work with startups. Here are a couple of the arguments and solutions I think people can take action on.

Argument: The agency model is fixed on business objectives, generating revenue from clients and it won’t change.

Solution: Embrace serendipity and open up the boardroom doors to collaboration

At its core, marketing and advertising is about creativity, thinking outside the box, and selling products. A huge part of that is embracing adventure to achieve unimaginable heights. Sometimes that means investing in long-term returns rather than immediate ones. And that is what working with startups can do. Start by bringing startups into your boardroom meetings. Let them sit at the table with you. Put to rest the pedantic monologues and open up a dialogue.

Don’t be afraid to try new things (meaning you might try a lot of things that don’t work before finding some things that do). Get out there and start working with startups to see what solution exist to your problems. Start small – a short trial will do to start.

Argument: The culture of agencies won’t change. And that’s what is needed to work with startups.

Solution: Empower your staff with the knowledge and tools to understand new tech and innovation.

As one of our panellists mentioned: “The cultural shift must be embraced within brands and agencies from the top." And that means educating your staff to work with new technologies. We call this becoming ‘tech natives’ as opposed to ‘tech tourists’. Give your staff members interested in new technology the tools and space to play with it. For tech natives, it’s as natural as breathing.

The company culture is echoed in business policies as well. Reflect on your business practices and make the necessary procurement changes internally to accommodate startups. After their first year of working with Collider, Unilever changed its procurement process from 90 days to 30 days, and has now made working with startups a part of its culture.

Both of these solutions lead back to creating innovative spaces within the organisations for teams to delve into new tech and ways of working. Through innovation labs, workshops led by experts in these fields, and making the necessary procurement changes, you can stay ahead of the game. Don’t shy away because it’s hard. The first step is always the hardest.