[…] This has been a lengthy process, but it has involved engaging in self-initiated projects like organising concerts, exhibitions, and producing books under the Studio Blanco name. These weren’t just branding exercises; they were passions of ours that connected us with artists and a larger world. […]

[…] But if you want to establish and expand and strengthen your position, I think you need to be in a city where things happen. Milan is good, you can go to an opening and meet somebody very interesting and start a relationship right then and there. We see it. There is also a huge fashion industry here. In the last two months, we have been meeting with practically all the CEOs of all those companies, one way or another. Not only for work, sometimes it was only because we were at a dinner or something, so it’s also very easy to stumble into jobs. […]

[…] AR
It was really straightforward from the beginning. We’ve always had a list of people we want to work with: people we respect, people we admire. And we’re just working our way through the list. […]

[…] SE
I’ve always been a Kanye fan. Not just because of his music. The way he thinks is different to anyone else. He just sees things that other people don’t see. Adam and I always wanted to work with him, and I remember we launched the 032c website and the next day we had an email from Adidas and the Yeezy team working on his product. We didn’t approach them or send them emails. Sometimes, if you work towards a certain goal, you end up working with the right people that you want to work with. […]

[…] The best business development is to do great work and make sure the right people see it. […]

[…] One of our characteristics is the strength of being able to provide comprehensive designs to companies (…) We help the company by conducting comprehensive creation including branding and art direction to convey the quality of the product. Instead of doing a lot of work with many companies, my company is good at working on and putting effort into one project. […]

[…] In the case of Japan, at first, the client requests only product development, but once the necessity of branding was communicated, they understand, and finally we can work on the overall design including branding and identity for the company’s product. […]

[…] Now for Tools’ issue number 2 we’re getting more professional, we’re asking for grants and subsidies and we put together a nice press kit for the cool brands that contacted us, the idea being to leave some space for ads. We’re not looking to turn a profit, just make enough to pay the people we work with. […]

[…] I would like to do more projects that can be understood by a broader range of people, beyond any barriers of language, nationality and regionality. Those architectural and spatial projects we are doing to be in a more global situation. […]

[…] WGNB is, I believe, very well known in Korea, and potentially in Asia but is hasn’t been spreading its name throughout the world yet. I guess it is because there are not many references for the global clients or clients in foreign countries to realize who we are. We are working on creating those references for them so that they can believe in what we do and what we can do for them. […]

[…] I do prospect a little, but not enough because I’m still not able to find the time, simply put. Here the circle’s less virtuous. But I’m working on it. […]

[…] When I started, I had this feeling that I was going to be who I am, but I didn’t have a real idea of what I had to overcome, or how hard or how exactly I had to work to reach my strategies. And since I have never assisted anyone and I have never really put myself in the context of working with another fashion photographer, I had to learn all of these things myself piece by piece. At the same time, there was a big resistance in me to really play the game and enter the stage, meaning being social, creating a network, and working for free, and all of these things. It was just a big step that I had to overcome for myself and decisions that I had to make, and I didn’t make those decisions for a very, very long time. […]

[…] I have a 50/50 approach – or maybe it’s a 30/30/30 approach – where I have a list of people that I want to meet. It’s a long list that my agent and I have created together: models that I want to work with, talents that I want to work with, sometimes ideas that I want to work on. Sometimes it’s something that I already fixed in the beginning, and then a lot of these things (that’s the other 30%) get born out of creativity with my creative family. (…) And then there is the last third, where I know that I have long‑term goals like exhibitions, books, experiences, experiencing other formats in my work. Then I go about them methodically and cautiously. I try to select the best venues, the ones that will be the most compatible with my work and my ideas in how I want to show my work, and selecting publishers. […]

[…] DL
Our new business is not only exploring. People also find us because of our communication and we also have existing clients, so we are not completely dependent on our Research & Development. […]

[…] JE
Prospection: getting in touch, getting to know the people, the relevant person who can actually make that decision. But the good thing is that one kind of project generally feeds the other. That’s really interesting when you approach someone if the work you’re doing resonates, it’s quick for them to get in touch. […]

[…] A
We’ve been lucky enough to always be able to think six months ahead. You guys taught us that we needed to get into prospection and development. It’s become second nature for us, we’re prospecting in places that attract us. Rather than months, we’re more focused on years. […]

[…] It’s a long process involving observation, curiosity, cultural and commercial appetite, magazines and Instagram or conversations with people around us. It happens through multiple coffees and meetings. […]

[…] A
People are very happy to meet with creative people who are full of ideas and more than that who present themselves as problem solvers. The first thing we attempt to communicate is not that we’re the best creative designers; it’s that we’re going to make their life easier. We put ourselves in their position, with empathy. […]

[…] Strategy in our field, alas, usually all comes down to the network. I often say to my students: “Venture forth into the world!” I wish I didn’t have to tell them to go out for drinks at art openings, but the fact remains: it helps. […]

[…] Going to a dinner party and meeting people is a kind of soft power strategy. […]

[…] The key in opening up to a more international, broader audience was Paris. Because there are not a lot of agencies outside of Paris working for Paris companies. […]

[…] That definitely helped and then we started 5 or 6 years ago to work a lot for Italy and Milan. The good thing about Italians is that they’re open. They’re not like most of the other Europeans who say: “This is my baby now, and you can’t work with him”, they really pass you around, like: “This is my friend Mirko, he’s super excellent”, or “This is my friend Mirko, he has a cool company, you should do something with him as well”. That’s how it all started. […]

[…] (LA) back to the question of strategy: through our series we meet people and by meeting these people, we get new collaborations if it fits. Ideas are coming together (…) the pictures are also a motor in a way, they’re the engine for the road we take, the journey in meeting people. […]

[…] The thing I enjoy in this business is meeting people. Learning from them, sharing viewpoints, talking. That is perhaps why I could never myself be an employee, because after a while unless you take a lot of meetings your job ends up being repetitive. […]

[…] I go the business development route, meeting people, prospecting, going to trade shows. Shmoozing. Preaching the good word. […]

[…] Grow and expand your network. If purchasing databases was all you needed, then everyone would be successful. Essentially it all boils down to being a nice, fun and interesting guy to meet, someone who not only doesn’t waste your time but actually brings something to the table. You’ve got to have humanity, that quality that makes meeting you a pleasant experience. […]

[…] People won’t hire you if they don’t know what you do. If you are not getting hired, then just make things, it’s not that complicated. […]