A Chat with Mary Pratt, Founder at Brand Collaboration Platform: The Caviar Spoon

The Caviar Spoon is a community-driven brand collaboration platform powering world-first collaborations between brands of all sizes.

Everything we offer, from our proprietary algorithm to our Brand Collaboration Academy to our networking events and explosive case studies with the world’s finest collaborative brains, are designed with a single purpose: to help brands’ marketing make them a whole lot more bang for a lot less buck.
 
 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
I’ve always been an avid networker, having worked in recruitment and head-hunting. This was about finding talent for brands and matching behaviours. It was always about joining the dots. How could that person benefit from that company and vice versa? It goes a lot deeper than a CV. It’s about aligned behaviours and values.

Moving away from recruitment, I started looking at brands in general and HOW they promoted themselves. I was shocked at the unnecessary overspending on marketing and lack of creativity. It was as if creativity had been brushed under the carpet and taken over by booster ads or at times very misleading influencer campaigns with no real value or purpose.

Then I looked deeper and realised that most sites are no more than modern telephone directories, and that’s not what networking should be about.

So it got me thinking about creating a unique space to help brands of all sizes across the globe to come together with the primary purpose – to develop meaningful collaborations and partnerships no matter their size or marketing budget.

The platform would create a blank canvass and level playing field for all.

This would allow so many opportunities for brands to meet, connect and grow with the primary purpose of creating more bang for their buck.

It was also a space where brands could be CREATIVE together. One brand may be strong, but together, how powerful can we be together. It’s a force multiplier.
 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
The pandemic has seen some of the most incredible collaborations in history. Just look at how pharmaceutical brands came together to save lives. How Dyson went from hoovers to life-saving ventilators.

We saw significant fashion houses suffocating – so what happened? The creativity kicked off in full gusto. For example, Gucci, who teamed up with Tennis Clash, and Balenciaga, who focused on a campaign with Fortnite.

Also, my personal opinion is that brands started to think more about the meaning and WHY through the pandemic. Look at Champagne house Moët & Chandon and fashion designer Yoon. These guys created their first-ever limited-edition bottle of Impérial Moët & Chandon which would help support the preservation of biodiversity.

The final one is the two worlds biggest rivals coming together for the greater good – that being McDonald’s and Burger King.

I feel that humility has returned, and brands have realised that the days of overspending on adverts and egos is over.  We have refocused and gone back to the why.

People are craving meaning, purpose, creativity and the greater good. People don’t buy brands – they buy experiences, and they won’t settle for anything less.

There is no limit on what brands from alternative industries can achieve when they create something incredible.

This is probably the most exciting time in history for marketers to get back to the roots of what successful brand collaborations can achieve. That’s pretty exciting I’d say.
 

What can we hope to see from The Caviar Spoon in the future?

 
I was shocked at the lack of education around brand collaborations, so I decided that the platform would not just be a piece of tech! We needed to excite, help and inspire our brands hence creating our four-pillar model being:-

Action – The platform

Education – The Brand Collaboration Academy will be an online educational and stimulating program for marketers to learn the successful art of brand collaborations

Inspiration – The Brand Collaboration Council is attracting the worlds most powerful brains and thought leaders in the art of successful collaborations feeding forward ideas and insights to the community

Data – Offering accurate data and trends via The Brand Collaboration Index.

It’s the collaboration economy so happy collaborating!