outskirt collective

At Outskirt Collective, we help you see around corners and identify opportunities before they appear on the horizon. We believe the ability to anticipate change is crucial to business success. Our outside-in approach offers fresh perspectives to drive your business forward, ensuring that 2025 will be your most successful year yet. Get in touch with Rachel Raphael or ⚡️Caroline Sparkes to discover how we can unlock your growth potential by helping you plot the future. #BusinessGrowth #2025Success

Agency Hackers hosted another fantastic event this week. THE HAPPY CLIENTS CONFERENCE provided me with so much new information and ideas. Thank you, Sophie Cunningham, for inviting me to be part of some of the sessions, and to Frances Galvanoni Campbell for all your support. I loved sharing the stage with Brooke Kenyon and Joanna Anthony and look forward to building on all the wonderful new connections I made as a result of attending the event. #agencyleadership #accountmanagementraining #accountleadership #clientleadership #learninganddevelopment #accountmanagement

Our co-founder Rachel Raphael will be taking to the stage tomorrow at the Agency Hackers Happy Clients conference. She'll be discussing all things account management and how excellent client leadership is fundamental to agency success.

We understand the challenge. Navigating growth in the entertainment and creative sectors can be quite the adventure. At Outskirt Collective, we're here to offer the focus and fresh perspective you need to unlock new opportunities and markets. We help you see around corners, think creatively, and act decisively. We dive deep into the heart of your business to transform your potential into clear, compelling positioning and craft actionable go-to-market (GTM) strategies. Suddenly, you’re not just expanding—you’re evolving. We’ve partnered with creative and entertainment businesses across the UK and US, from industry giants to innovative startups. Each collaboration is unique, but the goal is always the same: to redefine market positioning or launch new ventures that have a transformative impact on the business. Here's what Melanie Fletcher, CEO of DONE+DUSTED, North America, has to say about working with us: "The Outskirt Collective guided the management team in building a viable business strategy, a clear marketplace offering and a roadmap to building a team that will support success. They are razor sharp, collaborative, understanding and a great asset to any business." If you'd like to know more about working with us, slide into our DMs: Rachel Raphael ⚡️Caroline Sparkes

Last week we delivered another Agency Hackers masterclass for their network of brilliant agencies. This time on 'how to refine your pitch process' - some really interesting discussion and observations from the group - including the right questions to ask from the outset, how to avoid ghosting and what to put on your final slide. Below is a short extract of some of the techniques we discussed. If you want to know more or want to pick our brains, please let us (Rachel Raphael and ⚡️Caroline Sparkes) know.

Next week, the Outskirt Collective will lead an Agency Hackers Masterclass on improving your pitch process to increase conversion rates. (link in comments) During the session, we will discuss how to sharpen your pitch game, how to set the right tone from the outset, how listening is more important than speaking, how the realities of modern day pitching are changing and crucially how to formulate a win strategy. In case you missed our previous Agency Hackers Masterclass on how to write agency credentials, we are happy to share an overview of the deck with you (just get in touch with Rachel Raphael or ⚡️Caroline Sparkes). During the session, we shared our insights including why you should not send a standard credentials deck, how the client is actually the protagonist and the right questions to ask before you put pen to paper. 

IWD's Inspire Inclusion is a theme that resonates with us at the Outskirt Collective. The reality is, the agency world has not been traditionally inclusive; it has often thrived on privilege, maintained a predominantly male leadership, and exhibited a resistance to change. However, the world is changing rapidly, and so must our approach. Marketing agencies, fundamentally, exist to alter customer behaviours, help clients sell products, and propel the growth of their businesses. So, how can embracing and championing inclusion help in that endeavour?  We (Rachel Raphael and ⚡️Caroline Sparkes) founded the Outskirt Collective at a time when we were both consulting, having both left full-time marketing agencies after reaching senior positions, both with young families to balance with work. In recognising the challenges faced, we understand that our journey mirrors that of numerous women in the industry.  On International Women's Day, we observe with concern the regular LinkedIn posts depicting senior women exiting the industry or taking a step back to spend time with family. While acknowledging the circumstances and sometimes privilege that affords these women such opportunities, we mourn the loss of their vast and brilliant experience to the agency world. The statistics from the Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership (WACL) association underscore this reality, revealing “while 70% of junior to manager positions are filled by women, this percentage drops significantly to 37.5% at the C-suite level” (source: WACL (Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership ), Aug 2023). At the Outskirt Collective, we firmly advocate for the transformative power of diversity and inclusion. We firmly believe that integrating diverse perspectives and crucially experiences is not merely beneficial but is a critical component for fostering innovation and driving business growth—both for individuals and companies alike. Through our collaboration with business, our ability to include all viewpoints into our work through our Collective, we aim to illuminate the path toward more inclusive ways of working. On International Women's Day, our mission is to inspire inclusion and be a force for positive change and progress. #internationalwomensday #iwd2024 #inspireinclusion #investinwomen

It’s been a year on the Outskirts (what a year!), looking in on businesses to give them fresh perspectives on growth. A year ago this week, we (Rachel Raphael & ⚡️Caroline Sparkes) founded the Outskirt Collective to provide business leaders with senior-level expertise, an outsider viewpoint, and the necessary framework & foundations for strategic growth planning, ultimately paving the way for sustained success. In our experience, we saw that agency leaders and business founders often lacked the objective support to navigate through the noise to find, secure and expand their business. We firmly believe that the most successful and profitable approach to growth involves taking pause, reflecting, and taking stock to evaluate where they are going and whether their actions will get them there. The Outskirt Collective was born to bring fresh approaches from experienced industry insiders outside the business. Our strength lies in understanding how to approach client challenges with empathy and, when needed, collaborating with the right senior experts to drive solutions. As a collective, our philosophy is about giving leaders access to the right senior skills & experience to support them effectively. Reflecting on the past year, we are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with clients in LA, Liverpool, London, and New York. Our projects have spanned launching new offerings for global companies, repositioning marketing agencies, crafting growth strategies for founders and unlocking value for digitally-led businesses. We’ve worked in the worlds of entertainment, culture, advertising, events, influencers, and social media. We've developed value propositions, operating models and growth strategies that are already seeing success and sustained growth. We are now off to an exciting start to 2024 working with companies in the U.S. and U.K. and expanding our collective with like-minded collaboration partners. A huge thank you to all our friends and colleagues for your support. It is very much appreciated. And if anyone needs a view from the Outskirts, do get in touch.

We ran a growth workshop with the incredibly talented founder of The Good Egg agency Natalia Cortazar last week. We focused on the agency's growth strategy for 2024 including agency positioning, quick wins and & how to build their pipeline to hit targets. We wish them every success as they are a cracking agency (pardon the pun!)

The nights are drawing in, you’ve switched the heating on and the telly blankets are firmly nestled on the sofa. Its the time of year to reflect on and learn from 2023.  Its also the moment to look forward and make sure that 2024 will be your year. The year where you will be brilliant, your business will grow and your teams will shine. The year where you’ll have a positive impact on those around you. At Outskirt Collective, we champion taking a short step back, reflecting on your business and ambitions in order to move forwards. Our ‘Pause for Thought’ framework and workshop can help you plan for the business you want to be in 2024. No nonsense - just a clear roadmap. With only a few days left in our calendar, reach out to Rachel Raphael or ⚡️Caroline Sparkes if you'd like us to be a catalyst in shaping your path forward.