Many new and mid-level innovators understand the importance of networking and developing meaningful partnerships, but are not sure how to approach, maintain and grow meaningful, long-term partnerships that translate into media exposure and revenue down the line. Marketing and outreach is an essential part of any organization's long term strategy, particularly for projects that take place in smaller, global locales.

Universal Creative Solutions assists mid level innovators and social enterprises to scale their businesses through strategic marketing and business planning, with a focus on partnership building for long term growth. With even a modest budget, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish!

My personal experience as a serial social-entrepreneur, and my work with organizations such as Ashoka, Africa.com, Afribiz, Kopernik, Operation HOPE and consulting with NGOs throughout America, Brazil and Sub-Saharan Africa have given me insight into what is missing for small-mid level organizations on a fundamental level. Each social enterprise must design a marketing plan that should be carefully balanced between online and traditional marketing strategies to make people feel invested in their innovation. Developing and maintaining meaningful partnerships is something that is sometimes neglected because there is not enough time in the day to pursue all potential resources on top of everything else.

There are few boutique SMEs that focus on supporting social entrepreneurs and social innovations through creative partnership building strategies that compliment online and traditional marketing. Through strategic marketing, branding, and key relationship/partnership building, an organization can make itself visible and attractive to the right investors and supporters on a small budget, therefore scaling itself in terms of both cultural and physical capital.

1- Identify the mission and goals of the organization (core values, long term goals and programmatic themes). 2- Determine the needs of the organization to reach those goals. 3- Develop a customized strategy that takes into account real and intangible resources to accomplish the mission. 4- Ensure there is a system in place to maintain partner relationships and identify (either internally or externally) the best person or team to manage and grow your high level relationships. 5- Continue to find ways to offer value to these relationships. It should not be a one way relationship, but one built on mutual respect, trust and collaboration. 6- Finally, customize products and/or services that can be utilized or promoted through this relationship matrix.

There are no peers or competitors in the sense that, each organization has a unique set of needs that need to be creatively solved within the context of their long term goals. Many innovators simply do not have the time to go into depth and explore all of the possible resources that can be brought to the table. Partnership building is part branding, part marketing, part personality matching, and part creative thinking. These skills typcially do not all reside in one person...usually it's lodged within the brain trust of the CEO or Executive team. Executive Directors and CEOs of innovations cannot do it all, and so many resources are not captured or utilized. This is a unique business model in that the success of its replication is contingent on the skills of it's creator. It's not a one size fits all innovation.