Tracy Sorgiovanni, Managing Director at We Are Collider, has put in a real stint. Half a decade leading our award-winning agency through some of the toughest years the industry has seen. In this wide-ranging interview, Tracy reflects on the company’s evolution, the unique strengths that set us apart, and her aspirations for where we might go next.
What has been the most significant change or evolution you’ve witnessed in the company?
Although the year of Covid isn’t one I’d like to repeat in a hurry, it did drive a real evolution in the company. We looked properly at what clients need and structured the post-Covid agency around that, having a lean team of brilliant senior experts who are able to lead and deliver, supported by tried and tested freelance support to scale up when needed. We’ve been able to grow organically from there and are far more efficient. We also worked hard to expedite our virtual and digital offerings which has been a springboard to further investment and expansion in more recent years.
So what makes working at We Are Collider so special?
Easy answer: talent. We’ve assembled an exceptionally talented group of people, and they have made my tenure here a joy. A real mix of ‘grown-ups’ who have been doing this for a while; and younger future superstars.
Our size also means that every project has the eyes of the senior team over it, which allows us to not only deliver the very best work but maintain our relationships year-on-year, as the client knows we have our best people on the job.
And how do you maintain that distinctiveness?
Firstly, by being selective. We’re picky with who and what we work on, and we only want to work on the projects where we can actually add value. We have shifted our mindset so our goals are less about chasing vanity numbers and more about delivering great work for clients that value what we do.
Our focus on behavioural science has also opened up some interesting doors. Using a behavioural science approach to creating experiences has helped us develop our own IP and really nail down which levers clients can pull to influence the effectiveness of their experiences. This gives our work a strategic rigour that really resonates with our clients.
What keeps you motivated to continue growing with the company?
As a person, I’m easily bored. So I enjoy the fact that literally no two days are the same.
We get to work with a variety of clients across different strategic and creative challenges, and we often punch well above our weight in terms of calibre of client and scale of work. I get to stick my nose into a lot of the work we do, and I think if we were a bigger agency, I would miss the ability to have my finger in all sorts of different pies.
We also have a very low staff turnover. As people have stayed, I’ve got to know my team over the long term, and I love to see them thriving in their roles. It’s nice to feel like we’re genuinely making a difference in their working lives and career progression.
What would you say has been your proudest achievement?
Hmm. That’s a tough one. It’s like trying to choose your favourite child. We’ve had some great client and pitch wins but I guess my proudest achievement is our consistently high staff and client satisfaction. If our staff are happy, motivated and enjoying their work, they will do a good job, the clients are happy and we get to win more work and can be more selective with what we do, leading to more happy people.
What are your aspirations for the company over the next five years?
To continue to serve brave and exciting clients who value the brilliant work we do, and to expand even further outside of our existing client portfolio – both in terms of sectors and brands but also geographically. Last year, 80% of our work was delivered outside of the UK which is a trend I want to look at more closely.
I want to continue our growth towards being a top-tier global agency within our sector.
I’d also like to see further expansion into innovation and emerging technologies. As we blend and blur the lines between physical and digital experiences, there’s a real opportunity for us to set out our stall. We’ve not even begun to see the full potential of Web 3 or Metaverse platforms, and I’m excited to see how we can use AI to analyse visitor behaviours and then hyper-personalise and adapt experiences. Obviously, our investment into innovation lab Arq will help.
It does feel like we’re building on the successes of the last couple of years and about to springboard into a period of managed growth and I’m really excited to see where that’s going to take us.
Finally, I suppose my real aspiration is to give my competition the jitters. I want them to see us on a pitch list and get nervous. That feels like real success!
