How strong partnerships fuel brand growth

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"If you just rock up only with your self-interest and expect people to trust you, it’s just never going to happen. Nor should it."

Strong brands are fuelled by the alchemy that comes from powerful partnerships. Selina Sykes, Unilever's Global Lead for Digital Media and Commerce, knows what it takes to build partnerships that drive growth. In this episode of The Persuasion Game, she shares her approach to how to collaborate with partners and thoughts on how to build trust to create & transform brands.?

Unpacking the trust equation

At the heart of great partnerships is trust, which has been defined as "Reliability, credibility, and intimacy divided by self-orientation and self-interest."

• Credibility comes from delivering on promises
• Reliability builds confidence even in uncertainty
• Intimacy is created through listening and shared experiences.?

But trust quickly falls apart when self-interest takes over. As Selina put it, if you show up only focused on your own agenda, people won’t trust you (nor should they.) By showing up with mutual value in mind, vs. what the individuals can gain, teams can ensure every partnership is built on genuine collaboration with a mutually beneficial goal in mind.

Beyond empathy: taking action that matters

It’s common for marketers to talk about the need for consumer empathy. But Selina argues this doesn’t go far enough. Empathy helps you understand others, but compassion is what drives change. Unlike empathy, which can feel like ‘sitting’ with feelings passively, compassion asks – now what? "Empathy is, you understand what’s going on for someone. Compassion is, right, I understand what’s going on and how can I take action and drive that forward?"

In marketing, this means turning consumer insights into real solutions. In leadership, it’s about moving beyond recognition of a situation to actively recognising your individual role in supporting and empowering teams. True impact comes not just from understanding, but from acting on it.

Reliability, credibility, and intimacy

Being willing to unlearn and challenge?

Transformation isn’t just about adopting new strategies, it’s about rejecting your own rigidity of thinking. As Selina put it, "Everything you’re unlearning was helpful at some time. There’s a reason why you learn - but it’s about saying those things aren’t helpful anymore."

She also questioned the value or ‘seeming alignment’ – recognising that the danger lies in when people seem to agree but are not actively engaging or feeling invested in a strategy. Being willing and able to have the hard conversations, vs. accepting ‘alignment’ as the ideal outcome, is a key unlearning we should all get comfortable with.?

Three lessons from Selina Sykes on building stronger partnerships

1. Invest in trust. Strong partnerships are built on honesty, reliability, and delivering on commitments. Transparency and follow-through are essential.
2. Move beyond empathy. Understanding consumer needs is only the first step - real impact comes from taking action and creating meaningful solutions, whether as a brand or as a leader.
3. Challenge alignment. The best partnerships don’t just agree; they push boundaries, embrace bold ideas, and challenge each other to achieve more.

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