Alliance of Independent Agencies Welcomes Kathryn Strachan as Member Collaboration Leader

Alliance of Independent Agencies announces Kathryn Strachan as new member collaboration leader. The role of member collaboration leader will be to enable members to grow in association with each other by creating opportunities to connect, learn, share and collaborate through a series of live and virtual networking events.

"I'm delighted to partner with the Alliance of Independent Agencies to create a community of like-minded agency leaders. I look forward to meeting everyone at the next event”. 

Kathryn is the owner and managing director of Copy House, an award-winning content marketing agency specialising in technology and FinTech content.

Kathryn started her career agency-side before striking out on her own. She’s taken Copy House from ground zero to over a £1 million turnover within three years, turning Copy House into a successful technology content marketing agency that services the likes of Klarna and Meta.

Alliance of Independent Agencies sat down with Kathryn to ask her about her new role as member collaboration leader: 

Q> How would you define the role of 'Member Collaboration Lead'?

Kathryn> My job is to bring the community together so we can learn from each other, find opportunities for collaboration and generate new business. I primarily do this by making sure people feel comfortable coming to in-person events and have fun while they’re there.

Q> Inside of a growing membership led organisation, why is member to member collaboration important?

Kathryn> It’s all about who you know. Building strong networks and connecting with others is one of the best routes to fast-paced growth.

Q> How can our smaller agencies leverage collaboration opportunities to fuel agency growth? 

Kathryn> The biggest challenge small agencies have is getting their name known. Growing your share of voice is essential for attracting new clients. As a small agency, partnering with bigger agencies is a great way to grow as you can host co-sponsored events, collaborate on projects (for example, projects that might be too small for the larger agencies or within niche specialisms), and help each other to thrive.

Q> How can agencies within our membership get stated on collaborating with others in the network?

Kathryn Focus on getting your own marketing up and running. By having your marketing running, you can then create opportunities for collaboration. For example, inviting a potential partner onto a podcast or webinar - then you can get to know each other and build relationships before a commercial opportunity arises.

Q> What opportunities could be created through being more engaged within the Alliance community? 

Kathryn> The Alliance is a great place to meet other agencies but also get buy-in from your team. We’ve really appreciated their training sessions for our learning and development initiatives but are also looking forward to getting to know more people via the in-person events.

Q> Tell us why you think the Alliance asked you to the leader for member collaboration? 

Kathryn> I think it’s because of my strong network. I’ve put concentrated effort into building my network and personal brand. For over two years, I’ve had a target of connecting with 50 new people every month so have met thousands of people in the process – some of which have become dear friends, clients and even employees. I’ve also cultivated a strong following on LinkedIn with over 9,000 followers. You could say that I’m a super connector.

Q> Tell us something about yourself our members would find interesting and don’t know about you yet?

Kathryn> Hablo un poco espanol..

I speak a little Spanish and spend two hours every week at Spanish lessons. I picked it up during my year of running CopyHouse from Latin America.

Q> What’s the secret to networking?

Kathryn> Genuinely want to help people. When I met someone, I’m always looking for a way to help them…be it by making an introduction, sharing my knowledge or some other way. Helping people is the best way to be memorable.

Q> So what can we look forward to?

Kathryn> I’d love for you to come join me at some of the upcoming events 

The Alliance has had the pleasure of having Kathryn as the key speaker on one of its virtual GreenJam sessions this April. GreenJam is just one of the event series the Alliance regularly host for its agency community. Feel free to take a peek at the upcoming events by clicking here!

The Alliance represents, amplifies and supports the independent agency sector. Are you an Alliance member? Whether you are a small, medium, or large independent agency, membership is designed to support your needs. To find out more email Terry Martin at terry@allindependentagencies.org.