Interview: Karen Morris, Reg&Co, Forging a sponsorship alliance culture

The alliance between cultural and business innovation is often expressed metaphorically but rarely in bricks and mortar.

My recent experience of Somerset House gave me the understanding that the building and its august heritage is used as a place to incubate and curate not just artistic talent but business innovators too. It is a place where location, visitors and the building’s architectural presence all help to harness creativity.

One of the businesses housed at Somerset House had been increasingly on FMBE’s radar as a refreshing voice in sponsorship and sponsorship activation.

Reg&Co had been in our news regularly for its engaging handling of sponsorship properties including the Royal Institution’s famous Christmas Lectures and Photo London. Then in the Tribe & Trusted survey we also received a snapshot of their activation at Skate at Somerset House with Instax.

It seemed a good moment to put out the call to founder and director Karen Morris to chart the progression of the agency, which launched as Brand Meets Brand and received what she refers to as a reboot in 2017, emerging as Reg&Co.

Reg&Co is an agency with a clear and direct premise, to bring organisations together to make great things happen and to  create value.

The agency adds: “We work with clients whose visions we believe in and whose values we respect.”

One of the case studies where that premise and those values combine is with the aforementioned Royal Institution. The Christmas Lectures event series have a unique place in British culture.

“The Royal Institution doesn’t have sponsorship in house. When we came in, they were looking for a way of unlocking the potential for a long-term relationship. The key to that is that the topic of the lectures is secondary – this year it was AI. However, the series is always about young people interested in science.”

Reg&Co secured CGI as a sponsor.

CGI, one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world is challenged to reach the engineers of the future. So, As Karen explains, they use the association with the Lectures as part of their own school’s outreach programme shares the Ri’s dedication to fostering a passion for science and discovery. This partnership underscores their commitment to supporting education and promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects among young learners.

When the sponsorship was announced, Tara McGeehan, President of CGI in the UK and Australia, said: “At CGI, we are deeply passionate about supporting STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics] education in schools and growing the innovative pool of talent which we recruit from. Myself, and many of my colleagues, have been avid viewers of the Christmas Lectures since our own school days and appreciate the inspiration and understanding that they can bring to seemingly complex topics. The Christmas Lectures from The Royal Institution provide us with a platform to engage with schools and young individuals, facilitating discussions about the importance of science in society and our daily lives.”

Reg&Co has also sought further partnership for the Lectures and found a natural ally in TikTok. “Since adding TikTok as a partner an important connection to 12-18 year olds has been reached and we have grown the RI’s following on TikTok”, Karen told me.

The CGI sponsorship is a three-year deal, allowing time for a strategy to develop.

Strategy plays a key role in in the long-term connection between Photo London, an annual event that is nowadays hosted at Somerset House, and Nikon who have been a sponsor for many years. The association dates back prior to the event being located at Somerset House. These days Nikon supports the Emerging Photographer award for which part of the prize is to be exhibited at the Nikon gallery at Somerset House the following year. “Our role for Nikon is one of activating and facilitating.” Reg&Co work the relationship with an open “whatever it takes’ mindset. Through time Nikon has engaged with Photo London with tours, workshops and events as well as the branded connection.

The brand experience work completed for Instax, among other partners agreed for the winter Skate season at Somerset House is a natural extension of the agency’s core work. The Instax pop-up was in Somerset House’s Lancaster Place. It was an ‘arctic adventure’ van where visitors could stop and be photographer on Instax cameras by one of two brand ambassadors – who then gave the photos away for free. 2000 visitors per day interacted with the pop up, which saw activity for two weekends in December 2022.

Karen told me that the relationship with Instax is one they know well. Agency and brand combined again in August this year at Art of London in Leicester Square where visitors could become a part of an eyes closed meditative artwork by posing for an Instax snap. “That was a tactical pop-up”, says Karen “It reached an engaged audience that was an important target for Instax”.

At the time of writing, Reg&Co has just come through a very busy Christmas and New Year season, including sponsorship partners in action at the Kingdom of Winter, the UK’s largest indoor winter event, that closed its doors on 8^th January.

Reg&Co sourced relationships with Marriot Bonvoy and Hotel Chocolat for the event.

Francesca Archibald, Director of Marketing, Marriott London commented:

“We are thrilled to be offering this benefit to all our members and with the location of the Aloft London ExCel Hotel situated on the doorstep, partnering with Kingdom of Winter makes us the perfect option for visitors attending the UK’s largest indoor winter event this Christmas.

As we move out of winter and into Summer, FMBE News has continued to hear about new Reg&Co projects. Karen is unsurprisingly positive about the direction of travel. She told me:

“We look to continue growth in 2024 aligned with our focus on delivering real tangible results for our clients. It is our plan to look at additional resource and maybe expand the team and potentially an extension to the services we offer. Watch this space …”