The best results are always the product of a collaborative agency-client partnership.

This doesn’t mean you have to babysit an agency or be involved in the minutiae of everything they do. But, it does mean you have to stay involved in strategy, key decisions and thought leadership to empower the partner you’re entrusting with your reputation.

One of DUO’s best examples of collaboration is Veeam Software.

Since the company opened an office in South Africa in 2012, it has grown by more than 80% year-on-year, in line with global momentum. Veeam’s goal: to become a billion dollar company in the next five years by enabling the always-on business by providing availability for the modern data centre.

Over the past 18 months, DUO has worked very closely with Veeam’s local virtualisation evangelist to build the company’s profile through thought leadership.

At the end of March, DUO joined more than 15 other global agencies at Veeam’s inaugural Global PR Summit in Barcelona, which included an awards ceremony.

In testimony to DUO’s focus on building strong agency-client partnerships, we were recognised as “Most Collaborative Agency 2013” for our regular contact with the local team, productive exchange of ideas, strategic input, autonomy, responsiveness and access to the local press.

“While selecting the best performer in this category, we asked the opinion of our regional field team, and DUO was an absolute winner according to the feedback collected,” said Yulia Poslavskaya, senior public and analyst relations manager at Veeam Software. “Our DUO account manager is always in contact with the Veeam South African team, which is extremely important for building up a local pipeline of relevant news, generating new ideas and strong coverage results.

We admire DUO’s approach of looking for new opportunities at the country level, coming up with really creative and valuable PR solutions. We are looking forward to our further fruitful cooperation,” she says.

Clients with a deep understanding of their industry, a product that just works, and the willingness to collaborate will have the best possible chances of PR success.