About

For many brands, partnerships have become an increasingly attractive route to growth. They offer access to new audiences, new markets and new sources of relevance at a time when traditional marketing channels are becoming more expensive and less effective.

Yet every partnership comes with a question: does it strengthen the brand, or dilute it?

Fine & Country has built one of the UK's most trusted property brands through carefully selected collaborations with organisations including Range Rover and Diptyque. Rather than pursuing reach for its own sake, the brand has adopted a disciplined approach to partnerships, assessing opportunities through the lens of shared values, audience alignment and long-term brand equity.

In this session, Emilie Despois, Chief Marketing Officer at Fine & Country, explores the opportunities and tensions that sit at the heart of partnership-led growth. Drawing on her experience of building a premium global brand, Emilie will share how partnerships are evaluated, which opportunities have been pursued, which have been declined, and how the business balances commercial ambition with the need to protect trust.

Discussion points will include:

• How CMOs should evaluate potential partnerships beyond short-term reach and awareness
• The role partnerships can play in driving sustainable brand growth
• When commercial opportunity conflicts with brand integrity
• What separates value-creating collaborations from those that risk diluting the brand
• Why trust remains one of the most important assets a CMO is responsible for protecting

For CMOs navigating increasing pressure to deliver growth whilst safeguarding reputation, this session offers a practical perspective on one of the most important balancing acts in modern marketing.