This November we celebrated a major milestone – Boster Group’s 20th anniversary. From a tiny operation at my kitchen table in Notting Hill to an award-winning consultancy, it has been a pleasure and honour to serve as a trusted advisor to some of the most innovative companies and cultural institutions in the UK and around the world. Together, we have cultivated cross sector partnerships that have had a lasting social impact. Through these collaborations, I have seen first-hand how we can do more together than apart.
Quite literally, we could not have done this without your support. Thank you for your wise counsel, kind introductions, friendship, and for trusting us with your business. We are excited to mark this occasion with the launch of our new website – one that we feel accurately reflects who we are and where we are headed.
Reflecting on all that we have achieved together in the past 20 years, a few highlights stand out that truly reflect the power of partnerships:
In 2016, we collaborated with the Gap, Inc. Foundation team to develop a cross sector partnership model to scale their global social impact programs. With a focus on the financial empowerment of (primarily female-identifying) garment workers and the improvement of sustainable environmental practices, these programmes improve the lives of disadvantaged groups across the developing world while also boosting the company’s bottom line. Over four years, the platform has expanded to 7 more countries, reaching more than 500,000 participants.
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Bombay Sapphire was looking for innovative ways to demonstrate its commitment to the creative community. Boster Group forged a partnership with the Design Museum and artist Camille Walala to create the ‘Creativity is Essential’ Supermarket. Part exhibition, part essential shop, all items in the store were wrapped in packaging designed by an emerging artist. The project generated substantial six figure revenue, which supported the Design Museum’s emerging artists fund. We were also thrilled that it won 5 Cannes Lions, as well as The 2021 Drum PR Award for Best Use of Creativity.
The BNP Paribas AccessArt25 initiative grew out of a multi-year partnership that Boster Group negotiated with BNP Paribas and Tate Britain. In addition to sponsoring the Turner Prize, the partnership offered young people under the age of 25 free access to the Turner Prize exhibition for the first month of its opening. In 2019, we completed a project with the bank to embed their AccessArt25 programme into other arts partnerships, and are now working to extend the programme digitally so that disadvantaged young people will have greater access to world-class art, career support and education. To date, this project has reached more than 50,000 young people, exceeded targets of reaching minority students, and won Best Arts and Cultural Sponsorship at the UK 2020/21 Sponsorship Awards as well as Best Sponsorship Activation at the 2021 ICE Awards.
Thank you again for being a part of the Boster Group journey. We are excited to see all that we can achieve together in the years to come.