We can’t take credit for developing the idea, since the method of partnership and equity ownership for ideas has been around since the creation of the corporate structure, but you could file this one under “things finally starting to change for the better”. We read last Monday that the the new management team of Haggar (remember those cheesy khaki slacks from the 80s?) has decided to strike a unique partnership with Miami agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky + Benjamin to become the agency to recreate the brand.

According to Dave Ibsen, the partnership is unique on two levels. 1). CP+B+B will hold a minority equity stake in the company, so they are putting their agency fees where the mouths are. And 2). The company claims that this relationship will transcend the typical client/agency boundaries, and include aspects of product development, new business development, marketing, experience design, digital marketing, viral marketing, and more.
Well, it seems that the fellas down in Miami have paying closer attention to thehappycorp then we thought. We hate to break it to ya, but thehappycorp has been preaching this brand of client partnerships since Doug founded the company in 2003. After years of seeing his creative ideas used to bolster the success of agency clients, while seeing the agency benefit little from its intellectual property Doug made a commitment when starting thehappycorp that we would seek equity stakes and royalty payments in as many relationships as possible. We are currently working with 4 partners in this arrangement and we continue to engage this stance with future projects. It is encouraging to see this trend taking hold with one of the world’s largest and best agencies and we are confident that this modern approach to the service industry is greater than just another compensation trend.

You can read a little more about this new deal on David’s Blog: “Five Blogs Before Lunch”.