We’ve got people in Spain, France, Finland, and even one team member bouncing across Eastern Europe (soon to be logging in from Colombia).

Since the COVID days, remote work has become second nature (or maybe first nature, depending on how you look at it). And while we wouldn’t trade this lifestyle for anything, Q4 of 2025 reminded us just how powerful both remote and in-person collaboration can be, especially when the people involved are aligned, passionate, and working toward something bigger.

This is the story of two big ICOM projects that unfolded almost simultaneously. One happened entirely online, across time zones and continents. The other was in person, on a tiny Mediterranean island.

Let’s start with the first one.

The power of virtual collaboration

Two years ago, ICOM kicked off one of its most ambitious projects to date: a full brand refresh. Like any proper project of this scale, it wasn’t about a new logo or a sleeker website – this was about real strategic realignment. About reflecting who the organisation is today and where it’s headed next, and how that determines how it presents itself in every touchpoint. 

In true ICOM fashion, this project brought together multiple member agencies from around the globe. Switch had the privilege of articulating the brand foundations – its promise, values, tone of voice, and the story it wants to tell. We were also entrusted with coordinating all the moving parts behind the scenes. A big task, and one we were genuinely excited to take on.

The visual identity was led by Ad Angels in Estonia, the website was crafted by ImageMakers in the US, SEO support came from Espace M in Canada, and the strategic direction was shaped by input from even more agencies worldwide. It became a real-time, real-world case study in international collaboration.

Yes, it meant 5am calls for some, 9pm wrap-ups for others. There were feedback loops, time zone confusion, and plenty of “you are still on mute” moments. But even more than that, it meant growth. Learning, patience, being open-minded, and a shared desire to create something that truly represents this incredible network.

Fast forward to October 2025, and the new ICOM brand went live: bold, confident, and deeply reflective of the network it represents.

All made possible through collaboration from a distance, and yet, with so much closeness.

The magic of meeting in person

A few weeks after launch, we had the opportunity to host the 2025 ICOM EMEA Regional Meeting in Gozo. And let me tell you, while I’ll always advocate for the flexibility that comes with remote working, there’s something undeniably special about gathering in person.

Gozo was a deliberate choice. We’d hosted our last regional meeting in Valletta back in 2018, but this time we wanted to offer something a little different. Slower, more grounded, and a space where agency leaders could pause the day-to-day and actually breathe, reflect, think and connect.

With that in mind, we decided on the theme: “From Gozo, with Growth.”

For a few days, surrounded by the Gozo’s green hills, sea, and silence, we explored what it means to grow – with new business, existing clients, as independent agencies and as a collective. There was strategy, of course, but there was also laughter, late-night chats, spontaneous brainstorms, and the kind of unfiltered conversations that only happen face-to-face, with people who just get it.

Hosting this event was everything we hoped it would be, and more. If I had to pick one word to walk away with (other than the obvious, growth), it’d be joy – because so much good came out of it.

And once again, it was a reminder: when you bring good people together (virtually or in person), magic happens.

These two projects couldn’t have been more different in execution. One happened entirely over screens. The other around shared tables, hidden away from the noise of everyday life, in peaceful Gozo.. But both were driven by the same values: curiosity, collaboration, generosity, and a deep belief in doing meaningful work, together.

And that’s what ICOM is really about. It’s why we’ve been proud members since 2006, and why we’ve worked as their communications partner since 2019. It’s a network that challenges us, inspires us, and reminds us why we do what we do.

So here’s to bold ideas, to remote calls and in-person hugs and to collaboration that works wonders.

The post From virtual meetings to Gozo: a tale of two collaborations with ICOM appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

ICOM is the opposite. It’s a real and thriving network that’s made of like-minded agencies, each one of them striving for excellence in their respective geographies.

In conversations we’ve had over the years, we found that we have a lot in common with many agencies in the network, but none stood out more than how much we share with Olomana Loomis ISC, the ICOM agency in Hawaii. 

It must be the sea air.

Working with another agency is tricky. Here are a few things that make or break the relationship: time constraints, creative disagreements, misunderstandings on intent. These stories are everywhere on the internet.

This is not one of them.

Our relationship with Olomana Loomis ISC started as an experiment: can we help out a fellow agency with design work across continents – with a twelve hour time difference, and a different culture, at play?

Spoiler alert: We can.

Here’s what that was like.

Creative relationships driven by both sides

We started working with Olomana Loomis ISC in 2021. At the time, we were already working remotely regardless of the opening of offices and buildings on the island, so when we had to get cracking with a partner who we’d work with remotely, it made no real difference to our workflow. As for Olomana Loomis ISC, they were growing despite the pandemic and needed additional capacity to accommodate their needs in the community. It seemed like a reasonable match.

There was the small matter of a 12-hour time difference, though.

It turns out that the time difference proved to be the  biggest asset in our relationship. It helped that Olomana Loomis ISC were like-minded people who loved their work as much as we do, and that we could work with them in cycles.

The twelve hour time difference allowed us to be more flexible in what we could deliver: overnight, for Olomana Loomis, the time difference turned us into a 24-hour agency where requests were fulfilled like this:

1. Olomana Loomis ISC would send in a request to Switch during our night time.
2. In our daytime, we work on it and send any feedback or questions by the end of our day.
3. During our night, they’d review the work and get back to us.
4. We worked on feedback the day after, while Olomana Loomis ISC slept.

Twelve hours seems like a lot of time when you’re working. With Olomana Loomis ISC, it seems like nothing – like they are  just down the road from us, a team we could connect to seamlessly thanks to that difference.

Starting strong 

The first project we worked on was for one of their bigger clients, a company that needed new staff. Governmental benefits had kicked in in Hawaii, and interest for new jobs was low despite the increased demand. 

Olomana Loomis ISC needed to help their clients showcase what a great place to work their client was, and they needed help getting the ads ready. This is where we came in: we became an extension of their studio. 

They shot the content we needed that would run on their client’s social media feeds.

From that we designed the ads that would be used in the communication.

Their client loved the ads and the campaign performed excellently. A resounding success all around!

What next?

That was the testing ground: the proving project that would show both of our agencies that this relationship would work. It was – and is – a success, and a team effort, and after the first project ended, more came.

We helped them design a brochure, as well as editorial ads. We helped them with bigger projects too – always on the digital or the creative side, using materials that they sent in ahead of time.

By now, we’ve been working with them for a year and a half on projects that are interesting and that have  led to some amazing opportunities.

For example: we’re welcoming two of Olomana Loomis ISC’s team members to Malta for a week, and we’re planning on working on our relationship further while they are here. Each ICOM agency has its own strengths, and ours work well with Olomana Loomis ISC’s. 

Lessons Learned

None of this would have been possible without forming part of the ICOM Network.

But even as part of the network, it takes individual effort to make something like this work. Alan Tang, Olomana Loomis’ CEO, works tirelessly to build connections around the globe. 

ICOM is the key to these relationships, but a key gathers dust if you leave it on the dresser, it’s up to you to get up and open doors with it.

We’re really excited to see what the future of this relationship will bring – watch this space for updates!

The post Working with Olomana Loomis ISC appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.

It was only possible virtually. 

The annual ICOM world meeting is a big deal for the member agencies; it’s our chance to connect and learn, to teach what the previous year has taught us and see what we can do differently, do better, do right. 

Hosting it is nerve-wracking, in a good way. 

Attending it changes the way you look at things. 

Missing it is terrible, even if it can’t be helped. With so many agencies in far-flung corners of the world, it’s not always easy to connect and learn, and the one opportunity to do so was waylaid by pandemic measures. 

The 2020 meet-up couldn’t be held, for pretty obvious reasons. 

In 2021, the ICOM World Meeting went virtual. 

Initial caveats

Part of the beauty of the ICOM World Meeting is the ability to network. 

When you take a meeting online, that capacity for networking is a little harder to do. There’s the issue of network connections giving out, the chaos of a multinational online call, the problems of dealing with working from home: it isn’t easy. 

Taking the ICOM World Meeting online wasn’t going to be easy either. Over 60 member agencies in varying time zones logging in at once was going to be a strain on any network, and there was the issue of finding guest speakers, of allowing for time to network, of making sure people could tune in whenever (and from wherever) they wanted without feeling as though they were tuning into any regular international conference. 

ICOM is about connections: from independent agency to independent agency, from advertisers to the audiences they speak to. That connection had to come through. 

It did. 

Format

I’ve been to multiple online events over the past 8 years, and this was up there with the best. 

The fact that we could speak to people from around the world about a variety of topics, and the fact that it was open to entire agencies instead of just agency leaders, was such a good approach to an event that had to deal with multiple audiences tuning in from different countries. 

At Switch, we also commented about what was happening on our internal group chat, and this really helped to get a good understanding of how everyone in the team was processing the same information, and got us some really good insights on the talks. 

Obviously, it was hard not seeing our ICOM friends and that human connection was much softer than it was in person, but the opportunities offered by the virtual format made up for it. If it means that we can have more of these events, I would love to use this format, or some similar hybrid, to open up ICOM to bring in more people. 

Content

There was a lot of good content, so I’ll keep it to just the highlights that stuck with me over the course of two days – otherwise I’ll still be writing this post by the next ICOM meeting! 

• Brent Hodgin and Sir Martin Sorrell served as excellent reminders that we, as agencies, need to be constantly on our toes, pushing the envelope farther and driving clients to do new stuff. We need to constantly bring new stuff to the table for our clients, and make sure that we don’t stagnate, because if we do, we will lose all of our business. After all, the ‘regular’ stuff that we do can be very easily replaced, even if it won’t be as good. 

• Espace-M, C-K, and Quarry complemented Brent and Sir Martin’s presentations perfectly. The tools they gave us are invaluable in making us more useful to our clients. Advanced social listening, SEO, and lead capturing strategies are all tools that agencies can implement internally. At Switch, we already do SEO and lead capturing, but advanced social listening is a new one to us, and one we’ll be trying out!

• Kaya and Richard really made us think about the future of the industry, and of the world, and what we can do to improve. I think that, as agencies, we definitely have a responsibility to try and make things better and to help the world we live in in whatever capacity we can. 

Technicalities

The thing I appreciated most about the ICOM 2021 Virtual World Meeting was how Emma, Bob, and Marc took time in between talks to make sense of everything. You never felt lost or like you didn’t know what was happening around you because there was ample time and space to take in the information that you’d just heard, and the question feature came in very handy to clarify points that you didn’t quite understand or were struggling to understand. 

I missed the networking; that’s a part of the World Meeting that’s hard to replicate in the virtual space. However, I think it worked – it was easier to connect than I thought it would be, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the technology improves over time if we have more virtual meetings. 

Overall, the ICOM 2021 Virtual World Meeting was a resounding success for us, and we can’t wait for the next one, no matter whether it’s virtual or in real life.

The post Thoughts on the ICOM World Conference appeared first on Switch - Digital & Brand.