By Alok Chakraborty
Brand collaboration is a mutual coming together of brands for a specific campaign, promotion, or advertisement aimed at creating a buzz around a product or service that mutually benefits all the participating entities. When carefully planned, brand collaboration strategies can solidify the positioning of the brands, present a unique selling proposition to the consumers, and above all, provide a unique opportunity for brands to experience a crossover between audience groups.
The defining objective of any such collaboration is to reach out to a broader audience other than a company’s niche or regular audience, and to create a long-lasting impression in the minds of consumers.
In addition, a brand collaboration offers unique advantages that traditional forms of marketing usually don’t, such as:
- It facilitates a crossover between the audiences of the participating brands. Audiences usually stick to brands they are comfortable with. But when brands collaborate, audiences are inadvertently exposed to new brands.
- It can give birth to a unique selling proposition as it expands the usability of the product or service. By partnering with another brand, you can find ways to pitch and position your brand that you hadn’t thought of before.
- Launching a specific product line or a seasonal sale when paired with a complementary brand increases the marketing campaign’s overall effect on consumers. Many brands have successfully leveraged this strategy to launch and release products.
Learning from successful brand collaborations
No matter the size or type of your business, you can likely find a method of brand collaboration that benefits your own company as well as your collaborator. To find the right partnership, you’ll want to become familiar with some of the most common types of brand collaboration.
1. Joint marketing campaign: McDonald’s and Coca-Cola
Approach: Imagine a McDonald’s burger and fries without a Coke. Unimaginable, right? In a joint-marketing campaign, two brands pair up in order to augment or complement the usability of their products.
Dating back to 1955, the brand collaboration between McDonald’s and Coca-Cola is considered one of the best collaborations in marketing history. Today McDonald’s is Coca-Cola’s largest restaurant customer, and over the years the two companies have collaborated in product promotions, market expansion, and product development, including when Coke helped McDonald’s develop a line of smoothies.
Outcome: Coca-Cola is the leading carbonated soft drink company in the United States with a market share of 46.3%; last year McDonald’s was the “most valuable fast-food brand in the world” with an estimated brand value of $196.5 billion. Former McDonald’s executive Dick Starmann said, “Those two companies helped each other grow and expand around the globe. Neither one would be what they are today without the other.”
2. Influencer campaign: Michael Jordan and Nike
Approach: Typical among fashion and sports brands, influencer campaigns and collaborations are based on leveraging the social presence and fan-following of an A-star influencer or celebrity. Celebrities cater to a massive audience because of their mega fan bases—and brands simply love this. The coming together of Michael Jordan and Nike is easily regarded as the best influencer campaign and collaboration in the history of sports and fashion.
This collaboration, however, involved a massive risk. In 1984 when Jordan signed a $2.5 million deal with Nike over five years, he was a relatively unknown basketball player and not a household name. The following year, Nike launched the famous Air Jordan shoe. The shoes were marketed as a symbol of Jordan’s athleticism and style and quickly became a sensation, bringing in over $100 million in the first year and establishing Nike as a major player in the basketball shoe market. Jordan’s on-court success and magnetic personality further fueled the brand’s popularity.
Outcome: The Jordan Brand, initially focused on creating basketball footwear and apparel, has expanded into other sports, as well as lifestyle apparel and footwear, and has generated billions of dollars in revenue for both Nike and Jordan. Jordan and Nike have also worked together on philanthropic initiatives. In 2020, they pledged to contribute $100 million over 10 years to organizations “dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.”
It is important to note that influencer campaigns with celebrities can be a costly affair and worth the entire annual marketing budget of a company. However, the rise of micro-influencers offers a good alternative for small businesses.
3. Event partnerships: Red Bull and extreme sports
Approach: Event partnerships rely on promoting a specific event where a brand serves as a major sponsor. Red Bull’s collaboration with extreme sports has been a significant part of the energy drink’s marketing strategy since the early 2000s. The Austrian beverage company sponsors and creates events across a wide range of sports, from motor racing to surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, and more. The company’s commitment to pushing the limits of human performance and creating unique consumer experiences remains a central part of its brand identity.
Outcome: Today, Red Bull owns several soccer teams around the world as well as two Formula One racing teams. At the end 2022, the company employed nearly 16,000 people in 175 countries; revenue was nearly $11 billion U.S. dollars.
4. Co-creating and co-branding: Adidas and Parley for the Oceans
Approach: Co-creating or co-branding is a form of brand collaboration where the collaborating brands come together to create a product or service, each contributing its own USP or feature to the final merchandise. Adidas and Parley for the Oceans is an iconic co-creating brand collaboration.
Adidas is a global sportswear brand known for its apparel, footwear, and accessories. Parley is a nonprofit environmental organization focused on protecting the oceans. In the co-creation process, Parley collects plastic waste from the ocean and Adidas turns the plastic into footwear and apparel. The resulting product line, Adidas Parley, is environmentally friendly, socially responsible, and has raised awareness of the issue of ocean plastic waste.
Outcome: Apart from building a positive brand narrative, the collaboration has provided an ingenious way to use recycled ocean plastics, a tangible solution promoting a circular economy. The success of the Adidas and Parley collaboration has shown that when companies co-create with nonprofit organizations, it can lead to innovative and sustainable solutions that benefit both the environment and business.
5. Licensing and patenting: Disney and Star Wars
Approach: Licensing collaboration is a partnership between two or more companies that allows one company (the licensee) to use the intellectual property, trademarks, or other assets of another company (the licensor) in exchange for a fee or royalty payment.
The collaboration between Disney and Star Wars is a licensing collaboration that began in 2012 when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, the company that created the Star Wars franchise. Since then, Disney has licensed the Star Wars brand and characters to expand Disney’s content and merchandise offerings, as well as provide new experiences, while Star Wars has continued to grow its fan base.
Outcome: Disney has produced several new Star Wars films and TV shows, which have expanded the Star Wars universe. Disney has licensed the Star Wars brand to create a wide range of merchandise, including toys, clothing, books, and video games, which is sold in Disney stores and other retailers around the world. Disney also has also added Star Wars-themed attractions at its theme parks. Overall, the collaboration between Disney and Star Wars has been successful, with both companies benefiting from the partnership.
Special mention: The Cola Wars—an unwilling collaboration
The long-standing marketing and advertising battle between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in which the two brands fight for market dominance can be termed an “unwilling collaboration.” The Cola Wars began in the 1970s with PepsiCo launching the Pepsi Challenge campaign claiming consumers preferred Pepsi over Coke. And thus began the never-ending back and forth between these brands to call out each other—sometimes aggressively—for advertising, product placement, and pricing strategy. This ensured a war of words that continues even today.
But the upside of this war is that both brands produced some of the most brilliant marketing and advertising moments in history. And while it’s difficult to say whether this qualifies as a brand collaboration because of its competitive nature, this battle of the brands remains one of the greatest-ever marketing successes.
If you’re considering a brand collaboration . . .
A brand collaboration can be a smart marketing strategy for a small business. However, when considering a collaboration, you need to ensure the partnership will benefit your brand and there is no conflict of interest with the collaborator.
Also, while collaborating, ensure you do not lose your essence as a brand and do not get overpowered. Align your values with the collaborator, foster mutual respect, and be crystal clear about your intentions for the collaboration.
Brand collaboration FAQs
What is brand collaboration?
Brand collaboration brings together two or more brands for a shared purpose, such as a marketing campaign that mutually benefits the participating brands.
What is the goal of brand collaboration?
Brands collaborate to promote a limited-edition collection, to complement their products, or simply to increase their reach by gaining access to other fan bases.
How do you create a successful brand collaboration?
Target a relevant brand that complements your brand/product/service. Build hype before and after the launch of the partnership. Be as creative you can be in your marketing communications.
About the Author
Post by: Alok Chakraborty
With years of experience in the lifestyle, hospitality, and fashion industries, Alok Chakraborty has curated content for Forbes India, JW Marriott, Tech Mahindra, and the University of Berkeley. A die-hard Manchester United fan, an avid reader, and a crime-documentary binger, he merges his passion with his flair for writing. Alok pairs up his research with critical analysis. At Valasys Media, Alok oversees a team of content writers and works closely with the marketing and design teams.
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