Co-Branding Is Trending Again

There always seems to be a new marketing trend on the horizon so is co-branding the next “it” trend? Whether you call it a partnership, collaboration or anything in that realm it all falls under the marketing concept of co-branding. So what exactly makes co-branding the next it thing? 

As more brands clamor into the marketplace, the competition will become stiff. In order for newcomers to quickly scale their brand, they’ll adopt co-branding as a way to build brand awareness and customers. The idea is to work with another brand that reaches a similar customer as your brand yet doesn’t compete for the customer’s attention.

What exactly are the benefits of co-branding and how do you even start looking for a brand partner? 

1. Reach New Customers 

When you partner with the right brand you will have an opportunity to reach new customers that you wouldn’t have reached alone. This also allows your brand the opportunity to engage with these new customers to not just potentially make a sale but also get inspiration to better your brand. 

2. Create Unique Marketing Campaigns 

This is an opportunity to allow you to come up with unique marketing strategies with your partner brand. Here you can test different marketing campaigns to see what will resonate with customers. Cross promoting contests on social media is a sure way to gain eyeballs for both brands, as well as increasing followers. 

3. Be Clear on Your Brand Values 

It very important that you are clear on what your brand values are because you want to make sure these values also align with your partner brand. If they don’t then the partnership won’t work. Brand values are simply what your brand believes in and that usually comes from the founder or CEO. 

4. Authenticity With Your Partner Brand 

Be clear with your partner brand what you’re looking to gain for the partnership. Is it sales? Profit-sharing? Or maybe it’s something else. Make sure it's spoken about early on before you launch a campaign together. 

5. Platform to Beta Test 

This could also be a great opportunity for your brand to have a platform to beta test any new product or services on a small scale. 

We listed some of the benefits, but how do you go about finding the right co-branding partner? Well, it’s actually quite easy. 

1. Be Clear on Your Brand Values 

It very important that you are clear on what your brand values are because you want to make sure these values also align with your partner brand. If they don’t then the partnership won’t work. Brand values are simply what your brand believes in and that usually comes from the founder or CEO. 

2. Getting Clear With Your Partner Brand 

Be clear with your partner brand what you’re looking to gain for the partnership. Is it sales? Profit-sharing? Or maybe it’s something else. Make sure it's spoken about early on before you launch a campaign together. 

3. Look Within Your Industry 

Find other brands that are within your space but always make sure that the products or services they offer don’t compete with yours. You want to make sure that you both create a unique end product together. 

4. Dare To Be Bold  

Sometimes you can even look outside of your industry for co-branding partners. The most important part is that you need to figure out how both products will complement each other. It has to make sense or there’s no reason to create co-branding partnerships. 

5. Be Honest About Money 

When you create co-branding opportunities be courageous and have that uncomfortable conversation about money. It’s important to set the expectations early on in the game. This allows both sides to really know what to expect whether it’s the cost or the profits. 

Newspapers Get a Reprieve

Could it be true, newspapers are getting a reprieve? We all know that physical newspaper sales have been sliding quickly in the last 5 years as most people consume news digitally. In recent news, fashion brands have quickly harped onto this lost opportunity giving newspapers a breath of fresh air and an increase in sales.

The strategy comes in light when highly coveted fashion brand Supreme decided to co-brand with the New York Post. When the announcement was posted on Instagram, the newspaper that was available for $1 was completely gone within a day. Loyal customers scoured New York City for their copy and flipping it for 15X on eBay. Last year the cult-like fashion brand advertised on the back of NYC MetroCards to further its local brand awareness campaign. Supreme is known to build brand awareness through some not so conventional ways and it clearly shows that it works.

Supreme isn’t the only one taking advantage of this opportunity. Fashion mogul, Alexander Wang also plastered the logo of Page Six on his men’s collection in January this year which debuted at New York Fashion Week.

Last month Saks Fifth Avenue created window displays with mannequins wearing newspaper print which was dedicated to the New York Times and Sacai of Japan. The mannequins sported T-shirts and hoodies with the slogan “Truth: It’s More Important Now Than Ever.”

It leads us to wonder could print be making a major comeback in a not so traditional kind of way? The possibility is there as the dying industry strives to come up with creative strategies and co-branding opportunities in order to drive sales. In the next couple of years, print will start to rely on collaborations such as that of Supreme and Saks as an additional source of revenue. It would also be interesting to see if print co-branding opportunities expand outside fashion and spill over into other industries.

Co-Branding The Next It Trend?

There always seems to be a new marketing trend on the horizon so is co-branding the next “it” trend? Whether you call it a partnership, collaboration or anything in that realm it all falls under the marketing concept of co-branding. So what exactly makes co-branding the next it thing?

As more brands clamor into the marketplace, the competition will become stiff. In order for newcomers to quickly scale their brand, they’ll adopt co-branding as a way to build brand awareness and customers. The idea is to work with another brand that reaches a similar customer as your brand yet doesn’t compete for the customer’s attention.

What exactly are the benefits of co-branding and how do you even start looking for a brand partner?

1. Reach New Customers

When you partner with the right brand you will have an opportunity to reach new customers that you wouldn’t have reached alone. This also allows your brand the opportunity to engage with these new customers to not just potentially make a sale but also get inspiration to better your brand.

2. Create Unique Marketing Campaigns

This is the opportunity to allow you to come up with unique marketing strategies with your partner brand. Here you can test different marketing campaigns to see what will resonate with customers. Cross promoting contests on social media is a sure way to gain eyeballs for both brands, as well as increasing followers.

3. Be Clear on Your Brand Values

It very important that you are clear on what your brand values are because you want to make sure these values also align with your partner brand. If they don’t then the partnership won’t work. Brand values are simply what your brand believes in and that usually comes from the founder or CEO.

4. Authenticity With Your Partner Brand

Be clear with your partner brand what you’re looking to gain for the partnership. Is it sales? Profit sharing? Or maybe it’s something else. Make sure its spoken about early on before you launch a campaign together.

5. Platform to Beta Test

This could also be a great opportunity for your brand to have a platform to beta test any new product or services on a small scale.