Mashed potatoes and gravy peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin: Some things just go well together. The same applies to brands. Co-branding, also known as “strategic partnering,” is a collaboration between two companies. Unlike co-branding’s cousin, co-marketing, the process starts in the product development stage and extends to marketing the product. You’ll find co-branded goods everywhere from your closet (Kanye + Adidas) to your neighborhood grocery store (Betty Crocker + Hersheys). couple pair bed duo Better together. Illustration by telinunu. In a co-branding partnership, companies pool their resources, creativity and existing customer bases to create a product that is greater than the sum of its parts. By sharing the load of developing and launching a product, brands can lessen their individual risks and, if things go as planned, gain exposure to the other brand’s audience. This is called the “halo effect”, otherwise known as a win-win situation.
In some cases a co-branding product practically markets itself. Consider Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco: A quick Google search returns hundreds of product reviews from amateur YouTubers to seasoned food critics. That’s the sort of buzz you could never generate with a billboard. What makes co-branding partnerships successful? — Sign up for our free, 7-day email course and learn background remove service to build the perfect brand identity. We'll also send you creative tips, trends, resources and the occasional promo (which you can opt-out of anytime). Sign me up! By completing this form, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply. Co-branding is hardly so simple as slapping on another company’s name and calling it a day. To be successful, the partnership must offer a unique value-add to customers (see: extra cheesy taco shells). Not only that, brand partners must also have similar cultures, values and customer bases.
Joining two unlike companies or partnering with a controversial company—can result in disaster. Consider the decades-long partnership of Shell, a Dutch petroleum company, and Legos, a Danish toy company. Shell benefitted from stamping its name on Legos’ toy sets, like race cars and gas pumps, while the Shell brand imbued the toys with authenticity. But this all came to a screeching halt in 2011, when environmental organization Greenpeace pointed out the dissonance of children playing with toys marked by a petroleum company that was drilling oil aggressively in the arctic and had a track record of questionable environmental practices. After a lengthy Greenpeace campaign, public outrage ensued, leading the companies to officially part ways. Yikes. Let this be a lesson to all: Shell and Legos were simply too unlike in their missions and values to work together successfully.