Examples of Successful Co-Marketing Partnerships

Co-marketing partnerships bring brands together to reach new audiences, enhance brand credibility, keep up with trends and achieve business objectives. To truly work, a partnership has to be a win-win for both parties. When done well, partnerships hold great excellence which will be remembered for a long time.  

Partnerships can be done on a small or large scale across varying company sizes. The aim is to capture the attention of untapped market segments. ‘Partnership’ is an umbrella term as there are different forms of partnerships. From content partnerships, joint products, co-branding, affiliate, event sponsorships and more. "A partnership is where a primary brand has the ideal product or service to complement a secondary brand; utilising target audiences to improve their value proposition."

Before starting a partnership there are some key questions you may want to ask; Do they have a similar audience? How many leads will this partnership generate? What can we learn from this company? What expertise do they have that we don't? Do they have a good reputation that will compliment us?

There are many iconic partnerships out there, however, this blog will run through just a few. Although you might not have the budget of the brands noted, you can learn creativity, storytelling, and defining an audience.

Kanye West & Adidas: Yeezy

Ultra famous rap artist Kanye West partnered with famous footwear brand Adidas to develop a line called 'Yeezy'. Celebrity co-marketing partnerships enhance brand reputation on a large scale, increase sales and reach a large audience. This is exactly what this partnership achieves with Kanye's personal brand. The celebrity status creates a huge buzz around the product, whilst also creating a sense of exclusivity. The product has led to huge growth in company earnings. For example, Adidas' net income climbed by 19.5% in 2019 to $1.9 billion.

Taco Bell & Doritos: Doritos Locos Tacos

The Doritos Locos Taco took the fast industry by a storm when it was first introduced. Frito-lay took Taco Bell's iconic taco recipe and gave it a twist- a taco with a Dorito shell. Creatively, the co-product was advertised with a taco wrapped in a classic Dorito bag. This is a great way to highlight both brands. In its first year of being introduced, the taco was an explosive success selling 1 billion units. This is a great example of co-marketing partnerships with food and the impact they have.

Hilton London Bankside & Bompas & Parr: The Vegan Suite

Hilton London Bankside created a partnership with vegan Bompas & Parr to ensure their rooms are made with vegan-friendly materials. They created an entire re-structure to the suite, based on the aesthetic associated with a contemporary vegan lifestyle. Everything from the pillows and toiletries to the in-room menu and minibar offerings was redesigned. This created a boutique, luxurious and welcoming experience for ethically-conscious travellers. Not only did this suite create great press but it is trend-driven - with conscious consumerism being a large trend now.

BMW & Louis Vuitton: The Art of Travel

BMW and Louis Vuitton are brands that we all know well, but brands we may not have paired together. But really, both brands have aligned audience interests, such as the luxury and travel market. These shared values are exactly what made this co-marketing partnership successful. What was the partnership? BMW created a sports car model called the BMW i8. In partnership, Louis Vuitton designed an exclusive, four-piece set of suitcases and bags that fit perfectly into the car's rear parcel shelf. The bags themselves sell for around $20,000, which coordinated with the audience spending habits. This collaboration shows how two iconic brands can generate awareness through their shared values.

Dishoom & Pizza Pilgrims: The Bacon and Egg Naan Pizza

For a charity cause for Magic Breakfast, Dishoom and Pizza Pilgrims decided to combine Dishoom's iconic breakfast naan with Pizza. Thom and James from Pizza Pilgrims explained: “We have eaten more bacon naans than I can count over the years. We always joked about a recipe swap and then realised it might actually work - the naan and pizza base are distant cousins. As soon as we tried it, we knew we had hit on something brilliant.” The outcome led to great social media engagement of the partnership and was spoken about across London.

GoPro & Red Bull: Stratos

Both brands sell more than the product itself, they sell a lifestyle. Again, their shared values make them a perfect pairing. They have both worked a lot on sporting events, typically GoPro equips athletes and adventurers from around the world with the tools and funding to capture things like races, stunts, and action sport events on video - from the athlete's perspective.

At the same time, Red Bull uses its experience and reputation to run and sponsor these events. One of their best collaborations was the "Stratos", where Elix Baumgartner jumped from a space pod more than 24 miles above Earth's surface with a GoPro strapped to his person. Not only did Baumgartner set three world records that day, but he also embodied the value of reimagining human potential that defines both GoPro and Red Bull. Of course with both brands being involved and awareness through such a large scale, the record-breaking event was inevitable.

Co-marketing partnerships have so many benefits. From social media engagement to reaching new audiences, there are plenty of positives. You don't have to be as wealthy and up-scale as the brands listed, as long as you use their creativity.

Written by Riana Chandarana