Marketing is evolving more and more in recent times. Gone are the days when there were only fixed ways of marketing a product or service. Marketing has got immense potential with brands wanting to get more market share and keep their prospective clients and customers engaged with their strategies. Many companies are coming up with strategies to associate with another brand so that they can run a memorable campaign. Co-branding has got its due recognition with two brands coming together to create a unique third branded product or service. In simple words, co-branding means two brands creating a third unique brand or service, or product for the market.
Co-branding helps improve the reach, awareness, and sales of the brands associated with each other. Don’t get confused between co-branding and co-marketing. Co-marketing is basically two companies or brands running multiple campaigns along with a campaign that is combined, also called a cross-promotion marketing strategy.
You might have seen how film stars and directors make an appearance on television shows to promote their films. In exchange, the television shows get promoted in the news media outlets for promoting the films. That’s called cross-marketing or cross-promotion. The focus of co-marketing is to communicate well to the target audience. However, co-branding involves brands getting forward-thinking and improvizing their position in the market by coming up with a unique third brand.
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Co-marketing only limits itself to promotions of the existing products or services. However, the initiative of co-branding involves getting results and revenue for both the brands with the help of the new brand launched by them. Co-branding helps companies to get more exposure and recognition. It helps them to gain respect and reliability in the market. They attract a new business proposition and also get new customers. High-quality communication and cooperative marketing strategies can help the brands become a win-win for each other.
One can find out many co-branding initiatives on digital and offline platforms. One of the examples of co-branding involves Ferrari and ICICI Bank. Both the brands collaborated with each other to introduce the Ferrari Signature Credit Card, which provides special discounts on fan merchandise via Ferrari’s online store. Moreover, credit card users also get access to a 15% discount on entry tickets to Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi.
Other examples of co-branding initiatives are Kanye West and Adidas, BMW-Louis Vuitton, Betty Crocker’s Brownie Mix + Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup, and Dell + Intel Co-brand.
One need not be a celebrity or a big organization to do co-branding with other companies. A small business can also make a huge impact if they partner with a bigger brand that is working towards a similar cause or goal. For co-branding relationships to materialize, both companies need to have the same set of values. Their marketing campaigns should be able to give a similar vibe and appeal to their customers. There has to be mutual understanding and certain compatibility levels for working. The co-branding relationship cannot be forced and need not be pressurized to become a success.
