I’m seeing more and more examples of co-branding out there. Rather than go through a litany of examples, I ask: Dear Marketer, Why co-brand? You might say:
#1. To increase the social awareness of a brand (aka causal marketing), like Gap and project (RED). In this case I’d say no harm is done, provided each brand is (and continues to be) socially well-behaved. The desire to associate with an organization who profits from some good cause or mission shouldn’t, in theory, sink the (mother) ship. Let’s exclude this one from the discussion since it has positive to neutral brand impact.
#2. To break through the clutter, like Southwest & Seaworld, TGIFridays and Jack Daniels. In this instance co-branding is a stunt to grab attention since the brands have little to do with one another. It is more likely to hurt the stronger brand in this case. If you’ve got a meaningful brand story to tell, why share the stage? Why complicate the message? Why share your budget and resources with another brand?
#3. To increase the strength of a product via partnership, like Cascade + Dawn. This scenario may help each brand if together they are able to make a credibly better product. Cascade and Dawn are equally strong brands, but apparently not strong enough to beat the competition alone.
But wait a minute…. isn’t it my One Job as a brand marketer to convince users that my brand is a credibly better product? Isn’t it my One Job to find creative and effective ways to grow my brand’s sales – on my brand’s own merits?
If Cascade is my brand, isn’t “the scrubbing power of Cascade” a strong enough message to help your dishwasher get your dishes clean, if I can show/tell/explain/communicate it well? If my brand is Dawn, isn’t “the grease-fighting power of Dawn” powerful enough for washing dishes by hand?
OK, yes, they both deal with washing dishes, but washing dishes in the sink is a heck of a different experience than using your dishwasher. Ack, these are different target audiences as well; the super user of Cascade is probably not the super user of Dawn, right?!
Unless I’m really missing the boat here – this partnership doesn’t allow the same product to be used to wash dishes in the sink by hand AND to be used to wash dishes in the dishwasher, does it? That would create a new category, (…wink, wink).
I have a hard time believing co-branding is the most successful tactic unless the brand marketer is just plain unimaginative.
Or is there something about the marketplace today that makes co-branding – the One Job?
the marketing lunch 