Co-promotions - an Analyst's perspective
Co-Branding is symbiotic advertising / marketing. It allows companies the opportunity to be recognised along side other already established or upcoming businesses, products, service providers or celebrities. We are witnessing a wide variety of co-branding exercises around the world. It gives businesses an edge in comparison to their competitor, to show that they’re different. It can give the business a boost by integrating the similar values of different people or brands. It also adds a new look to a business or brand by the addition of a new face or brand to the existing values. The collaborating brands now get to combine their two customer bases and jointly market the new proposition to the entire clientele with an increased focus on what they have to offer.
Existing brand recognition can now be used to create brand awareness of another brand which gives an innovative / new business just the kick start that they require. Although co-branding can be used to create awareness of a product or brand, it can also tarnish the reputation of a brand if not carefully planned. Co-branding can give businesses the opportunity to move above and beyond their niche and help them expand in uncharted territory. We should expect to see a lot more of this phenomena going forward as we see consolidations of industries happening both domestically and globally.
The downsides can be great, as you place your brands reputation with another brand you have no control over. If there is negligence or unprofessional conduct on your co-brand partners behalf, you may suffer the same reputation damage. This is why choosing the right partner can have unlimited upside when it comes to brand collaboration. It’s not something that should be taken lightly, but the effective and efficient implementation of this business practice can reap wonders for both new and established businesses. Co-branding is closely linked to the widespread globalisation in the world. As industries around the world consolidate and margins for businesses become smaller, brands need to continually innovate and look at alternatives to stay ahead of the competition. Even industry giants such as Apple® co-brand themselves with Twitter® and Facebook® by integrating their features with new operating systems.
