Alexis Kestler
Forming strategic partnerships between brands is paramount for expanding reach, driving growth, and getting an edge over the competition. But how can you craft collaborations that yield real, measurable value?
In this comprehensive 3000+ word guide, I‘ll equip you with insider knowledge and tactical steps for establishing impactful brand partnerships based on my 10+ years guiding partnerships for Fortune 500 companies.
You‘ll discover:
- 6 partnership structuring models with real examples
- Benefits and stats showing partnerships’ marketing power
- Step-by-step process for identifying partners and defining terms
- 10 tactics I use for executing partnerships that pop
- Mistakes to avoid at all costs
- And more!
Let‘s dive in to the wonderful world of brand partnerships…
What Exactly Are Brand Partnerships?
A brand partnership refers to an arrangement where two or more brands team up around a shared goal, combining their assets and audiences.
Instead of competing, you actively collaborate to boost awareness, increase sales, tap into new markets and more. Partnerships can include:
- Co-marketing campaigns
- Co-branded products or services
- Sponsorships and events
- Affiliate marketing initiatives
- Content creation
Essentially it boils down to leveraging complementary strengths to make something bigger happen that benefits all parties involved.
Compelling Stats on The Power of Strategic Brand Collaborations
Let’s explore telling statistics that build the case for partnerships:
72% of brands say partnerships are essential for innovation – Cambridge Judge Business School
Small businesses with 5+ active partnerships achieve 2x more revenue growth than solo brands – Zinrelo
76% of companies that characterize partner relationships as very positive have exceeded revenue targets – Chief Strategy Officer
High-synergy co-marketing partnerships generate 68% larger sales increases than standard campaigns – Forrester
91% of marketing executives believe brand partnerships are now critical to remain competitive – ANA
Big, bold numbers underlining that two heads are better than one. Combining forces unlocks marketing potential beyond what a single brand can achieve alone.
Let’s explore popular partnership structures…
6 Types of Brand Partnership Agreements
While each collaboration is unique, most fit one (or a mix) of these common frameworks:
1. Co-Branding Partnerships
Co-branding partnerships involve jointly developing, manufacturing and marketing a product or service showcasing both brand names.
For example, Samsung and Thom Browne partnered to create a limited-edition Galaxy Z Flip 3 bundle with matching accessories highlighting designs from both brands.
Co-branded products fuse two brands’ strengths into specialized offerings that appeal to shared audiences.
2. Affiliate Marketing Partnerships
With affiliate partnerships, Brand A agrees to actively promote or sell Brand B’s products to its audience. In exchange, Brand A earns an affiliate commission on any resulting sales, leads, or other conversions.
For instance, an influencer blog reviewinghot sauce varieties might recommend a specific hot sauce brand to readers through affiliate links. If readers click the link and buy the hot sauce, the influencer blogger earns a percentage commission.
This structure incentivizes cross-promotion to convert each brand’s audience. Affiliate partnerships have very little risk or overhead to implement.
3. Influencer Endorsement Partnerships
Also called influencer marketing partnerships, these arrangements involve collaborating with influential bloggers, YouTubers, social media creators and other third-party brand endorsers.
The influencer promotes your brand and products to their engaged follower base. It could include sponsored posts, discounts, product seeding, reviews, social shares and more.
For example, when Dior launched its Dior Addict Stellar Shine lipstick, it partnered with beauty influencer partners who created YouTube tutorials and TikTok videos focused on the new lipstick.
This enabled Dior to drive awareness and sales through credible recommendations from relevant micro-influencers.
4. Content Creation Partnerships
Here two or more brands partner around developing co-branded content like videos, blogs, podcasts, eBooks, webinars and so on.
Content partnerships provide built-in distribution with the advantage of splitting production costs across brands.
Example: Software company TradeGecko collaborated with marketing agency Mention on an eBook all about inventory management. By blending subject matter and content creation expertise, the partnership created an educational asset neither could’ve produced on their own.
5. Event & Sponsorship Partnerships
These partnerships center around in-person or virtual events like conferences, tradeshows, concerts, races, galas and so on.
Brand A sponsors the event by providing funding, products, services or other compensation. In return they’re given visibility and access to the event‘s audience.
For example, leading gaming hardware brand Razer sponsors numerous Esports events worldwide as a way to gain awareness among avid gamers and Esports enthusiasts.
6. Cause-Marketing Partnerships
Also known as cause-related partnerships, these arrangements support social causes and nonprofits. Brands provide money, volunteers, products or other resources to charities and social organizations.
Example: During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Yoplait Yogurt ran a massive campaign called “Save Lids to Save Lives” donating 10 cents per pink yogurt lid collected to the Susan G. Komen Foundation to fund cancer research. This enabled Yoplait to support an important cause while boosting brand image.
The halo effect from cause-marketing creates positive public relations, brand goodwill, and heightened affinity with socially-conscious consumers.
Now that you know the partnership possibilities let’s go step-by-step into structuring successful arrangements.
How To Strategically Build Brand Partnerships That Work
Based on guiding partnerships for Fortune 500 brands, here is my proven 6-step process:
Step 1: Establish Specific Partnership Goals
Start by defining exactly what you want to achieve through collaborating with another brand. Be precise on objectives like:
- Increase brand awareness among Millennials by 32%
- Generate at least 500 new sales qualified leads
- Secure media coverage across 7 lifestyle publications
- Develop aminated explainer video for gated content
- Release 5-part video series on industry topic
Laser focus gets results. Vague partnerships spin wheels without advancing key metrics.
Step 2: Define Your Ideal Partner Attributes
Map out must-have attributes you’re looking for in a partner brand. Criteria might encompass:
Market: What brands create products for your customers? Who speaks directly to your best buyer persona already?
Positioning: Are there brands operating in spaces adjacent to yours? Finding common ground avoids direct competition.
Values: Similar principles and priorities enable fluid partnerships. Mismatched motives add friction.
Assets: Larger reach, budgets or capabilities make strong partners. But creativity and hustle can also achieve great things.
Step 3: Make a Target Partners List
Catalog an initial list of 25-50 brands closely matching your defined partner profile. Thoroughly research potential fits using tools like:
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BuzzSumo: Analyze content performance to find brands producing engaging, high performing assets. Identify ones resonating in your space.
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Ahrefs: Use keyword research data to find brands targeting student segments. Study traffic sources and landing pages.
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SimilarWeb: Evaluate site traffic volumes, engagement metrics, referring sites and traffic geography.
Shortlist the 15 companies showing the most partnership promise for initial outreach.
Step 4: Warm Up Prospects
To prime brands for approaching them, first interact with their online content across channels like:
- Commenting on blogs
- Sharing social updates
- Downloading a piece of gated content
Sending personalized emails then references your existing familiarity with their work. This builds credibility and trust from minute one.
Step 5: Make Your Pitch
Now reach out to your shortlisted targets pitching a partnership. I recommend a multi-touch approach across:
Email: Send personalized emails to relevant contacts (founder, Head of Partnerships, Chief Revenue Officer etc) at the brand explaining why you admire their company and believe collaboration could be mutually beneficial. Be clear on what audience and assets you bring while directly requesting a partnership exploration discussion.
Calls: Follow up intro emails with calls reiterating benefits and aiming to schedule an in-person meeting. Prepare talking points addressing goals for partnership, proposed structures and incentives that are attractive for the partner brand.
In-Person Meetings: Nothing replaces meeting face-to-face for building rapport with potential partners and hashing out possibilities. Use in-person chemistry checks to pitch partnership frameworks addressing needs on both sides.
With consistent nurturing, expect a response rate around 18-25% from outreach.
Step 6: Define Partnership Framework
If both brands express interest, have an alignment call on scoping the parameters before entering any formal agreement. Key elements to define include:
- Proposed partnership structure and formats
- Length of partnership term
- Exactly what each company will contribute in assets/distribution
- Campaign formats, targets, and timelines
- Metrics for tracking performance/ROI
- Usage guidelines for logos, trademarks and brand creatives
- Review and approval processes
Translating verbal discussions into an official agreement protects both parties by codifying processes, requirements, and limitations.
Executing Brand Partnerships: 10 Key Tactics
With your partnership aligned, it‘s go-time on activation. Here are my top 10 tactics for popping collaborations:
Host Immersive Workshops: Lead half-day workshops walking marketing teams through showcasing brand style guides, strategies, personas and specifics on what resonates creatively. This builds shared understanding from the jump.
Map Out Calendar of Campaigns: Detail specific co-marketing campaigns and content you’ll create month-by-month with corresponding goals and metrics. Establish systems for collecting analytics.
Film Teaser Video: Capture B-roll footage teasing partnership announcement through a “Coming Soon” style video to build hype pre-launch.
Brief External Teams: Develop messaging document clearly explaining the partnership and benefits to brief any PR agencies, social media freelancers or other external resources. This keeps messaging consistent.
Make a Splashy Announcement: Hold a Facebook Live session featuring leadership from both brands announcing the partnerships. Share what audiences can expect while building momentum.
Seed Content Internally First: Circulate co-created content internally first before external distribution to gather feedback. Fine-tune based on suggestions from each brand’s team to ensure appeal for respective audiences.
Stagger Content Distribution: Don’t blast content simultaneously across channels. Strategically release assets in intervals to sustain momentum and spacing for optimal reach.
Run Joint Paid Ads: Create co-branded social/search ads promoting collaborations to expand visibility beyond existing audiences. Jointly fund for greater scale.
Orient Customer Service Teams: Conduct briefing meetings with customer service teams explaining partnership messaging and brand style guides to unify the experience across touchpoints.
Make Partnership Visible: Prominently display partner brand logos and visibly recognize contributions on websites, post signatures, social media profiles, email newsletters and other channels.
Real-Life Examples of High-Impact Brand Partnerships
Let’s check out real-world brand collaborations making major market moves:
1. Ulta & Target
In 2021, beauty giant Ulta announced a partnership to open over 100 shop-in-shop locations inside Target stores across the country by mid-2022. Ulta would operate boutiques in Target selling established and emerging prestige skincare, cosmetics, and fragrance brands.
The partnership enabled Ulta to significantly expand its retail distribution footprint while Target could boost foot traffic and sales through the halo effect of beauty products enhancing overall basket sizes. Early results show sales lift exceeding expectations.
2. Venmo & Shopify
Mobile payment platform Venmo partnered with ecommerce juggernaut Shopify so Venmo can be offered as a payment option on Shopify online stores.
This neat pairing greatly expanded Venmo’s utility beyond P2P payments into broader commerce while Shopify merchants gained access to Venmo’s 80+ million registered user base.
3. Samsung & Instagram
In summer 2022, Samsung teamed up with Instagram on various initiatives fusing mobile photography creativity between the platforms.
Initiatives include optimizing Instagram’s interface for Samsung foldable devices, integrating special effects features into the Samsung Camera, and co-creating educational content on mobile content creation tips.
The natural synergy here helps Samsung differentiate its camera hardware capabilities while Meta can boost engagement from creatives loving Instagram Stories, Reels and more.
Key Takeaways and Recommendations
While executing brand partnerships requires effort, the exponential growth unlocked makes it time well spent. I hope this guide provided a blueprint empowering your brand to start collaborating too.
Let’s recap core learnings:
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Partnership structures range from co-marketing campaigns to custom co-branded products and everything in between. Get creative.
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Approach potential partners armed with clear goals and ideal partner attributes.
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Lead with value in pitch conversations by showing opportunities you bring to the table.
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Codify campaign specifics, metrics and legal guidelines to align.
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Announce collaborations with fanfare through live events and video trailers.
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Make the partnerships come alive through immersive branded experiences audiences love.
The world’s most successful brands stay ahead by strategically aligning with complementary partners. Now you can confidently join forces to make bigger, bolder things happen.
So here’s the challenge:
Which brand could you realistically partner with to turbocharge reaching your goals?
If you need any guidance from blueprint to execution, you know where to find me!
To your partnership success,
[Your Name]Frequently Asked Partnership Questions
Before we wrap, let’s tackle some commonly asked questions from brands pursuing collaborations:
What budget should we allocate to launching a brand partnership?
Budgets vary widely accounting for things like staff resources, paid advertising and partnership rights. For substantial collaborations, I recommend earmarking $50K – 150K for launch activities like initial campaign production, events, video content, influencer seeding and paid promotion across search and social.
How much revenue do brand partnerships drive on average?
Data shows standout collaborations outperform the S&P Consumer Discretionary index by +24%. Extrapolated, that can often mean high six-figure sales bumps. Brand affiliation impacts stickiness as well. Starbucks loyalty members that redeem rewards from Spotify have 7% lower churn.
What time period do your clients commit to for brand partnerships on average?
In my experience highly successful arrangements run between 8 months to 3 years in initial length. This provides enough runway to brainstorm formats, activate campaigns, gather performance data and maximize opportunities.
Long-term partnerships with recurring touchpoints trump one-off stunts. 79% of marketers describe ongoing collaborations as extremely or very effective compared to 34% for one-off partnerships.
How can I measure a brand partnership‘s impact on revenue and brand health?
From revenue standpoint, track granular conversion events like email signups, coupon claims, product sales tied back to partnership campaigns through UTM tracking codes.
For brand sentiment lift, analyze NPS changes, social chatter volume/sentiment, web traffic surges, media mentions pre vs. post partnership launch.
Hope this FAQ section addressed some key considerations around optimizing partnerships!
And there you have it – everything you need for identifying and structuring successful brand collaborations that move mountains!
The wisest brands stay ahead of trends by partnering with peers that allow them tomutually launch better products, unlock new audiences and ultimatelyencourage greater brand loyalty from customers.
Now you can pursue bigger, bolder marketing goals by combining forces with complementary brands in your space too.
Here’s to your future partnership success!
Feel free to reach out directly if you need any help turning these tactics into game-changing executions.
To growth through partnerships,
[Your Name]