From Co-Op to Collab: How Do Brands Tie the Knot With Each Other?

By Nick Gray, MD, Live & Breathe

Brand partnerships have come a long way over the last decade. There have been some exceptionally successful examples of collaborative advertising – just last year, Adidas and Intersport combined forces for ‘Project Run Berlin 23’, a powerful campaign to inspire runners in the buildup to the Berlin Marathon.

It’s a very different picture compared to how things used to be. When I started in advertising, brands would run ‘cooperative’ campaigns, where they might list a stockist’s logo at the bottom of their product’s ad. The shift to ‘collaboration’ is more than semantics; it signals an entirely different approach.

Collaboration is about making 1+1 = 3. It allows brands to lean into each other’s audiences, work out where they overlap, and deliver bespoke products and experiences for those consumers.

It’s clever stuff, and if done right, collaborations can have profound benefits. Awareness soars, brand credibility and trustworthiness are enhanced, and marketing budgets can be maximised.

There is also often a level of novelty that can grab far greater interest than your typical campaign. Last year, Heinz’s unexpected partnership with vodka brand Absolut secured over 500 million earned media impressions, resulting in a 52% sales uplift on the Heinz pasta sauces range. Elsewhere, the Nike x Ben & Jerry’s trainers sold out almost immediately.

So, it’s no wonder that partnership marketing has become its own specialism within marketing services. The potential for brands is huge.

However, there’s a risk that ‘collaboration’ could become an industry buzzword, diluting the actual value of two brands coming together. A collaboration can’t be superficial; brands have to combine to do something both complementary and different.

That takes effort. You’re working with a partner who has their own brand, their own brand guidelines, and their own ethos and purpose. Finding a middle ground can be incredibly difficult.

For a collaboration to work, brands have to be flexible and open-minded. Marketers have to give themselves permission to loosen their hold on their brand and learn from their partners. When they do, it often inspires more creative and bold ideas.

Take Nike’s collaboration with streetwear brand Stüssy. Nike allowed Stüssy to take one of its most recognisable and valuable brand assets – the Nike tick – and invert it on its trainers. A few years ago, Nike would never have allowed that to happen. But now, marketers are recognising that a degree of flexibility is not only necessary, but an advantage.

Brand collaborations also need to feel authentic. Sometimes, that’s easy – Jack Daniel’s and Coca-Cola launching a pre-mixed drink together was a no-brainer. However, sometimes brands need to find permission to play in a new space. The Heinz x Absolut partnership was justified by the virality of the 1980’s recipe ‘Pasta alla vodka’ on TikTok, for example.

If that authenticity isn’t there, collaborations can look try-hard and superficial and can end up doing more harm than good.

Five lessons for brands

Considering all of this, successful brand collaborations can be boiled down into just a few key lessons for marketers.

  1. Determine brand fit. Brands have to select partners with whom they can establish an authentic and credible relationship. Often, that comes down to shared values – whether it’s Nike’s and Ben & Jerry’s shared pursuit of social purpose, or something as simple as Adidas and Intersport both operating in the sports sector. Both brands also need to bring something valuable to the table, whether it’s their audience or their fame.
  2. Deliver tangible value to customers. A brand collaboration must enhance the lives of its customers to be worthwhile. That could mean creating a unique product, an exclusive experience, or solving a particular customer problem. Whatever it is, this value proposition is what is going to generate interest and drive engagement with the collaboration, ultimately leading to increased brand loyalty and positive associations in the minds of consumers.
  3. Build the hype. Collaborations can drive incredible buzz for the brands involved, but you need to get people excited first. Part of what made the Greggs x Primark collaboration so viral was the clever teaser campaign the brands ran before launch. Sausage rolls mysteriously appeared in the pockets of Primark mannequins, for example, and an exclusive Soho pop-up showcased the complete collection. By the time the collaboration launched, customers were queuing out the door.
  4. Treat it like a partnership. A successful collaboration is much more than an ‘x’ between two brand names. It should be a genuine partnership, in which both brands give and take to reach an exceptional outcome. Open communication is critical, as is a mindset of flexibility and adaptability.
  5. Make it accountable. All campaigns need clear goals and measures of success, and brand collaborations are no different. Make sure those KPIs are set out from the beginning and that you and your partners stay accountable to them.