There comes a time when many brands need to leverage their marketing strategies by doing something daring and exciting to capture the attention of untapped market segments.
A good way to give their brand the edge they need is to partner with another brand to market their products.
Co-marketing helps brands form meaningful collaborations that provide lasting value to their audience and a great boost for the brand’s growth.
Here is a guide that can help you see how co-marketing can take your brand to the next level.
What Is Co-Marketing?
Co-marketing, also known as partnership marketing, refers to the collaboration between two brands that develop a marketing campaign. Co-marketing differs from co-branding because they are not creating a product together to market.
Instead, they are forming a partnership to market the offerings they already have. The marketing campaign they develop features both brands’ products or services and is mutually beneficial to both parties.
There are many forms of co-marketing that brands can engage in together. Two main co-marketing types are:
- Affiliate Marketing: A form of digital marketing where brands collaborate with bloggers, influencers, or other brands that have a similar audience to gain access to new customers.
- Distribution Partnership: This method involves bundling a partner’s product with your own, or providing another brand with your product or service to bundle with their own.
Other types of co-marketing include:
- Product placement
- Joint product partnerships
- Licensing agreements
- Event sponsorships
- Content marketing partnerships
5 Benefits of Co-Marketing
Traditional marketing techniques are great, but if you want a real boost in your marketing strategy, try out co-marketing to receive these significant benefits:
It’s Cost-Effective.
When you co-market with another brand, you both tend to share the marketing costs associated with the campaigns you create.
This saves on costs for both brands, which often creates a great return on investment (ROI).
It Can Broaden Your Audience.
Co-marketing partnerships offer you exposure to an audience that is similar to your own. These individuals may have taken interest in your offerings before, but were hesitant to convert.
This new campaign may help to capture that audience if you choose to partner with a brand that your new audience already trusts.
It Allows You to Target Customers at Just the Right Time.
Partnering with a brand that complements yours presents opportunities for you to market your products or services at the perfect time. For instance, have you ever booked a flight and noticed a hotel discount pop-up?
Hotels figure you may need some place to stay on your trip, therefore they partner with certain airlines to promote their offerings.
Cross-promotions add value to your brand and your partner’s brand, but they also add convenience for your customers.
It Builds Brand Identity.
Co-marketing can help to boost brand association for small brands that partner with larger, well-recognized brands. As a small brand’s marketing messages and images are released with a larger brand, it helps to establish a brand identity.
This can also be the case for a large brand that is partnering with a small brand. It can help them capture the attention of a more specific audience that they might not have been able to capture alone.
It Provides You With a Brand-Loyal Audience.
Trying to acquire new customers from scratch is difficult. It costs a lot more time and resources to earn attention from new people and convert them into leads.
Co-marketing can provide you with customers who already have an interest in your product or service, which makes them more likely to be loyal to your brand, just as they are to the brand you are co-marketing with.
How to Create a Co-Marketing Strategy
Every good marketing campaign needs a solid strategy. Here are some simple steps you can take to get you started with your co-marketing strategy:
1. Set Mutual Goals.
It is important to determine what you wish to get out of a co-marketing partnership before you dive right in. Let your future partner know what your goals are and listen to their goals to see if they complement each other well.
When you and your partner are working toward similar things, it helps your strategy be that much more effective.
Once you know your goals, you can create key metrics that will help you track your progress.
2. Create Co-Branded Content.
Content is central to any marketing strategy, including co-marketing partnerships. Your brand and your partner brand may both have excellent content, but it won’t work well if it isn’t relevant to your new campaign.
This means you must create new content together to amplify the value your content provides to consumers. Brainstorm content ideas and select the forms of content you wish to develop to make sure the content is ideal for both audience segments.
You also want to align your content initiatives with the goals you set. With the right KPIs in mind, you can create content that helps you hit your targets for growth.
3. Figure Out Your Timeline.
Set a specific timeframe for your co-marketing campaign. This helps everyone involved to be on the same page so they can get their projects and tasks completed on time.
You and your partner also need to decide on release dates that are best to capture the most attention from both audiences. For instance, your brands may have a specific season or quarter that typically shows higher engagement or an increase in sales.
4. Determine Each Party’s Strengths and Weaknesses.
Each party will have aspects they are good at and things they aren’t so good at. Discuss these things with your partner to determine what each side brings to the table.
Once you know what your strengths and weaknesses are, you can assign work tasks and projects more effectively.
For instance, if you have great content creators and a blog with a large following, then your team may take on the written content creation portion of the partnership to streamline your processes.
5. Make Sure You Have a Co-Marketing Agreement.
Your strategy can’t work unless both parties stick to it. Ensure you have a solid partnership by creating a written agreement at the very beginning. This way, you have something to turn to if any miscommunications take place.
Your agreement should include things like:
- Goals
- Topics
- Timelines
- Promotional plans
- Reporting plans
- Content and asset ownership
- Where the content will be shared or hosted
Once you have these things in place, you are ready to carry out your co-marketing strategies.
What Kind of Companies Engage in Co-Marketing?
Both small and large companies can get their money’s worth from co-marketing:
- Large firms have the advantage of being able to deliver a consistent brand experience across a large audience even when working with another company.
- Smaller companies benefit enormously from having the chance to work with larger partners who can give them an extra boost into the public consciousness.
Another context where co marketing is common is the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit organizations can easily work with other organizations by extending discounts on things like hotels and rental cars to their membership. This helps members while building brand loyalty for partners.
Since nonprofits often have experience with co marketing initiatives, it can be a fantastic idea to reach out to them. You may get the chance to support a cause you care about and show customers exactly what values your brand stands for at the same time.
Top 10 Examples of Co-Marketing Campaigns
When you really look for them, you’ll quickly notice that marketing partnerships are very common. It’s easy to weave them into the fabric of what a company does so customers come to rely on them. A well-chosen partnership boosts brand equity and awareness for all parties.
Let’s look at some of the leading examples:
1. Super Bowl XLIII Takes a 3D Turn.
Super Bowl XLIII – that’s 43, for those who skipped their Latin – was a great example of not two, but three companies working together.
PepsiCo distributed special 3D glasses through its SoBe Lifewater brand so fans could enjoy the DreamWorks 3D double-play, in turn powered by Intel.
2. Volvo Becomes the Official Car of LEGOLAND.
When you think of Legos, you might not think of Volvo first. Still, the brands work together closely to promote the Lego Land theme park.
Volvo is its official car, giving both brands the chance to reach the same audience with their family-friendly promotions.
3. Mezzetta Seeks the Picture Perfect Pizza.
In 2011, Mezzetta Pizza put itself on the map with the help of Delta Airlines. It launched a social media contest where diners were asked to upload a snap of their favorite pizza.
Those with the best shots had the chance to win big prizes, including a free trip to Italy aboard Delta.
4. P&G Partners for a Cause.
Procter & Gamble is well-known for its annual collaboration with nonprofits focused on breast cancer research. In October, P&G supports the National Breast Cancer Foundation by giving many of its hundreds of products a highly-visible pink makeover.
5. Intel Goes Inside PCs (and Customers’ Minds).
“Intel Inside” is now a ubiquitous part of the computer hardware world, but it wasn’t always that way. Before Intel started partnering with PC manufacturers, semiconductor companies were known only to the businesses they served. Now, many savvy consumers have a strong opinion on Intel vs. AMD.
6. HubSpot Powers the Future with Chatfuel.
HubSpot is the world leader in inbound marketing strategy and techniques. By working with AI chat bot foundry Chatfuel, it ran a successful promotion that introduced visitors to the versatility of B2B AI with a brilliantly interactive Chatfuel experience and one of HubSpot’s classic guides.
7. Airbnb Soars with Flipboard.
Everyone has heard of Airbnb these days, but social network aggregator Flipboard was a lesser-known player until this great joint promotion. Targeted Airbnb content crafted for Flipboard users resulted in millions of page views and tens of thousands of new social follows.
8. Uber Spots Spotify.
Uber and Spotify came up with a jazzy partnership back in 2014. Users hailing a ride on the Uber app received a special prompt to select a pre-made Spotify playlist for their trip.
While it wouldn’t get Uber new subscribers, it would boost total rides and energize engagement on the Spotify app.
9. Etsy and The General Assembly … Assemble.
Etsy is a popular place for crafters and creators of all kinds to offer their work. The General Assembly is one of the top coding bootcamps in the world.
Working together, they’ve created amazing events by giving Etsy crafters free reign to design, decorate, and host events at classy global venues.
10. Red Bull and GoPro Are a Match Made in Heaven (Literally).
Red Bull and GoPro became a famous pair during the latter’s heyday. At the peak of GoPro mania in 2012, the brands partnered to support Australian skydiving legend Felix Baumgartner in his record-breaking jump from a balloon 24 miles up – all captured by his GoPro, of course.
If you’re looking for a way to excite and enthrall your audience, co marketing could be the ideal solution. Done right, it benefits both parties – often very quickly – and sets the stage for deeper collaboration in the future. Who knows where a good marketing partnership might lead?
Read more: How Co-Marketing Can Expand Your Reach