Over recent years, we have seen an increasing number of brands join forces and collaborate. But why would you team up with another brand, sometimes even a competitor?

Co-Marketing allows brands to increase their consumer reach. Two companies can share databases, social media reach and hopefully, customers. Collaboration can often be a fantastic way to create innovative new products that would have previously not been possible. It is also a great way to gain press coverage. Attention grabbing campaigns, unexpected team ups and exciting new products make great stories. This of course leads to increase coverage, links to your company and will almost certainly result in higher sales.

This could be as simple as including the leaflet of a brand in your product package and be as extreme as using another company’s branding on your products. We take a look at some of our favourite brand collaborations.

Uber and Spotify

These two, well-known brands, teamed up to create a more customisable taxi experience. Spotify Premium customers are able to link their account inside an Uber and be in control of the music from their Uber or Spotify app on their phone.

This allows Uber to offer users personalised music in a very simple way – no need to develop their own system. It also gives Spotify another reason for users to sign up for their service.

Sounds like an uber great idea to me! (sorry…)

McDonald’s and Burger king

Yes, two lifelong rivals did indeed team up (sort of) for a recent campaign. Although, many would argue that one brand came out on top.

In 2019, McDonald’s Argentina announced that for one day, they would donate all profits from the purchase of their Big Mac to the charity Children with Cancer. In response to this, Burger King launched ‘Day Without Whopper’. Not only did they remove The Whopper from their menu for the day, but they actively encouraged people to go and buy their burgers from their competitors, to raise more money for the charity.

Whilst Burger King may have lost some sales that day, they won their place in the hearts of many. Press coverage and social media noise were huge – PR success can be measured in more ways than immediate financial gain.

Cheetos and Forever 21

This is just one example of brands teaming up with clothing retailers, to create unique products. Collaborations like this turn customers into walking adverts for the brand, hugely increasing brand awareness, and create new and innovative products for the retailer.

BrewDog and Aldi

What began as a spat between two brands on Twitter, became a fantastic PR campaign. Shoppers had seen similarities between Aldi’s Anti-Establishment Beer and BrewDog’s Punk IPA, to which BrewDog responded by suggesting it would create ‘Yaldi IPA’.

To this, Aldi said, “We would have gone with ‘ALD IPA, send us a crate and we’ll talk…”.

So, BewDog did just that, and two months later, ALD IPA was stocked on the shelves in Aldi stores around the country.

This gained fantastic coverage on both social media and in the press. Both brands became a big talking point and sales increased as a result.

Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston has teamed up with many brands over recent years, allowing the iconic prints to be seen by unexpected consumers. Brands include Heinz, Slydes and most recently, the game Animal Crossing.

Each of these collaborations has gained great coverage. It isn’t every day you see a can of tomato soup featured in glossy magazines! Consumers love an exciting brand story, and collaborations like these create exactly that.

Posh Cockney are specialists in brand collaborations and would love to help you grow your brand today. Email liam.norval@poshcockney.co.uk and find out what we can do for you.

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