Brand partnerships, or co-branding, happens when two brands or companies work together in a mutually beneficial relationship. Oftentimes, these companies are complementary and not direct competitors. However, there are some instances where competitors call a truce and double in to monopolize the market, and everyone else trying to get into the game. When done well, brand partnerships can offer domination and seriously high profits.

Finding the perfect partnerships.

Can you change by creating brand partnerships? Of course, you can. Business changes every day. But how versatile, agile and quickly can you adapt yourself and your organization to stay relevant in today’s society?

Organizations are always evolving. What’s different now, is that we set new speed records of change on a daily basis. Technology gives us unprecedented possibilities. And this sea of opportunities is pushing the traditional bureaucratic, controlled and hierarchical organization into an identity crisis.

However, just like any relationship, some are better than others. It takes a lot of small working parts aligning perfectly for a brand partnership to really take off. Over the years, there have been winners and losers. Here’s a look at some of the best brand partnerships to date, and what they did right:

Apple and IBM

This is an example of when two competitors actually worked well together. According to IBM, this marriage “brings together the analytics and enterprise-scale computing of IBM with the elegant user experience of iPhone and iPad to deliver a new level of value for businesses.”

Obviously, Apple has the background in giving customers what they want and they could seriously improve the IBM image. However, it’s IBM’s incredible big data and software that will give Apple a boost. Who says two giants can’t play nicely?

Apple knows how.

Alexander Wang and H&M

A high end designer partnering up with a budget retail outlet is nothing new, and H&M is known for snagging some seriously hot designers (as is Target). However, the Alexander Wang partnership is especially worth noting. Just like every other H&M designer, the Wang marriage is planned to be short-lived, but offers Wang a chance to make a connection with a brand new generation. Obviously, the benefits are H&M scores yet another killer designer while Wang will likely develop a few customers willing to pay couture prices in a few months or years.

The Art of Shaving and Gillette

Well, this is an obvious hookup everyone saw coming! The Art of Shaving is a luxury chain known for offering the best accoutrements for shaving around, including gold plated razors. Of course, Gillette is known for offering close shaves on a budget, and is arguably the best-known shaving brand in the US. However, when these two sidled up to one another, the result was the Fusion Chrome Collection: An Art of Shaving razor that only worked with Gillette blades. It costs $150 and gave both brands a corner on the market.

Benjamin Moore and Pottery Barn

What does one of the world’s premium paint brands and one of the globe’s most renowned home goods store have in common? A gorgeous interior, of course! While Pottery Barn was doing everything possible to provide furnishing and bedding to make interior décor dreams come true, customers kept asking about paint colors — especially the ones in the Pottery Barn catalogue. The obvious answer was to work with Benjamin Moore to design a unique palette for every season.

Betty Crocker and Hershey

Talk about a sweet coupling! Everyone knows both Betty Crocker and Hershey, and both are connected with comfort foods, desserts, baking, and goodies. Betty Crocker has been the go-to brand for baking since 1921, and teaming up with Hershey to create easy to make treats was a no-brainer. After all, if you’re going to call for chocolate chips in your recipe, you may as well specify America’s most beloved brand.

One Direction and Nabisco

Clear direction to develop effective teamwork

Yes, really! A “brand” doesn’t necessarily have to be a company providing goods or services — it can be a band, too. Nabisco has a penchant for partnering up with the most popular bands and musicians in the world, so it only makes sense to “brand band” with this boy band. Nabisco is sponsoring the group’s tour including brand mentions in 20,000 retail locations via store displays and on 8,000 end-caps around the country. A bit of a brand hopper, One Direction has also worked with Nokia, Pepsi, and Target to name just a few.

Lexus and Coach

Remember when Lexus was the ultimate luxury car, especially in the hip hop sector of the 1990s? You may also recall that this is when Coach joined forces with the car giant to offer one of a kind luxury leather interior seating. It was a perfect pairing, especially in a time when Coach was also one of the most in-demand brands and the logo craze was just taking off. Nowadays, Coach is looking to expand but will always be linked to those bags.

New York’s Ace Hotel and Stumptown Coffee

Ace Hotel is one of the most well-known hotels in all of Manhattan, and it has a knack for choosing fantastic partnerships including Stumptown Coffee. Arguably the most popular brewer in New York, any traveler (and locals, too) demand the best café in the mornings, and Ace is happy to help serve that up. Forget that mediocre, free coffee in the lobby and enjoy the real New York experience. Coffee and hotels go together like jam and peanut butter, so it was a natural fit.

MAC and Everybody

Celebrity-endorsed MAC products include special lines each year or season that are an homage to the celeb flavor of the day. Some of the most well-known celebrity “designers” include RuPaul, Cyndi Lauper, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj. Obviously, MAC likes celebrities with an edge, which goes in line with its industry-approved makeup, bright colors, and sleek designs. The most recent MAC designer: Miley Cyrus, of course.

Coca-Cola and Jack Spade

What could America’s most popular beverage possibly have in common with a designer? Don’t underestimate the power of Americana, because Jack Spade has launched a series of clothes, bags, and accessories that feature the icon everyone knows and loves. For the designers, connecting with classic beverage brands tap into the nostalgia and classic adoration that many fashionistas adore. For the beverage brands, they can tap into a different market and up their class/ desirability factor at the same time.

McDonald’s and LEGO

McDonald’s is another company known for jumping in bed with quite a few brand partners. One of the most successful was LEGO, and together the companies produced a mini restaurant (built with LEGOs of course) as well as Happy Meal Toys. There’s nothing kids love more than LEGO, except maybe McDonald’s, which is why this partnership was easy to come by and benefited all (except maybe the parents who ended up stepping on those restaurant building pieces).

KFC and Susan G. Komen

Remember the 2010 “Buckets for the Cure” campaign that was touted by KFC in collaboration with the Susan G. Komen Foundation? Of course, chicken can’t cure cancer — or can it? With 50 cents of every purchase being donated to the Foundation, $2 million was raised in week one alone. While some critics mocked the idea of fast food trying to help cure cancer (“eat a breast to save a breast,” anyone?), it was ultimately a goodwill effort that did what it was designed to do: Sell more chicken and raise some funds.

The bottom line

The notion of a lone genius has always been a myth. As W. Brian Arthur observed in The Nature of Technology, innovations are combinations, so it is unlikely that anyone ever has all the pieces to the puzzle. Even Steve Jobs depended on a small circle of loyalists. Today, however, the ability to collaborate is becoming a key competitive advantage.

Try it and see the advantages first hand.

Now, what about you and your business? What are some of your ideas for collaboration and potential partnerships?

And what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.

It’s up to you to keep improving the growth hacking of your business. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. Or maybe offering to collaborate. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your growth hacking for your team?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find him on Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

Check out these additional articles on local business and its performance in our library:

The planet is becoming smarter … intelligence is being infused into systems that enable services to be delivered. An awesome quote from Sam Palmisano. It was in late 2008 or early 2009 when IBM began its “Smarter Planet” marketing campaign. At the time, the campaign seemed very ambitious … maybe even a bit risky, even for IBM.

The vision of healthcare, retail, finance, transportation, cities, and other fields made more intelligent and therefore better with digital technology could have been viewed as puffery. Not what happened to the smart planet.

For a long time, marketing was driven by taglines—short, evocative slogans that captured the essence of a brand’s message. Nike encouraged us to “Just Do It,” while Apple inspired us to “Think Different.” Miller Lite simply had to say, “Tastes great, less filling” and product flew off the shelves.

Taglines worked because they cut through the clutter and stood out in a sea of brands vying for our attention. Marketers needed to project images that were compact, but meaningful or risk getting lost in the mix. Yet it is no longer enough to merely grab attention. Marketers now need to hold attention.

But IBM has stuck to its strategy and the Smart Planet campaign looks like a good one from this view today.

When Lou Gerstner took over at IBM in 1993, the century-old tech giant was in dire straits. Overtaken by nimbler upstarts, like Microsoft in software, Compaq in hardware, and Intel in microprocessors, it was hemorrhaging money. Many believed that it needed to be broken up into smaller, more focused units in order to compete.

Yet Gerstner saw it differently and kept the company intact, which led to one of the most dramatic turnarounds in corporate history. Today, more than a quarter-century later, while many of its formal rivals have long since disappeared IBM is still profitable and on the cutting edge of many of the most exciting technologies.

Here are my takeaways on what other businesses can learn from this strategy:

Smart planet

Pick a current challenge in your community that relates to your brand/business in a relevant way. Look for market rifts that you could use. Create your vision around what you can contribute to your community.

Build out a long-term campaign

Find a theme around your vision. Use the theme to craft a marketing strategy connecting and integrating as many smaller marketing objectives and tactics as you can.

Smart planet marketing campaign

Link your core competencies to your vision and the challenge.

Don’t overpromise … you must deliver exactly what you promise or the results will be worse than not executing the strategy.

Always plan out … short-term wins in advance.

Use the campaign … to convert good customers into advocates. Define a tactic to achieve this objective specifically.

In the end, your strategy should tell your story in a way that builds on your brand image and integrates all of your marketing efforts.

The bottom line

“The value of an idea lies in the using of it .”

Do you have an idea that will change the world? Well, it’s not worth anything unless you can turn that idea into a reality. So take the plunge and see just how far that idea can take you. Or, you can sit around trading advice over the internet.

The choice is yours.

If you are looking for additional resources in marketing strategy, one of my favorite experts is Ken Burbary. You’ll find lots of good stories and examples to learn from his blog.

Does your business have an integrating marketing strategy? Do you have any examples or stories to share?

So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing created by remarkable customer service. And put it to good use.

It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing strategies. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?

Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.

Apple and IBM

Alexander Wang and H&M

The Art of Shaving and Gillette

Benjamin Moore and Pottery Barn

Betty Crocker and Hershey

One Direction and Nabisco

Lexus and Coach

New York’s Ace Hotel and Stumptown Coffee

MAC and Everybody

Coca-Cola and Jack Spade

McDonald’s and LEGO

KFC and Susan G. Komen

Now, what about you and your business? What are some of your ideas for collaboration and potential partnerships?

And what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you.

It’s up to you to keep improving the growth hacking of your business. Lessons are all around you. In many situations, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. Or maybe offering to collaborate. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Test. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your growth hacking for your team?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find him on Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way.

Check out these additional articles on local business and its performance in our library:

The vision of healthcare, retail, finance, transportation, cities, and other fields made more intelligent and therefore better with digital technology could have been viewed as puffery. Not what happened to the smart planet.

But IBM has stuck to its strategy and the Smart Planet campaign looks like a good one from this view today.

Related post: Learning from 2 of the Best Marketing Strategy Case Studies

Here are my takeaways on what other businesses can learn from this strategy:

Smart planet

Pick a current challenge in your community that relates to your brand/business in a relevant way. Look for market rifts that you could use. Create your vision around what you can contribute to your community.

Build out a long-term campaign

Find a theme around your vision. Use the theme to craft a marketing strategy connecting and integrating as many smaller marketing objectives and tactics as you can.

Related post: 7 Secrets to the Lego Blog Marketing Campaigns … Effective Marketing?

Smart planet marketing campaign

Link your core competencies to your vision and the challenge.

Don’t overpromise … you must deliver exactly what you promise or the results will be worse than not executing the strategy.

Always plan out … short-term wins in advance.

Use the campaign … to convert good customers into advocates. Define a tactic to achieve this objective specifically.

In the end, your strategy should tell your story in a way that builds on your brand image and integrates all of your marketing efforts.

The bottom line

“The value of an idea lies in the using of it .”

Do you have an idea that will change the world? Well, it’s not worth anything unless you can turn that idea into a reality. So take the plunge and see just how far that idea can take you. Or, you can sit around trading advice over the internet.

The choice is yours.

If you are looking for additional resources in marketing strategy, one of my favorite experts is Ken Burbary. You’ll find lots of good stories and examples to learn from his blog.

Does your business have an integrating marketing strategy? Do you have any examples or stories to share?

So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing created by remarkable customer service. And put it to good use.

It’s up to you to keep improving your creative marketing strategies. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing the ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your marketing, branding, and advertising?

Do you have a lesson about making your marketing strategy better you can share with this community? Have any questions or comments to add in the section below?

Digital Spark Marketing will stretch your thinking and your ability to adapt to change. We also provide some fun and inspiration along the way. Call us for a free quote today. You will be amazed at how reasonable we will be.

More reading on marketing strategy from Digital Spark Marketing’s Library:

Mike Schoultz is a digital marketing and customer service expert. With 48 years of business experience, he consults on and writes about topics to help improve the performance of small business. Find him on G+, Facebook, Twitter, Digital Spark Marketing, and LinkedIn.