Gaining Market and Media Exposure with Co-Branding

Co-branding is a branding strategy used to form a strategic alliance between two companies. Many companies use this strategy to expand its customer base, gain financial benefits, strengthen its competitive position, introduce a new product, and increase media exposure.

In a winning co-branding partnership, both brands have a natural synergy that can leverage the loyalty of their customers. For example, Disney has been very successful in increasing its market exposure by partnering with McDonald’s to offer Disney toys that are exclusively made for Happy Meals. Nike and Apple are two strong consumer brands that partnered to create the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, a highly popular product amongst both Apple and Nike customers.

PARTNERSHIP CONSIDERATIONS

Here are some things to think about when evaluating whether a co-branding partnership is right for your company.

• Is the brand you are considering a partnership with have a similar target audience?
• Is the mission of your company aligned with that of your prospective co-brand partner?
• Will the partnership drive adoption or sales of the co-branded product?
• Will it enhance your company’s media coverage?

PROGRAM ELEMENTS

When thinking about how the program should be executed, here are some program elements to consider.

• Media outreach: Is there newsworthy story about the partnership to share with the media?
• Advertising: Is there an advertising component to the co-brand partnership?
• In-store/retail co-branding: Is there an opportunity for displaying a co-branded label on the product or in the store?
• Program launch: Is there an opportunity for a launch event to generate media coverage?
• Online: Can the co-branded product or service be offered or spotlighted on both company websites for maximum exposure?
• Community/cause: If giving a portion of the proceeds or sales to a cause, it is recommended that the cause have relevance to both brands.
• Exclusivity: Is the partnership exclusive to the two brands?
• Partnership terms: How long with the partnership last and what are the options for renewal?
• Licensing: Are the licensing terms of the agreement reciprocal?

It goes without saying that you should perform a comprehensive evaluation of the company that you are considering a partnership with – it is equally important to understand the risks in addition to the rewards of the relationship. After your evaluation, you may decide that an alliance with another business may not be the best strategy for your company for gaining market and media exposure. But, when executed carefully and thoughtfully, a co-branding partnership can be an effective part of your company’s marketing strategy.

Acquiring Press Coverage Through Celebrity Seeding

Celebrity gossip and news are hot topics in today’s media. Consumers everywhere are fascinated with what their favorite stars are doing, wearing, driving, eating and more. As style leaders, they are powerful influencers and its no wonder that more and more companies want to integrate their products into the lives of celebrities with the goal of generating mass media exposure. This process is known as Celebrity Product Placement or Celebrity Seeding. There are several techniques that can be used to execute a Celebrity Seeding program which can help you to achieve coverage in the media at a fraction of the cost of advertising or paid endorsements.

THREE TYPES OF CELEBRITY SEEDING

• Celebrity Gifting
• Product Seeding
• Product for Promotion Relationship (a.k.a. The Barter)

Celebrity Gifting

Celebrity Gifting usually involves supplying free product for inclusion into gift bags which are handed out to celebrities at the conclusion of an event or as a thank you to celebrity presenters and nominees at various award shows. While this tactic allows you to get your product into the hands of a number of celebrities simultaneously, it doesn’t offer you the choice of matching your product with your preferred celebrity demographic. Additionally, while this opportunity can get you coverage in the entertainment publications for your participation, it can be difficult to gain celebrity permission to associate your product with them.

I used this method for a popular baby products company I had worked with. We supplied a variety of items to celebrities in an event gift bag. Tori Spelling was a recipient of one of the bags, which included the signature safety tub. A few months later her son Liam appeared on her show “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” in the tub. We took a screen shot of the image and sent it to media as well as included it on the company’s website.

Product Seeding

Product seeding provides you with the opportunity to identify celebrities you want associated with your product. The tactic involves sending product directly to the celebrity (or their reps) with the hope that they will begin using the product. If you do not have the necessary celebrity contacts, you can hire a firm that specializes in implementing this tactic. By sending a shipment of your product to a celebrity on a regular basis (i.e. monthly), you increase your chances that they celebrity will be photographed with your product or talk about it during an interview. In some cases, a celebrity may ask you for additional product. This is considered an “implied endorsement” that you can leverage to the entertainment press.

While working at a PR firm as its consumer products director, I initiated a seeding program for a company with a line of healthy potato chips. We shipped the product to several celebrities that we wanted associated with the brand. In the shipment, we included a note that offered the celebrity additional samples for free, as well as free product for the set of their next project. A celebrity we seeded with product called and asked for additional flavors. She commented that she loved salty snacks and that she was a huge fan of the product. We took this information and fed it to “Us Weekly” for a feature they were working on titled “What Celebrities Eat to Stay in Shape.” A photo of the product and the celebrity were included in this feature. This was a very inexpensive way to associate our product with a celebrity of our choice while generating exposure through a popular celebrity publication.

Product for Promotion Relationship (a.k.a. The Barter)

Bartering with a celebrity, or trading free product for free promotion, is probably one of the most efficient ways to guarantee that a celebrity will speak about your product publicly. This type of campaign usually works best with luxury products or other expensive items such as cars, electronics, and jewelry. Typically, an arrangement is made with the celebrity that in order to receive the free product, they will need to speak about it on their next late night talk show interview, press interview, etc. There is also an agreement with the celebrity that the company can leverage the celebrity as a fan of the product to the media. An example of this would be giving a celebrity a car for a milestone birthday and having them talk about it at their birthday party that is sure to be covered by the media.

Conclusion

A properly executed celebrity seeding program can help you achieve your media exposure goals at a fraction of the cost of a paid endorsement or advertisement. When determining which of the three strategies is best for you, think about what type of result is most important for your company and product.