When two or more companies join forces to create or market a product or service, they are called brand partnerships. Businesses must share their risk, reputations, and audiences. Companies should ensure that their partnerships have key characteristics that will lead to success to minimize risks.

Brand partnerships are hard work. Partners are not only sharing risk but also relying on each other for success.

Many brand partnerships have failed to live up to expectations in the past. Forever21 and Atkins are two examples. The partnership between the two companies is a natural fit since both are women-focused consumer brands. It didn’t go as planned.

Forever 21 provided Atkins health bars as part of the partnership to customers who placed online orders. Customers were disappointed and offended by both brands after they received the unanticipated diet product.

What makes a brand partnership work?

• Familiarity – 57% of consumers trust products that are recognizable by their brand names.

• Innovation 29% of consumers recognize the Apple Pay brand partnership between Apple & MasterCard. This partnership is known for being innovative and creative in the space of digital wallets.

• Quality 44% of consumers keep buying from brands that offer high-quality products or services.

• Problem Solver 38% of consumers steer clear from co-branded products that don’t seem to be helpful.

• Audience-Minded 43% of consumers are loyal at least to one food or beverage company. This industry is often praised for its ability to understand audiences.

Familiarity: Betty Crocker, Hershey’s Chocolate

People are more likely to trust products made by brands they already know. This makes familiarity an important tool in digital marketing agencies in Miami endeavors, which includes brand partnerships.

More than half (57%) of US consumers trust products from well-respected brands more than those with unfamiliar names.

Betty Crocker’s baking mix partnership with Hershey’s Chocolate is a great example of how familiarity can increase brand popularity.

Hershey’s Betty Crocker-inspired Betty Crocker cake mix was launched in 2013, during a bake competition. Next, the company sent branded trucks on a 12-day sampling trip that included a stop at Hershey, Pennsylvania.

These promotions created a positive buzz that accelerated the product’s success, and it remained a mainstay in home and grocery stores across the country.

Gregory Young is Chief Experience Officer at the software company Convincely. Young believes that buyers can avoid regret by being familiar with brands and using social proof to prove quality.

“With household brand products, many people have direct buying experience. Young stated that the consumer experience is well documented. Consumers can draw on the experience of others to make informed decisions before purchasing.

Many people have direct buying experience with household brand products. It is well documented that consumers have a positive experience.

Customers who trust well-respected brands and partnerships featuring these companies are more likely to succeed.

Innovation: Apple and MasterCard

Buyers are attracted to innovative ideas and new products as a result of the industry’s continued priority for technological advancements.

For example, take Apple and MasterCard. They teamed up to offer Apple Pay, which 29% of consumers now know about.

Customers may find companies that partner with them to develop innovative solutions more attractive and easily recognizable. This is especially true when innovation fulfills a pertinent need.

Apple Pay was an innovative digital wallet that allowed people to pay almost anything with no physical cash or cards. This product’s ease of use allowed it to quickly surpass competitors in the field and become the most loved one by 2019.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, more people turned to this solution. The product was easy to use and promoted safe, cashless transactions so that people did not have to worry about the spread of the virus via cash payments.

Apple Pay provided peace of mind for many people during the pandemic. Users appreciated the innovation that was brought to the brand’s partnership.

Pottery Barn & Sherwin Williams Quality

Consumers are keen to find quality when making purchase decisions or choosing from similar products. Brand partnerships should focus on creating quality products that meet the needs of their customers.

44% of consumers believe that brands can keep their business alive if they maintain high quality across all products.

One of the most important things companies can offer as part of a brand partnership is a commitment to quality service. Pottery Barn and Sherwin-Williams are great examples of this quality in their efforts to help customers choose the right paint color to match their interior design preferences.

Pottery Barn promised its customers twice a year that it would choose a palette of Sherwin Williams paint colors that matches the furniture catalog. This will allow customers to coordinate their walls and furnishings more easily.

This collaboration enabled home decorators to get a full-service solution that included both furniture and paint. The increased value of each service when combined made this all-in-one option popular.

Nate Tsang is the founder and CEO of the investment tool WallStreetZen. He believes customers can increase their expectations for value if they have a strong and helpful partner.

Tsang stated that “if people can see how these two brands work better together, they’ll be able to go in with higher expectations.” It is up to brands to deliver that added value without over-promising or under-delivering.

People will be more open to seeing how these brands work together, if they can see the benefits of working together, then they’ll be more inclined to accept them.

Tsang likens successful partnerships to peanut butter being mixed with chocolate. If the partnership is good, the end product will outperform either brand.

Customers can relax and raise expectations, as well as trust brands partnered with them without fear.

Problem Solver: Alexander Wang & H&M

Products should solve problems for users. Consumers want to see solutions and not just flashy marketing campaigns when they partner with brands.

38% of consumers won’t try products that aren’t helpful. 

This means that brand partnerships must be more helpful than just being interesting.

Experts recommend conducting thorough market research before agreeing to a brand collaboration. If you want to know if your product solves a problem effectively, market research is a great way to do this.

Alexander Wang’s and H&M’s joint effort to make designer clothing more affordable is a strong example of a problem-solving partnership.

The partnership was viral because it reached an audience who were interested in designer clothes, but needed affordable prices to purchase. Both companies solved a problem on the market and had great commercial success.

Even celebrities like Rihanna, Fergie, and others were seen in pieces from Alexander Wang X H&M.

Alexander Wang and H&M were able to create a successful brand partnership by keeping in mind both the industry problem and the consumer problem.

Audience-Minded: Taco Bell and Doritos

The audience is the most important thing in any business. When entering into a partnership with a brand, prioritizing the audience is more important than ever.

Food and beverage companies set a high standard when it comes to pleasing customers. 43 percent of consumers are loyal supporters of at least one beverage and food company. This is far more than the support they receive in other industries.

How can these companies keep retaining loyal customers and connect with the right audience? They use branding strategies to reflect the interests of their customers while still representing the product.

Robert Johnson, founder of Sawinery is a woodworking company. He believes that food and beverages are bursting with emotion. This includes colorful brand attributes to sensory experiences.

Johnson stated that food and beverage companies benefit from the emotional connection they get from their loyal customers. Johnson stated that food and beverages are more closely associated with personal experiences than other commodities because they appeal to multiple senses simultaneously, such as smell, taste, sight, and touch.

Food and beverage companies can leverage the emotional connection they get from their loyal customers.

Your partner may not have the same target audience that your business has. You’ll need to collaborate to appeal to your respective audiences with your products and branding efforts.       

This is exactly the approach Doritos took to form a partnership with Taco Bell to create the Doritos Locos Taco.

Both companies had strong brands and consumer followings within the same demographics. made sure that consumers connected with the project.

The Doritos Locos Taco was also the result of extensive market research and recipe modifications. Before launching the product, the two companies wanted to make sure it resonated with the right audience.

It was worth the effort and time spent on testing and audience alignment. Taco Bell is not likely to discontinue the final product, which continues to be a fan favorite. Taco Bell and Doritos have one of the most successful brand alliances. They leveraged their position as emotive food brands and beverage brands with comparable target audiences.

Brand Partnerships require a tactical approach

Brand partnerships can be more complicated than they sound. To be successful, they require strategic decisions. Brand partnerships are successful when both companies involved are willing to take on risk and deliver quality products that address a specific audience need.

Successful partnerships can also be a benefit to companies that are open to innovation and familiarity with their customers through the products they create together.