Brand sponsorships are often the cornerstone of a well-rounded marketing strategy, and we’ve seen them grow in popularity over the last decade as a relatively efficient way to marry two audiences. In fact, 94% of tech executives view innovative partnerships as necessary to their strategy, according to the Harvard Business Review.
Creating A Powerful Partnership
The rise of branded partnerships means consumers are seeing branded content everywhere—in the airport, at the train station, at the movies, at the stadium, on social media and so on. Given this influx of branding, it’s important to think about how you make your brand stand out.
Brand Ethos
When looking for a brand partner, you must assess the potential partner’s mission and their compatibility with your own. It’s imperative that your values and goals align to create a genuine partnership that makes sense to consumers and stokes pride in internal stakeholders.
Audience Alignment
The next piece is to ensure that the brand’s audience not only aligns with but expands your existing audience. The partnership should reach new potential customers but shouldn’t alienate your existing base. It’s all about bringing something new yet highly relevant to both audiences.
Mutual Benefit
While it’s important that your partnership elevates your brand, you must consider what your brand can offer your partner. Who are you helping them engage? And how can you both make the most of the partnership? These elements are foundational for any partnership. When aligned, they can make your brand collaboration shine.
Lenovo, for instance, took this into account when expanding its presence in the motorsports industry, which has an incredible need for technology that thrives in a competitive environment. This most recently took shape when the brand combined forces with Formula 1, which has an ethos that similarly centers around innovating to bring new fan experiences to the millions of racing enthusiasts worldwide. Lenovo has been able to deliver on this by innovating the trophy experience and bringing XR to F1, but had clearly outlined its mission to use technology to market the fan experience differently.
Developing A Road Map And Setting Goals
No successful brand partnership can happen without a clear road map of your goals. It’s important to define this early and thoroughly with your partner so you have a north star that guides your day-to-day work, helps you confront any challenges that may arise and ultimately allows you to measure your final results against it.
You also want to play to your brand’s strengths, which presents an opportunity to go further than imagined. A strong example of this is Warner Bros. Discovery’s partnership with Save the Children as part of the Barbie movie premiere, which supports programming for girls’ education and empowerment worldwide. This not only built on their other countless brand collaborations from food to fashion but was a crucial way to extend the movie’s message to reality.
Understanding The Data
Beyond setting goals at the start of your partnership, data has become critical to measuring campaign resonance and refining them in real time. Data allows you to create efficiencies and precision in your campaign efforts. I found it particularly beneficial, for example, when Lenovo developed a scorecard to objectively track the impact of our F1 partnership.
Analyzing your ROI creates a case study for other marketing use cases and future collaborations. Data offers a quicker, more accurate picture of what worked and what didn’t work with the partnership to complement your own qualitative findings. Look at areas where you can strengthen your partnership, whether through different modes for activation or other integration points. If the integration is working especially well, consider discussing the possibility of taking the partnership even further. The pivotal role of strategic partnerships in fostering mutual growth and success is an invaluable lesson for brands seeking to get the most out of their partnership.
Standing Out Through Your Partnership
Research shows that 68% of consumers make buying decisions after seeing a partnership campaign. In an age where there are so many partnerships, marketers must leverage the latest trends, tools and data to help them stay ahead. As you consider brand partners, think about what your audience values and consider partners who value the same. Identify areas where you can bring a real differentiated improvement to the partner’s existing operations. Finally, be sure you are both continuing to evaluate how you can make the most of your time and deliver meaningful business impact together.
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