How to accelerate growth through a brand collaboration

Some of the biggest brands on the planet have worked together in the past to create not only memorable but profitable campaigns and partnerships (GoPro & Red Bull – Stratos, Kanye and Adidas – Yeezy, Apple & MasterCard – Apple Pay), why shouldn’t you? You should.

Brand collaboration can be a great way to gain enhanced exposure for your business offering with less fiscal input, while simultaneously broadening your reach and adding value to your existing user base.  

A collaboration can simply be described as two or more organisations coming together with shared objectives or goals – in the business context, the idea would be to see marked growth either in financial return or brand affinity – and when done right, can truly encompass the concept of win-win.
So, how could you accelerate the growth of your business through a successful brand collaboration?

Know your collaboration goals.  

Your business has goals and you have a strategy laid out on how best to achieve them. Brand collaborations are the same: you need to decide what you need from a collaboration, what would serve you best and how collaborating could help you achieve that goal.

Social media followers? Market share? Increase in sales? There are myriad ways to grow your business and reasons to enter into a partnership – decide what yours are and write them down.   

Choose the right partner.  

In truth, it doesn’t need to be an actual case of choosing someone and approaching them with an offer, but rather an opportunity that arises organically with obvious potential that you leverage with the aforementioned partner. 

A key factor in ‘choosing’ the right partner is to ensure you are not competitors. It seems obvious, but remember, there are many ways to overlap when it comes to business and collaboration goals so be sure to partner with someone that only compliments your offering. 

Another factor that can’t (and shouldn’t) be ignored these days is the concept of aligned brand values. Do your brands stand for the same things? Are you aligned in what you put out into the world? Consumers today are highly-informed and quick to react if something doesn’t gel or clearly goes against what a brand says and does – It’s akin to working with an influencer, you have to be aligned for the message to be believed and you should be aware of all possible ‘talking points’. 

Talk about the collab-objectives.  

The goals and objectives you set out for your business should be clear to your collaborator so as to avoid any confusion in the execution of your partnership. If you know exactly what you want from this and have ‘chosen’ a partner that compliments you, then being open about your desired ROI will only make for a more efficient and effective collaboration for all involved. 

Have an overarching plan.   

• Measure twice cut once, a failure to plan is a plan to fail, a stitch in time saves nine – however you phrase it, the point is the same again and again: have a plan. 

• When embarking on a new business venture (especially ones that involve outside entities) it is vital to execute against a thought-out plan with milestones, markers and KPIs. 

• Have a plan, discuss it, agree on and stick to it. 

At Bridgement, we endeavour to make the running of a business, your business, possible. 

We’re here to help you make a success of your business by providing insight and understanding to a complex landscape and offering much-needed funding to make that success a possibility.  

Bridgement Business Funding

#MadePossible