CROSS-BRAND COLLABORATIONS
Dawn Cardy, experiential director, Mission
Slowly but surely, 2015 will be the year cross-brand collaborations break through from predominantly retail and advertising to be leveraged at events. This has had the most standout within fashion, specifically where luxury meets everyday.
Examples include mass-volume brands partnering with high-end designers to create limited- edition products or capsule ranges, such as Adidas and Stella McCartney, H&M and Alexander Wang, and, of course, Diet Coke's multiple-year strategy of partnering with Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier and Marc Jacobs.
Manifesting mostly across above-the-line or in-store, it has laid the groundwork for event collaborations as media and consumers are now well versed in the concept. In November, . We captured the stunt on Go Pro cameras and released the content in various bespoke forms across Microsoft, Red Bull and Go Pro channels, achieving global reach and engaging new audiences for Microsoft. The recent Johnnie Walker and Uber activation is a great example of a brand leveraging its established partnerships.
The whisky brand took its association with driving via its F1 partnership and pushed it further to an ideal brand fit with Uber, raising awareness of the dangers of drink driving. In a challenging market category, found a way to cut through and adhere to guidelines, while benefited from profile raising and brand association.
MICROSOFT and Fyodor Golan
This , which were then printed and integrated into its designs. For , we collaborated on a concept where fashion met technology through an interactive dress, bringing technology directly to the product and the event. This attracted global media interest and coverage for both brands and secured their position as innovators. Collaboration gives mass brands the opportunity to gain brand equity or elevated positioning, and for niche brands it provides exposure to a wider audience. For the larger host brand it can offer opportunities to innovate and gain credibility.
Advantages
With so many ongoing activations, brands need to cut through. Unusual content gives marketers an alternative or additional offering and a more authentic experience for consumers, driving deeper engagement and brand loyalty. There can be financial benefits for both brands as they pool resources, and it opens doors to each other's network.
Potential pitfalls?
Brands will often see the opportunity to use a higher price point on limited collections to support the premium positioning, but this can have a negative effect for consumers.
And, on rare occasions, there is a risk of creative differences or fallout between brands.
In 2015 we will continue to see a rise in collaborations in experiential, specifically with a strong social media hook optimising mobile-centric audience interaction.
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