When two brands come together, they become megaphones for one another, boosting messaging and profiles. Add in more partners, and you have a full-blown cross-promotion strategy, as well as a well-rounded experience for event attendees. But what goes into finding the right brand to collaborate with? Does the key lie in similar audiences or products? What about complementary brand aesthetics? We rounded up eight case studies that show successful partnerships don’t just happen because of similar backgrounds, but through serendipitous meetings, unexpected connections, sweet treats and opportunities to get crafty.
Creating a Brand Flavor
With the US Open in full swing, American Express debuted a tennis-inspired, limited-edition Van Leeuwen ice cream flavor, “Match Point Mint Chip x Amex” this week. The green mint chip with blue frosting swirl ice cream is available for purchase at 23 Van Leeuwen scoop shops across New York City. The two brands also collaborated on a three-day ice cream truck pop-up across the city, Aug. 15-17, where fans received a free scoop of the new flavor and got a preview of select experiences American Express is offering this tennis season.
Across the pond, soft drink brand Cawston Press rolled into London’s Clapham Common park with its Frozen Fruit Waters Mobile, in collaboration with Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2.” Helping Londoners beat the summer heat on July 27, the brand distributed four flavors of Cawston Press Fruit Waters in a special frozen format, highlighting its juices’ no-added-sugar formulations and the tagline “Goodness from the Inside Out.” While the van was co-branded with Cawston Press and “Inside Out 2” imagery, the film’s theme of emotions carried into the extended footprint’s chill-out zone for relaxation and “Inside Out 2” coloring activities.
Photo credits: Charles Sykes/AP Content Services for American Express; Cawston Press
Pairing Luxury with Grit
When luggage brand BÉIS launched its “car wash” for scuffed-up suitcases and bags in L.A. earlier this year, it collaborated with two brands to bring the concept to life. Scrub Daddy brought custom luggage-shaped sponges to the BÉIS Wash, in addition to its standard smiley face scrubbers, and Branch Basics formulated mixtures to clean the various materials that make up the BÉIS luggage lineup, from polycarbonate to polyester to vegan leather.
Elizabeth Money, svp-brand and creative at BÉIS, says Branch Basics reached out about a potential partnership while the brand was already ideating on the car wash activation, calling it “a very natural, serendipitous connection.” And Scrub Daddy had previously collaborated with BÉIS, so the BÉIS Wash was the perfect opportunity to reignite the partnership in an organic way that played to the sponge brand’s area of expertise.
Most recently, BÉIS teamed up with the National Park Foundation on a monthlong road trip that saw the brand pop up near national parks across the country to celebrate its new Utility Collection and encourage consumers to get outside. Throughout August, the BÉIS Camp (get it?) RV has been setting up at shops, lodges and cafes by Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In addition to product displays of the limited-edition collection, the brand offered The BÉIS & Tackle Bar for attendees to build their own bag charm out of beads and fishing feathers, exclusive national park patches, coloring activities, family portrait booths and plenty of camping-themed photo op spots like branded tents and bulletin boards. (Partners: MKG; Pink Sparrow)
Photo credit: BÉIS
Offering Total Body Wellness
Also looking to take advantage of the great outdoors, skincare brand The Outset hosted events outside its Sensitive Skin Clinic pop-up at The Grove L.A. throughout its monthlong run from May 24 to June 19. On the lawn behind the glass box footprint, Pvolve, a low-impact fitness method, presented complimentary strength and sculpt classes, a brand partnership that not only drew fitness enthusiasts, but also encouraged consumers to try The Outset’s new Hydrasheer sunscreen.
From first seeing the green space, Joanne Sulit, cmo at The Outset, says she “had this vision of yoga mats and an instructor leading a class, and so we built from there.” A personal fan of Pvolve, Sulit reached out to the fitness brand to ask about partnering on events during the clinic pop-up, and Pvolve was receptive to the idea. Additionally, haircare brand Crown Affair offered attendees 10-minute scalp massages and skincare consultations during its events at the pop-up, and Sulit says it made sense for the “friend of the brand” to partner with The Outset because it was also launching a new product at the same time, creating a fitting cross-promotional moment. (Agency: MKG)
Photo credit: Stefanie Parkinson
Leaning on Consumer Data
When Pinterest user data revealed that searches for “clean food” have risen by more than 9,700 percent and searches for “dips and snack hacks” have increased by 100 percent, clean-eating condiment brand Primal Kitchen decided to take its online business into the wild.
Primal and Pinterest partnered on a three-city Colorful Kitchen Pop-Up campaign rooted in the social media platform’s data on top food and kitchen trends. The duo strategically timed the event series to grilling season, kicking things off July 17-18 in New York, then hitting Chicago on July 23 and L.A. on July 28. With their sights set on millennials and Gen Z, the brands spiced up the typical culinary activation, handing the reins to foodie influencers and turning Pinterest’s digital f&b and décor trends into IRL experiences.
Among touchpoints within the two-story pop-up, attendees could sample Primal Kitchen dips and sauces on tap, jump into a “dip pit,” explore the event design to experience the latest kitchen décor trends (gray is out, vibrant colors are in), snag free products and swag, snap photos against a “salad wall” and oversized refrigerator, learn cooking hacks, and even watch creators and brand ambassadors battle “the paparazzi.” —K.S. (Agency: CNC Agency)
Getting Crafty with a Trending Brand
Friendship bracelets aren’t just for Taylor Swift concerts. Brands have jumped on the bracelet-making trend by partnering with Little Words Project, a woman-owned jewelry company known for its bracelets with inspirational messages. Last July, drinkware brand Stanley hosted a Summer of Color three-day pop-up in Venice Beach, CA, that showcased its best-selling products and introduced summer-inspired colorways. At a bead station in partnership with Little Words Project, attendees could create their own bracelets with personal affirmations, and over the course of the weekend, participants crafted almost 500 bracelets. (Agency: This Is Lester)
No stranger to the US Open, having served as a sponsor since 1982, JPMorgan Chase has perfected a successful formula for activating the event. Last year, Chase’s key objective was to evolve its experiences to bring more value to attending customers (or, perhaps, their kids). Enter: a new partnership with Little Words Project that brought a custom tennis-themed bracelet-making station to the Chase Terrace, bringing joy to a hospitality zone that unlocked a new kind of “sharing” for the attendees.
Photo credit: Stanley
