What is the logic behind Co- Branding?
The 1980s marked
a turning point in the conception of brands. Management came to realize
that the principal asset of a company was in fact its brand names. Several
articles in both the American and European press dealt with the discovery
of brand equity, or the financial value of the brand. In fact, the emergence
of brands in activities which previously had resisted or were foreign
to such concepts (industry, banking the service sector, etc) vouched for
the new importance of brands. This is confirmed by the importance that
so many distributors place on the promotion of their own brands.
For decades the value of a company was measured in terms of its buildings
and land, and then in tangible assets. It is only recently that we have
realized that its real value lies outside the business itself, in the
minds of potential buyers. In July 1990, the buyer of Adidas summarized
his reasons in one sentence, after coca cola and Marlboro; adidas was
the best known brand in the world.
The Logic of Co- Branding:
With increasing frequency, companies today are undertaking joint marketing projects. That is, two different companies pair their respective brands in a collaborative marketing effort:
- New product launches
clearly identify the brands that cooperated to create and market them.
Thus Danone and Motta introduced Yolka, a yogurt ice cream
with packaging that uses both brands to endorse it. Similarly, M&Ms
and Pilsbury invented a new cookie concept, and Compaq and Mattel combined
their respective expertise to bring out a line of hi-tech, interactive
toys.
- Many line extensions capitalize on a partner brands equity. Haagen
Dazs, for example, launched a Baileys flavored ice cream. In the
same vein, delicious brand cookies now includes a Chiquita banana taste
in its line, Yoplait sells a Cote dOr choclate cream and new Doritos
ads tout the great taste of Taco Bell or Pizza Hut.
- To maximize their brand extension success rates, many companies seek
help from other companies brands, whose established reputation in
the new market might proce decisive. Hence Kelloggs co branded its
cereals for health-oriented adults with Healthy choice.
- Co-branding may help usage extension. Ineurope, for instance, Bacardi
and coke advertise together. This helps Bacardis market penetration
strategy because the ads demonstrate another way to drink Bacardi. Moreover,
Bacardis status is a powerful endorsement for Coke as the ideal
mixer. Thus the pairing also benefits Coke, which wants to remain the
number one adult soft drink.
- Ingredient co-branding has now become commonplace. NutraSweet, for example,
wanted to bolster its image, so it encouraged and co-financed advertising
campaigns by its client brands. In turn, these client brands endorsed
NutraSweet and endowed it with connotations of pleasure and affective
values, until now sugars exclusive domain. The same holds true for
Lycra, Wool mark and Intel, these ingredient brands are eager to promote
co-branding, both on the product itself and in advertising and promotion.
- Image reinforcement may also be an objective of co-branding. In the
detergent industry, for instance, famous white goods brands endorse particular
detergents, and vice versa. Thus, in India, Ariel and Whirlpool recently
launched a co-branded advertising campaign, whose claim is the The
art of washing illustrated by a famous 1914 Renoir painting. By
these means, Ariel seeks to reinforce its market leader status and gain
a more affective image. As for Whirlpool, the campaign bolsters its European
launching strategy, and creates a caring image. Orangina and Renault provide
two more examples. To get closer to the youth market, Orangina launched
specially designed cans, co-branded with famous youth brands (eg Lee cooper).
For its part, Renault launched limited series of its Twingo car, endowing
them with famous designer names Twingo kenzo and Twingo Easy.
- Co-branding appears in sales promotions too. Whirlpool, for instance,
includes findus or Birds Eye coupons in its refrigerator owners
manuals. Similarly, companies find that prizes, such as club Med vacations,
work better than cash awards in promotional consumer contests or sweepstakes.
- Loyalty programmes, increasingly, include co-branding arrangements.
Although co-branded loyalty programmes are not new (GM initiated the concept,
with co branded credit cards), a new twist has appeared. That is, corporations
are sharing the cost of loyalty programmes between their own brands, for
example, Nestle issued a collectors booklet that includes all of
its brands (from Kit Kat to Buitoni, Perrier and Findus).
- Co-branding may signal a trade marketing operation. For instance, the
product may be designe specifically for a distributor and signed by both
manufacturer and retailer. Thus Danone created a special yogurt for Quick,
the European fast food chain that competes against McDonalds. Yoplait
did the same for McDonalds.
- Capitalising on synergies among a number of brands is another co-branding
objective. Nestle is a case in point, and it has a number of brands that
could gain from a joint marketing action (eg Nestles Yoghurts, Nescafe,
Nesquik Hertas pork and bacon). To compete against Kelloggs
and increase its market shares in the breakfast market, therefore. Nestle
launched joint advertising campaigns, showcasing all these brands around
a healthy breakfast theme.
Is co-branding new? No. There are early classics- detergents endorsed by white goods brands, and oil brands endorsed by car manufacturers. Later, in the 1960s Kelloggs Betty Crocket added Sunkist lemon cake as a line extension. Finally, Grand Marnier flavored ice creams are well known.
What is new is todays corporate awareness that strategic alliances are essential to acquiring and maintaining a competitive edge. Coopetition, a new word coined by Brandenburger and Nalebuff (1996), illustrates this new attitude. The idea: sometimes corporations may have to cooperate with and compete against the same company. From this standpoint, co-branding is an alliance made visible; furthermore, co branding involves recognizing that the publics knowledge of an alliance is added value.
Even though co branding has become fashionable, not all alliances should be made visible.
- In the photocopy
market, many products sold by, say, Canon are actually made by Ricoh.
- In the car industry, although the rover company is now owned by BMW,
at the product level Rover cars show no BMW insignia. Mercedes and Swatch
have created a joint venture to produce and market a revolutionary new
car, called Smart, to which each company will add its specific expertise.
However, Mercedes is unlikely to put its trademark on the smart!
- To conquer the iced tea market (depite late entry), Nestle and coca
Cola decided to unite against Unilevers Lipton range. Nestle would
create and market the product, and Coca Cola would distribute it. The
product, called Nestea, is not co-branded, though the Coca Cola company
gets only a small mention on the back of the packaging.
| The value of brand name | Sustaining long term brand name | Co-Branding | | Brand equity concept | Luxury brand management | Brand contract requirement | | Brand identity | Renew brand differences | Branding obstacles | | Brand management recognition | How to start branding your business quickly and easily |