Co-branding and Co-marketing: know the meaning, differences and powerful benefits
Co-branding and co-marketing are examples of how two great flavors can be good together.
Co branding can have a huge impact on the market. Ideally, it renews interest in both brand partners and creates an unexpected profit that remains current in customers’ imaginations for years to come.
Both co branding and co-marketing are becoming more common as brands seek to combine their unique strengths. And energize your social media and encourage truly memorable collaboration.
Before you can reap the benefits, it is important to clarify exactly what is at stake. It can be easy to confuse joint marketing with brand sharing and this leads to missed opportunities.
Let’s look more closely.
What is co-branding?

In its simplest form, co-branding uses two (or more!) Brands in a single product or service. This is usually a combination that leverages the unique offers of each brand partner.
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Co-branding fits the visibility and feelings associated with each existing brand. But it also includes unique brand identifiers, such as a special logo and color scheme.
Combining their market reach and brand recognition, brand partners have a chance to win back the public. And (hopefully) persuade them to pay a premium for a new offer.
Some impressive examples of this at work include:
• Tim Horton’s and Cold Stone Creamery shared each other’s menus in select stores in 2009. The initiative was popular enough to soon spread to other locations. Eventually leading to joint items like co-branded coffee filters and increasing sales.
• MasterCard and Apple Pay outperformed the competition in the world of cashless transactions through partnerships. MasterCard became the first credit card to support Apple Pay. Thus, providing a huge customer base, while maintaining exclusive resources for MasterCard cardholders.
• Taco Bell and Doritos gave new life to both brands and had many sales. Especially among university students, with the tasty (but not very inventive) concept of Doritos Locos Tacos. In fact, Doritos appears to appear in an increasing variety of other foods these days.
Summing it all up, co-branding means synergy. Co branding is often used when a large company acquires a smaller one or when a lesser-known company enters an international market.
However, in the most prominent cases, distinct brands associate for a limited time, generating the brand’s buzz.
What is Co-Marketing?
Joint marketing is closely related to brand sharing. But it is not quite the same.
With joint marketing, brand partners are not creating a new exclusive product or service as a result of their joint work.
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Instead, they look for ways to effectively share their customers and create recognition for both brands. This is somewhat similar to cross-selling in the sales world.
Co-marketing tends to involve less dazzle than co branding. On the other hand, it allows companies to work together on messages, spending less.
This allows them to develop deeper insights into their existing customers and adjacent market segments.
Done correctly, the results can be incredible. Even when it’s not going well, it’s informative.
Some memorable examples of this include:
• Airbnb and Flipboard reached millions of online visits, profile views and campaign impressions with a joint effort to promote Airbnb’s new travel curation service, “Trips”. This led to a huge flow of interest in the functionality of Trips and tons of re-engagement of Flipboard users.
• HubSpot and Chatfuel developed an e-book on the implementation of the artificial intelligence chatbot, perfect for your audience: Leading marketers. Its unique interactive format demonstrated the power of Chatfuel technology by showing that HubSpot is the leader in inbound marketing ideas.
• The Uber and Spotify have worked together to differentiate the two brands of a competitor: the members of Spotify using Uber can make a file for a special playlist to be played at the time the Uber start, providing a unique experience.
• Taco Bell has lived in the world of shared marketing since long before Doritos. When the 1993 science fiction film Demolition Man described Taco Bell as the only surviving restaurant chain after the “ Franchise Wars, ” Taco Bell ran special promotions to promote the film.
How to start working with co-branding or co-marketing
If you’re excited to harness the power of collaboration for your own brand, there’s an easy way to get started. It all starts with asking a few simple questions:
What is special about my brand?
For individuals and companies or organizations, any strong partnership starts with self-knowledge.
I hope you have a good sense of what attributes your customers associate with you – the values, emotions and lifestyle they seek when they choose you over your competitors. As well as which people who buy them love you.
Which brands complement mine?
Next, all you need to do is find brands that share similar customers – in terms of interests, purchasing power and worldview – with converging (not competing) interests. Just think about how things go together: Coca-Cola and Pepsi are rivals, but Doritos and Taco Bell? A wedding made in paradise.
How can we work together?
A detailed and cohesive marketing report is the best way to encourage the cooperation of an alleged brand partner. So think about things carefully.
A good collaboration is a natural offshoot of what you already have – which will leave customers saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
In a competitive economy, these are two ways in which creative companies build real situations where everyone wins. Not only are customers aware, but it can be the beginning of a long and beneficial “brand friendship”. The potential is infinite!