“Two heads are better than one.”
We’ve all heard this timeless proverb. It’s great advice for people and problems, but it also accurately applies to business. Experiential marketing is a creative process that is essential for brand awareness. A strategic partnership is a great way to integrate two creative brands into an experiential marketing strategy. You can likely think of a few strategic partnerships that you found immersive and exciting. We’ve compiled a list of a few of the ways a strategic partnership can lead to successful experiential marketing.
Driving brand awareness with strategic partnerships
Introducing your brand to new markets
A strategic partnership is a great opportunity to introduce your brand to a new market. Sometimes, the brands in a strategic partnership have similar markets, and sometimes they don’t. Just think of the ingenious pairing between Red Bull and GoPro. Both of these brands are heavily tied to action and adventure. However, the markets they serve are very different. Together, they create an immersive viewing experience for fans of Red Bull’s events. GoPro captures point-of-view footage for Red Bull. This is a great experiential marketing strategy that directs both markets to each other’s brands.
Creating more value to your existing customers
While it can be very easy to focus a businesses marketing efforts on attracting new customers, it is of equal importance to service the ones you currently have. Rather than only using traditional marketing efforts to please your customers, an experiential marketing strategy that combines two brands will allow them to foster an emotional connection with your brand. Introducing your customers to a strategic partnership designed to serve their needs and enjoyment will show that you’re willing to adapt to change in order to service them better.
Grow potential for innovation and development
When two brands come together, it usually isn’t just their customer bases that grow. The potential for product and service innovation and development expands, making room for creative experiential marketing strategies. Some of the most successful partnerships are the ones that are derived from companies who are already quite successful on their own. A great example of this is McDonald’s. You may recognize that they partner with an upcoming movie and release a new food item or happy meal toy related to it. These strategic partnerships keep McDonald’s relevant and consistently innovative.
Gain access to new customers
One of the primary goals of any successful business is to grow its customer base, but as any successful business can tell you, this is easier said than done. However, by partnering with another company that offers similar or complementary products or services, you can instantly gain access to warm leads who are already engaged with your partner. Of course, the same is expected of you and your customer base.
Fosters trust with your customers
Gaining and maintaining your customer’s trust is not always a simple task. Once you partner with another respected brand it shows your customers that you’re trusted by industry peers and it will likely raise your profile of being an industry expert.
Doubles marketing budget
If brand awareness is what you are after, and marketing is the way you hope to get there, then by partnering up with a complimentary company will instantly double your marketing budget. This is one of the biggest advantages associated with a strategic partnership. Most businesses understand that it can be incredibly costly to market new products.
While strategic partnerships and co-branding are a great way to accomplish your business goals and grow your brand, it isn’t for every business. Before you commit, it is important to weigh all your options and source not only the best company to partner with but the most complimentary one to your own.