With this co-operation Starbucks aims to attract awareness for its newly developed ice cream. By using Facebook applications they are able to increase involvement within the target group and to gain knowledge about the target group’s preferences by evaluating the reaction on this application. Facebook, on the other hand, successfully creates added value for its users. 

This measure fits well with Starbucks’ overall social media strategy. The coffee house already maintains a fan page on Facebook, where users can discuss their needs, wishes, and latest trends. Currently, the page has about 3.5 million fans – a remarkable amount when looking at the success of other companies’ social media activities.  Through its activities, Starbucks is not only able to prove its social media competency, but also to collect valuable information about target group. 

This co-operation is yet another example for Starbucks’ widely spread co-operation approaches such as its recently discussed partnership with TV Show Morning Joe or its partnering with Apple’s itunes, climate change movie “Artic Tale” and several book publishers.

Starbucks fanpage

“Share a Pint of Starbucks Ice Cream” application

This time Microsoft will place ads and content on Xbox Live, the MSN portal and the Windows Live messenger service. In addition, there is a special Harry Potter digital zone, containing videos, scenes from the film, downloads, picture galleries and editorial content about the movie. There will be an online competition again, too. This time you can win a trip to Chicago to visit a Harry Potter exhibition in the museum of Science and Industry.

Microsoft aims to create a campaign that will attract a new and younger audience, while not excluding those who have grown up with the films. For this reason, the MSN portal and MSN Video service address a 12-to-19-year-old fanbase. However, the advertisements on Xbox Live showcase the “darker, edgier side of the film” and will target an older audience of 16-to-34-year-old males.

In Germany the movie will start on July 16th 2009. The premiere will take place on July 15th in Wiesbaden. In the meantime, Harry Potter fans can be curios whether this or a similar co-operation will be implemented on the German market, too. And if so, it will be interesting to see which kind of measures will be chosen to address the different target group segments.

Microsoft has also partnered with MTV and Sony BMG before.

The adidas Star Wars collection will include shoes, apparel, and accessories. In contrast to 2007, the new collection will consist of a limited edition line and a mass market footwear edition. Numerous iconic Star Wars characters and scenes from the movies will be integrated into the designs. Following the spring/summer collection there will be a fall/winter collection. Both will be available at selected retailers and in adidas Originals stores around the globe.  

The limited edition collection was presented for the first time at the Bread and Butter fair in Berlin. As the Star Wars collection forms only a small part of the overall adidas Originals spring/summer 2010 collection, adidas is not likely to promote the collection by above the line communication measures.  

I believe both brands go very well together as they both play an important role in pop/street culture and stand for high authenticity, originality and creativity. I am sure adidas Originals customers, especially boys, can’t wait for the Star Wars collection - especially for the limited edition line - to be available in 2010.

For further information click here.

“Twilight football” is a series of football tournaments in four different continents around sunset time in authentic places such as the castle of Tintagel, situated in a small village in Cornwall nearby the Atlantic coast, Venice in Italy, the Iguanzú Falls in Argentina). Participants of the tournament as well as photographers are selected through a series of local contests. The new camera is supposed to be able to grasp very delicate light and shadow interactions as well as all kinds of intricate colour complexions even in demanding situations full of motion and agility. Considering the setting of the campaign, sports/movement and sunset/complex lightening, it provides a good environment to illustrate the features of the new camera. Furthermore, the pictures and videos, which are taken, will be published by bloggers in various Web 2.0 platforms e.g. video diaries, Twitter.

The co-operating partner Fifa supports this event by providing nine referees that umpire the numerous games during the tournaments. Sony and Fifa announced the signing of a global partnership program contract in 2007 already. The contract will run until 2014. With the partnership Sony is enabled to “develop global marketing activities as official partner of Fifa World Cup” and thus to benefit from Fifa’s high profile. In return, Fifa receives financial compensation. For “Twilight football” Fifa was chosen to bestow the PR campaign with football credibility, relevance, and media attention.

Generally speaking, one can say that the campaign is original and complex. It requires extensive organisation when considering the geographical diverse locations, the local qualification tournaments, the promotional activities, and alike. The tournaments will create memorable brand experiences, will enable access to new target groups and generate high involvement among the participants. A disadvantage may be that the campaign primarily addresses males rather than females.

It will be exciting to see how much media attention the campaign ends up getting, to what extent Fifa gets involved and how far “Twilight football” is the theme of the overall product communication for Sony Exmor CMOS-Image Sensor cameras.

Here comes a little foretaste…

The breakfast co-operation – the first of its kind
Since Joe and his guests have been drinking their coffee out of Starbucks cups for quite some time already, speculations regarding a possible co-operation have already been going on for a while. Most viewers were convinced that this kind of product placements ensures MNSBC with some kind of financial compensation. However, until recently, no co-operation existed between the TV channel and the coffee chain. It was only a few weeks ago that the two parties actually announced their co-operation. The exact terms of the co-operation are subject to much discussion. However, rumour says that Starbucks pays MSNBC $10 million for the one-year deal. In return Joe, his colleagues and his guests continue to enjoy their Starbucks coffee in Starbucks cups during the show. Additionally, voice overs have been integrated in the show and the Starbucks logo as well as its slogan is from now on part of the show’s logo – “Morning Joe brewed by Starbucks”.

Two (bene)fitting partners…

• The economic crisis has made financial resources more valuable and more difficult to find and tap into than ever before, thus a well paying co-operation partner such as Starbucks is very attractive and desirable.
• Starbucks benefits from increased publicity via TV exposure. Having the product properly integrated into the show addresses the audience in a whole new manner. This way Starbucks hopes to expand its “just-quickly-grab-a-latte-to-go” customer base.

…and the possible hazards they face

• Critics of the co-operation argue that a truly sophisticated and intellectually demanding news show should abstain from making use of such advertisement techniques, since it undermines the credibility and integrity of the show.
• Besides that some crtics are also afraid that the co-operation will displease Starbucks current customers, since many of them are devoted Liberals, whereas Joe Scarborough, is a pronounced and well-known Conservative. Pessimists argue that this may cause a negative image transfer from the testimonial to the Starbucks brand. In how far this is a realistic threat is open to debate, since others claim that Starbucks customers cannot be classified on the basis of who they vote for.

Product placement – a US phenomenon?
Advertisement in the US enjoys significantly more freedom than here in Germany. Although the advertisement for alcohol and cigarettes underlie strict legal regulations, comparative advertisements, product placement, and alike are common practices. According to the New York Times the more relaxed US marketing environment is likely to gain grounds in Germany, since factors such as the numerous imported American TV series and varying laws within Europe (e.g. Italy has more lenient advertisement regulations than Britain or Germany) enhance this development. Moreover, a press release in the marketing paper Horizont (German) pointed out that from 2010 onwards it is likely that product placement will no longer be prohibited by law. The German TV channel RTL for example has already engaged in product placement logo designing. Moreover, experts cited in the article believe that product placement will become extremely popular and important in the next few years and are likely to make-up for approximately 10 percent of the channel’s financing costs.

The success of product placement, especially in co-operation with a news show still needs to be determined. The viewer reactions and rates in the case of “Morning Joe” will give us an idea of how popular this type of co-operation will become. Until then we can only wait and see and – in the case of Joe Scarborough – drink Starbucks coffee.

Monitoring the real estate market it seems to have become a trend to develop a brand for luxurious real estate in order to market it better. That way real estate agents hope to attain a competitive advantage, which in turn is hoped to result in a higher price.  

To set up a brand for a property it has to have real character and charisma. Architecture, design, name, the overall atmosphere and the emotions evoked in potential customers have to complement each other gracefully. An example for the importance of the name choice is the “Holzhafen” (German for “wooden harbour”) in Hamburg. Although nothing remained from the old harbour, the name “Holzhafen” triggers emotions that help to merchandise the offices. 

A new co-branding approach: real estates and celebrities

 Another increasingly popular way to create an identity and emotions for a real estate project is to establish co-operations with celebrities, well-known architects like Herzog and de Meuron, designers or other luxury brands. For instance, in Hamburg a part of the “Sophienpalais” was designed by Karl Lagerfeld. To promote the designed apartments a special Lagerfeld showroom was established. With this co-operation the fashion designer strengthens the luxury positioning of the property. Lagerfeld’s stardom and charisma from the fashion world rubs off and provides the property with a remarkable sense of exclusiveness.

A further example is Philippe Starck, a famous French designer. He furnished some of the apartments at Hafencity for Yoo. Yoo, a well established brand for luxurious real estate, sells properties planned by respected designers from all over the world, just like the Dwell95 in New York. These design apartments achieve incredibly high prices. 

Another great example for evoking associations of a real estate property with the help of celebrities is the following: One of the islands of “The World, Dubai”, a huge array of islands which form a model of the world, was given as a present to former Formula One pilot Michael Schumacher – a strategic step that increased the profile of the real estate even further.

A new co-branding approach: real estates and design brands

Generally speaking, design is a highly important tool to increase the exclusiveness of a certain property or object. Properties containing furniture by Vitra or bathrooms with mosaics by Bisazza for example, attain significantly higher prices than they would do without the brand names and the exclusiveness coming with it.  This type of co-operation seems to be an attractive tool as it enables the real estate agencies to raise awareness and increase the emotional value, which results in higher property prices. For celebrities, architects, designers and luxury brands again it is the perfect way to prove expertise in this field and to position their products more prominently.

From our point of view the co-operation seems very promising, since it is very original, well-integrated and addresses (in case of subscribers) the readers personally. Moreover, it has an intimate dimension to it, since it makes people aware of something they do in private and often subconsciously. Although intruding the privacy in a way, the co-operation does it in such a charming and delicate way that it makes most people smile. All in all a very refreshing co-operation approach.

                    Individualised jacket                                              Personalised doodles

    Backside of the jacket

Backside of the cover

  Placement insinde the magazine

The co-operation between H&M and the designer is the 6th of its kind since 2004 and second this year already. For this years spring/summer collection H&M had already engaged with Matthew Williamson. The collection has been advertised with a joint marketing campaign including TV commercials featuring the designer in April.

In May, H&M also co-operated with numerous celebrities for “Fashion against AIDS”, a global HIV prevention campaign. Stars like Katy Perry, Tokio Hotel, N.E.R.D and Yoko Ono designed clothes for a good cause.

This type of co-operation is extremely successful. Fashion chain Mango recently introduced a co-operation with Paulo Coelho. Pierre Hardy designed for Gap in 2007 and 2008. And as already pointed out in an article from 2007, many fashion brands has or had some kind of celebrity designing for them. How long this co-operation approach will manage to attract this kind attention is discussed in the article “High street fashion and couture designers. A lasting romance?” If you want to find out more about fashion in gerneral and more specifically about the latest Jimmy Choo hype, you should check out the stylist blog and the news.sky blog.

First of all, David Stern, NBA commissioner, realised that the NBA could still learn from the English Premier League negotiation skills regarding the allocation of media rights and deals. Second of all, both teams plan to expand their markets. As basketball is primarily considered to be “a US sport” and football is considered to be “a European sport”, both leagues believe that they will be able to gain popularity abroad. A good example illustrating how football may gain popularity in the States is David Beckham, who transferred from Real Madrid to L.A. Galaxy in 2007, causing a 750 percent increase in jersey sales, a 150 percent increase in viewer rates in the US, and a frequently sold out stadium during home matches.

Although the co-operation between the NBA and the English Premier League does not mean a continuous exchange of stars between Europe and the US, it does mean that both leagues will undertake various measures to strengthen their market positions in previously untapped markets. Finally, both leagues also plan to enter the Asian market. As neither football nor basketball is very popular in Asia, there are still a lot of potential fans to win over and buying power to make use of.

Besides the general goals of the co-operation not much is known yet about the actual length and measures of it. Let’s see how the two leagues will manage to find a common denominator and not end up fighting for fans and sponsors.

Corresponding to the zeitgeist Coelho meets the demand for “life guidance”, values and morals. Especially now that political and business structures are questioned and criticised for fostering greed, corruption and dishonesty, society asks for more moral guidance. It is fashionable to be more caring and value-oriented. One is encouraged to focus on the essential aspects of life and to adapt a more modest and humble lifestyle.

The co-operation makes use of this development and prints meaningful quotes from Coelho’s novels on T-shirts e.g. “The greatest blessing in life is having dreams to realize.” 40,000 T-shirts with six different quotes are available in 68 countries around the globe. The T-shirts are packaged in the form of a book, in order to differentiate the T-shirts from the main collection and to catch the customer’s attention. In addition to the collection the shop windows are also kept and decorated in a “Coelho” theme.

The co-operation grasps and responds to the current atmosphere very well. Note- and praiseworthy is that a proportion of each sold T-shirt goes to the Paulo Coelho Institute in Brazil and helps children and elderly in need. At the same time the co-operation seems to be a bit of a parody. First of all, mass produced T-shirts with Coelho quotes and “philosophically” decorated shop windows somewhat undermine the integrity and authenticity of the author. Second of all, profound sayings sold in commercial manners simply do not appear credible. Either way people in need receive help, which is always desirable but seldom the case.

According to The Observer there are two reasons for this development - one reason is cruel reality: fewer people can afford to indulge themselves in high-fashion. The second but equally important reason is that it is simply not fashionable during the crisis to spend so much money on luxury products. It is hip to be a recessionista! Be creative, reinvent your style, mix and match, and recycle what you got! That’s the guiding fashion slogan for now.

This “recessionista trend” makes co-operations between high street fashion retailers and luxury brands even more important than they already are. In 2004, Karl Lagerfeld and H&M were the first ones to engage in such partnership. A famous designer launching a collection for a high street fashion retailer. The collection was a huge success for both parties. On one hand Lagerfeld significantly increased his publicity and brand awareness in the fashion mass market. On the other hand, H&M strengthened its position as a fashion trendsetter. Moreover, the co-operation has been a huge sales success. Barely, any marketing co-operation in the fashion industry has received the same kind of attention as H&M’s partnership with Karl Lagerfeld. The demand for the collection outperformed the most audacious expectations. Customers were waiting in line long before the stores even opened.

The success of haute couture designers and fashion retailers working hand in hand has triggered a whole series of co-operations e.g. GAP and Pierre Hardy, H&M and Stella McCartney – just to name a few. But now, this development has acquired even greater magnitude against the background of the economic crisis. Famous designers such as Shipley & Halmos, Matthew Williamson and Jil Sander have all entered co-operations with fashion discounters H&M or its Japanese counterpart Uniqlo.

Well, it appears as if the recessionista does not have to abstain from fashion, but can continue to indulge in it at a lower price.

Combined products as image and sales driver

With the ingredient branding co-operation, Renault wants to highlight its high-quality standards, its technological progress, as well as its ability to provide “comfortable driving”. Since TomTom is one of the biggest state-of-the-art manufacturers producing navigation systems it fits perfectly into Renault’s brand concept. Furthermore, the co-operation enables additional value creation for the respective customers.

From TomTom’s point of view the co-operation with Renault is mainly a chance to increase the sales volume, since the market for portable navigation systems is highly competitive. By expanding into the market of integrated navigation systems, TomTom found an effective new distribution channel, which brings the brand ahead of its competitors. On a more general note, it appears as if co-operations with car manufacturers are a popular and strategically valuable step to take. To strengthen its first-in-class positioning, TomTom has also established a similar co-operation with Toyota. The launch is announced for the fourth quarter of 2009.

Marketing measures for the new Carminat TomTom

To promote their marketing co-operation, Renault and TomTom launched an advertising campaign all over Western Europe. In order to push sales, the Carminat TomTom campaign was kicked off with a promotion: Every Renault Clio bought until August 31^st has an integrated navigation system – free of charge. With the campaign Renault aims to position the new Clio in the highly competitive segment of small cars. The co-operation thereby helps to emphasize the innovative and dynamic character of both companies.

To further highlight the technological superiority, the Carminat TomTom was introduced at several technological fairs, such as the 79^th international motor show, Geneva motor show, and CeBit fair in Germany. In addition, Renault and TomTom published a series of PR measures e.g. press releases and this promotion video:

State-of-the-art products also demand innovative communication

Overall, the ingredient branding co-operation will help both brands to strengthen admired image dimensions and to increase sales. The innovative partnership fits well with the strategic concept of TomTom to expand its market leadership and with Renault’s goal to strengthen its positioning on the European market by to stressing its image of comfortable driving.  

However, the measures of the joint campaign are not as innovative as one might assume from the product. The TV commercial (German), for example, which is on air in Germany and France, appears as a classic automotive commercial and portraits the new Carminat TomTom car as the one way to have a stress-free driving experience. A more innovative advertising campaign, comparable with the released promotion video, probably would have grabbed more attention within the target group – especially, when complemented by an eye-catching print campaign. Also, some measures on social media sites or the set-up of a joint microsite could have helped to strengthen the positioning within the young target group. When it comes to the young segment, Ford is currently having the lead with this innovative co-operation – at least in Germany.

In the light of the ever changing business environment and in the course of the ongoing financial and economic crisis, Noshokaty, Döring & Thun examined how the usage of marketing co-operations has developed. The survey enjoyed a high response rate, which speaks in favour of an ever growing interest in this topic.

Key findings of the study highlight the complexity of the deciding factors in this field, but also the significance of the developments that were undergone. Selective major findings are:

• Despite the fact that marketing co-operations gained popularity they are still not utilised for addressing all marketing challenges that they could be employed for.
• The generation of additional value for the customer becomes main objective when establishing marketing co-operations. Thus, building customer loyalty has become top priority, followed by access to new markets and gaining new customers.

The study results have been made available on the website of Noshokaty, Döring & Thun (in German only). Mesh-box wishes pleasant reading!

Interestingly, the University Mannheim questionnaire is based on a fictive firm situation in order to evaluate, under which conditions people tend to set-up a marketing co-operation. The questionnaire addresses professionals who have been involved with marketing and/or co-operations before. As this study helps to further broaden the theoretical knowledge about marketing co-operations, we would appreciate your participation by filling in this online questionnaire (English). It will take approximately 15 minutes and an Amazon voucher worth 20€ will be drawn among all participants. Many thanks in advance.

[Susanne Ewenstein]: As an agency specialising on marketing co-operations we received numerous enquiries with regards to the latest trends and best/worst practice examples. In order to meet this demand, we decided to establish mesh-box. But frankly speaking, the blog is also a great opportunity for us to show our expertise and experiences in the field marketing co-operations and it enables us to stay in contact with people sharing this special interest.

2) Mesh-box is turning two – how did the blog develop?

[Susanne Ewenstein]: Mesh-box has developed very well. The number of users is increasing continuously and the feedback we have received so far was very positive. Furthermore, we have expanded mesh-box throughout the last two years: 1) We have a newsletter which we send out on a quarterly basis. 2) We have launched a German version of mesh-box summarising all posts in German and 3) we have introduced an interview series with marketing experts. An interesting development is also the fact that although mesh-box aimed at being an interactive platform it has become more of an information source to our users. The explanation for this is probably our target group. Most of our users are in executive positions, university professors and lectors and are not among the very active users of web 2.0 applications.
Concluding I can say that I am very happy with how our “baby” has grown-up and how it has become a healthy little “toddler”.

3) On a more general note – what are your thoughts on co-operations?

[Susanne Ewenstein]: Throughout the past, co-operations have established themselves as an important marketing tool. This especially becomes apparent, when looking at the number of new co-operations (200-300 per month in Germany only). Another development is the variety of co-operations – they have become more and more cross-sectorial. Considering the fast-pace changes and the growing complexity in the field, it now is a true challenge for marketing experts to keep track of what is going on on the market.

The topic marketing co-operations has also gained increased attention in the academic field, as we realised through the growing number of university students asking us for an expert interview for their thesis. In the course of this development we have also decided to publish our own theses series. More information on this once this is finalised.

Furthermore, I think that marketing co-operations have reached a new quality standard, since a more systematic and professional approach has been adopted. This also includes that many companies – especially with a strong sales orientation – have bundled co-operation experiences through new departments solely responsible for developing and managing co-operations. Even NGOs are increasingly using marketing co-operations for their purposes and have become more and more professional. Good examples are Oxfam and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

4) What do you think are the future prospects of co-operations?

[Susanne Ewenstein]: The times in which two co-operating businesses have received attention simply because they co-operate have passed. Nowadays co-operations have to be innovative and the measures put into place under the umbrella of the co-operation need to be original in order to attract attention.

During the ongoing financial crisis co-operations are – as all other marketing and sales activities – often questioned. However, as the article “Marketing and co-operations in turbulent times” shows, co-operations can be a very effective tool to address and overcome the challenges presented by the economic downturn. Currently, we are evaluating the data of our study “Marketing co-operations in a crisis?” which investigates in how far businesses effectively use the potential of co-operations and what their impression is with regards to its effectiveness. I can’t wait to see the final study results.

5) What can we expect from mesh-box in the following weeks?

[Susanne Ewenstein]: We will publish the key results of our study “Marketing co-operations in a crisis?”. Besides that, in the upcoming weeks we will focus on the topic “Total costs of co-operations”. Moreover, the next newsletter will be published in June and the new marketing co-operation trends for Q2/2009 will be published in July. You can see there are several reasons to drop by mesh-box in the next few weeks.

Susanne Ewenstein is editor-in-chief of mesh-box.com and senior manager at the Berlin based agency for marketing and co-operations Noshokaty, Döring & Thun.

The decisive factor for Wikipedia to agree to this co-operation is its values: To make information globally accessible at no cost. Since a growing number of people make use of the internet via telecommunication devices, such as their cell phone, this co-operation appears to be a sensible and important step to take, in order to remain on top of the technological progress. Orange in turn publishes Wikipedia content on its mobile and web portals. The provider hopes that this way some of Wikipedia’s clean-cut reputation will rub-off and increase its own credibility. Under the umbrella of the co-operation both parties also intend to expand the services and functions they offer.

The co-operation is the first of its kind, and thus it will be interesting to see how it will work out and whether this will trigger a series of this type of co-operation.

Source: On-going market screening by Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

Crisis advances number of co-operations significantly
Since the beginning of the economic and financial crisis the number of marketing co-operations has risen by 35 percent from Q3 2008 to Q4 2008 alone, and another 5 percent until Q1 2009. Thus, marketing co-operations have recently become an ever important marketing instrument as they also pose cost saving potentials (e.g. though shared communication costs).

Source: On-going market screening by Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

New & innovative marketing co-operations
Check out this co-operation of MyHammer and Praktiker if you are interested in an example of innovative marketing co-operation approaches in times of the crisis.

MyHammer and Praktiker are two German companies that decided to adapt a proactive approach and tackle the situation via co-operation. Praktiker is a hardware store selling tools and outdoor furniture all over Germany. MyHammer is an online brooker bringing together high quality tradesmen and service providers with people looking to get all kinds of jobs done properly and according to their needs. Contrary to MyHammer, Praktiker serves the “Do-it-yourself” mentality and sells the necessary tools to fix the garden and the house.

Source: Joint microsite of MyHammer & Praktiker

In the middle of the economic crisis both companies realized the potential advantages of a co-operation. Although MyHammer and Praktiker cater to the needs of a similar customer base they complement each other rather than compete for each others’ customers. While MyHammer caters towards customers that need or provide services, Praktiker provides the customers with necessary D.I.Y. tools. This enables both companies to benefit from the synergetic effect that is created via the co-operation. More precisely, it is the joint development of a new marketing concept and implementation of co-marketing measures with which MyHammer and Praktiker aim to maximise profit. Each company creates incentives for its customers to make use of its co-operation partner via strategic marketing initiatives. Their first co-marketing initiative is a campaign that was started only days ago: Praktiker grants MyHammer customers that received gardening services for more than 200 € with a 20 € Praktiker voucher. The online platform and service provider MyHammer in turn ensures Praktiker with online publicity.

The hardware store Praktiker and the maintenance provider MyHammer use the time signified by challenge creatively and decided to work closely together rather than to compete. It will be interesting to see where this innovative marketing co-operation will lead to and what kind of co-marketing initiatives will follow.

Only very recently, the foundation decided to co-operate with Viacom, the parent company of MTV, BET, VH1, and Nickelodeon. Just two weeks ago Mr. Gates and Philippe P. Dauman – Viacom CEO decided upon concrete implementation steps regarding their co-operation. The main aim of the co-operation is to raise awareness and essentially to prevent irresponsible behaviour. The plan is to alter the storyline of famous TV series such as E.R. and Law & Order. After alteration the plot contains issues such as drug use, HIV/Aids, the consequences for school drop-outs, and alike. In a subtle way the series illustrates the dangers of irresponsible behaviour, and thus alarms its audience.

This type of co-operation has several advantages in comparison to the conventional NGO marketing campaigns. First of all, it reaches out to a much wider audience. Meaning, people, who are usually not exposed to campaigns addressing these issues, will also be confronted with them. Second of all, the co-operation reaches out to an audience that may not be so receptive to the “typical” NGO marketing. Third of all, the rather subtle and indirect fashion, in which the problems are brought forward, may be more effective. They are disguised as part of the plot and not so much as an omnipresent danger. Finally, stars such as George Clooney address the consequences of irresponsible behaviour and that way act as role models. Evidently, the co-operation is also beneficial for Viacom, e.g. in terms of image maintenance.

Generally speaking this new type of co-operation between the US entertainment industry and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation appears to be very promising. The only potential danger is that the issues addressed in the TV series go by unnoticed, since they could be considered to be simply part of the storyline. Apart from that the approach to place relevant messages within existing and attention getting media is very innovative and deserves support.

Karsten Kilian, specialist in the field of brand management, emphasizes that “marketing co-operations with a celebrity are a simple and efficient advertising method – as long as 80 percent of the relevant target group is familiar with the celebrity’s name and appearance”. Besides, the branding expert points out, “there has to be a clear personality fit between the brand and the celebrity”. The research associate at the University of St. Gallen is devoted to the analysis of brand personalities and author of the book “Marke unser” (Brand’s Prayer), which introduces outstanding cult brands like Apple, Harley-Davidson, and Mercedes-Benz. Moreover, he has built up Markenlexikon.com, the largest portal on brand management in the German-speaking world. The website is dedicated to all aspects of brand building, including the role of famous faces for companies. Here, Karsten Kilian distinguishes between five types:

• Accidental Spokespersons: People who have reached an enormous value not just in their own “industry”, but across industries, e.g. high value “brand” Barack Obama, whose added brand value for company Blackberry is estimated at 50 million Dollars by analysts.
• Company Representatives: A company’s founder, leader, or an outstanding employee can each function as famous faces for the own brand, e.g. Bill Gates for Microsoft or his competitor Steve Jobs for Apple.
• Celebrities: The most popular embodiment of a brand, e.g. Bruce Willis for Veltins beer or Jude Law for Dior perfumes.
• Characters: Enriching a brand profile with a company-owned brand character, e.g. the Michelin Man, or a licensed character, e.g. Tom and Jerry for the energy giant EnBW.
• Licensors: Embossing a brand with the own name, e.g. Kate Moss for Topshop (also see earlier post) or Steffi Graf for underwear.

Evidently, there are many possibilities to advertise a brand with a well-known testimonial. The key factor for a successful brand alliance, besides joint measures, is to find a personality that matches the aspired brand image. With strategic tools like “mapping”, “positioning models” and “fit analyses” a false choice can be avoided. However, a person standing in the spotlight always bears the risk of negative image transfer. A recent example is Verona Pooth, a famous German testimonial for several brands, who has lost two of her advertisement contracts because she is suspected to commit tax evasion. Typically, a famous face can add a unique value and refresh a brand positively, like recent co-operations between Moët & Chandon and Scarlett Johansson or Procter & Gamble and Til Schweiger illustrate. Brand expert Karsten Kilian grasps the essence of this marketing trend by emphasising that “nothing is more trustful than a brand made out of flesh and blood.”

Title: Co-Branding as a strategic brand alternative within cross-marketing

Author: Julia Kemper

Type of publication: Diploma Thesis, University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule Dortmund), Germany

Publication Date: 27th January 2009

Methodology: Combination of classical academic literature and practitioner literature, additional expert interview with Angela Hund-Göschel of the agency for marketing & co-operations Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

Keywords: co-branding, cross-marketing, co-marketing, marketing co-operation, brand management, corporate branding

Abstract: The purpose of the thesis is to evaluate the hypothesis that co-branding will be established as a long-term alternative in brand management. The thesis begins with a detailed analysis of brand management and cross-marketing. Afterwards the author takes a closer look at co-branding within cross-marketing and discusses the advantages as well as the risks of co-branding. The academic analyses combined with co-branding case studies of Porsche Design Group with Rodenstock, Adidas and Poggenpohl led to the conclusion that the importance of marketing co-operations is constantly increasing and that innovative co-branding concepts will be an alternative approach within brand management in the future.

In order to see how this attitude and implementation approach of German companies has developed ever since and against the background of the current recession, Noshokaty, Döring & Thun is now conducting a new survey with the title “marketing co-operations in a crisis?”

The study is available in German and English here on mesh-box. Your participation in the study would contribute to finding out about the role of marketing co-operations in times of a recession and help others to learn from your experiences. Many thanks in advance.

Let’s look at cost cutting. Activities that are not directly related to sales are usually affected the most. Marketing budgets have been reduced significantly. Only few exceptional companies follow an anti-cyclic strategy such as Audi or Beiersdorf, who boosted this year’s marketing budget in order to transform the crisis into an opportunity.

However, for many companies marketing investments have become ball and chain, as can be seen when looking at the discontinuation of numerous sponsoring partnerships like car brand Volkswagen and “Deutsche Oper” (German opera) as well as the three banks ING, RBS and Credit Suisse and their Formula One partner teams.

Prof. Anton Meyer, Chief of the Marketing Institute at Munich University says: “It is a mistake to cut down the marketing budgets in times of crisis. The crisis is a good opportunity to strengthen market shares and to build customer confidence.” and therewith emphasises an assumption that many marketing experts and recent studies agree with: Now is the time for companies to act. Cost efficient sales measures combined with a well-focused company strategy are more important than ever before. Considering the context, co-operating can be an attractive and effective tool in terms of a company’s strategy – unfortunately many companies have not yet realized the potential advantages of joint measures. Furthermore, there are three major misapprehensions that might explain this situation:

• Misapprehension No. 1: Marketing co-operations are not sales relevant
  It clearly depends on how a co-operation is planned and implemented, but generally speaking marketing co-operations can be effectively utilised and by that generate increased sales. This can be achieved, for example, by benefiting from the partners’ direct access to specific target groups.
  A good example is a co-operation of comdirect bank and retail chain Tchibo in Germany, in which comdirect markets attractive banking products exclusively via Tchibo’s online and offline shops – with great success.
• Misapprehension No. 2: New marketing co-operations are an additional cost driver
  It hardly makes sense to look at marketing solely from the cost perspective. It is rather the ratio between costs and generated benefits of the selected marketing measures that matters - especially in times of recession. Here, new opportunities like marketing co-operations can reduce costs, since co-operating partners can share their respective costs, e.g. by splitting advertising budgets of joint measures.
  In Germany, the coffee brand Senseo and online dating platform Neu.de have done so for years. They successfully advertised an innovative coffee machine system in combination with the general concept of ‘trying new things’, i.e. finding new love.
• Misapprehension No. 3: The establishment of co-operations takes (too) much time
  Co-operations can be established within short time periods, when adhering to a set of relevant principles: Hands-on co-operation offers, parallel talks with several potential partners, a concept where both partners and their customers win at the centre of interest (“Win-Win-Win”), clear definition and focus on a clear set of specific measures as well as close alignments during the implementation. By adhering to these points, a co-operation can be established and implemented within a few months rather than quarters.
  In reaction on the market slowdown and consequential actions of the German government thereon, US car brand Ford, for example, recently established a co-operation with MySpace Germany for promoting Ford’s model “Ka”. The co-operation aims to raise awareness within the young, urban target group by integrating Ford in the second season of the web soap “They call us Candy Girls” starting in April.

So, even during a recession there is no point for decision makers to halt new business activities and to refuse new projects. Right now, it can be a mistake to think in (over)simplified categories, particularly if it abstracts away from solid marketing opportunities. The realignment of the present marketing strategy and consideration of new marketing prospects are essential steps before executing cost cuttings.

In any case, a categoric refusal of new business prospects will neither help in positive economic situations nor in a crisis. Accordingly, we are not simply arguing pro co-operations, but pleading for a fact-based approach of assessing all opportunities: In a crisis, “doing the right things” becomes even more important.

As the partnership also helps Skype to reach more users and Nokia to give an added value to its costumers, this co-operation really allows a win-win-win-situation. Skype COO Scott Durchslag says: “Collaborating closely with Nokia to preload and integrate our software onto their devices will benefit the many Nokia customers who already use Skype, as it makes Skype easily accessible and simple to use on the go. It will also bring Skype new users who love Nokia’s Symbian S60 experience.”

But what is a benefit for consumers isn’t always a good deal for providers. The reactions of several mobile phone operators during the last weeks showed that they fear a loss of their business as international calls are usually quite profitable. So even before the co-operation has started, Skype and Nokia have heavy objectors. So far, international telecommunication companies have shown their rejection in varying ways. Some of them consider prohibiting the use of VoIP-Software entirely within their contracts or to integrate blocking software. Others publicly think about excluding Nokia mobile phones with integrated Skype-software from their product portfolio. (Does anyone else feel reminded of the times when the big record labels reacted on the availability of DRM-free music, e.g. in Apple’s iTunes store?)

It seems the heavy reactions are somehow an indication for the potential impact the partnership could have on the future of telecommunication, especially with regard to the benefits it provides for users. But instead of blocking a trendsetting application, which already has more than 400 million users, providers could rather start developing new business models. The three-year partnership between Skype and Hutchison 3G in Britain, for example, proved that an integration of Skype can also be beneficial for a telecommunication provider when billing the transferred data volume.

But instead of that, smaller telecommunication providers are now opening negotiations with Skype on international level. They see their chance to win a unique selling point and to consequently gain market share from larger competitors. Simultaneously, some German telecommunication companies responded to the debate by adjusting contract conditions to the disadvantage of costumers, e.g. by banning VoIP. In the context of the ongoing trends and developments in communication technologies, a better answer would have been to give consumers the advantage of choice, don’t you think?

Title: Efficiency and effectiveness of marketing co-operations – performance measurements based on a structured input-output-evaluation

Author: Petra Branz

Type of publication: Diploma Thesis, University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule Offenburg, Medien und Informationswesen), Germany

Publication Date: October 2008

Methodology: Combination of use of classical academic and practitioner literature, additional expert interview with Simon Thun of the agency for marketing & co-operations Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

Keywords: Brand alliances, marketing alliance, co-marketing, marketing co-operation, co-branding, brand management, co-advertising, strategic alliance, corporate branding, sponsoring

Abstract: The efficiency and effectiveness of marketing co-operations depend on a variety of parameters and were hardly measurable and therewith almost not comparable between companies to date. There already have been qualitative approaches to measure marketing co-operations. However, so far there has not been a method that includes all facets of marketing co-operations based on quantitative parameters. This thesis results in a sample structure consisting of input (effort) and output (return) measures, which serves as a framework for possible performance indicators. As the approach for measuring performances of companies are generally identical, the sample structure is a useful addition to existing measures and a good basis for an integrated performance measurement for the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing co-operations.

Finding the right partner for a marketing co-operation is not always easy. But a range of partnering platforms have emerged during the last years that help identifying and getting in touch with potential partner companies.So for instance Marketmarket, a German online portal for B2B marketing & sales co-operations, and online platform Introniche. There are also industry-specific partnering events, e.g. in the biotech industry such as BIO-Europe and BioEquity, where companies can meet potential co-operation partners. A similar event for companies across all industries was organised by the DDV (Deutscher Direktmarketing Verband e.V.) in 2006. The event called “MaCon” (i.e. MarketingConnections) was a get-together for marketers, to enter private talks with other brands about prospective co-operations.

Recently, an upcoming co-operation event has grabbed our attention: The CO-BRANDS 2009, organised by the agency connecting brands. The approach of this event resembles the one of the “MaCon”, but wraps it up in a more innovative concept of “co-operation speed dating”. Decision makers of 100 top advertising companies will meet in up to 10 private talks of 25 minutes each. After 25 minutes, they change seats just like in a normal speed dating event. To assure talks are successful, connecting brands is using matchmaking software, which analyses co-operation profiles of attending companies and suggests adequate dialogue partners prior to the event but the companies can also request “dates” with matching companies.

The program of the “speed dating” event is as follows:

08.15-09.00 Check In
09.00-09.30 Reception
09.30-10.15 Key Note
10.15-10.45 Networking Break
10.45-12.15 Rounds of Talk 1-3
12.15-13.30 Business Lunch
13.30-15.30 Rounds of Talk 4-7
15.30-16.00 Networking Break
16.00-17.30 Rounds of Talk 8-10
18.00-20.00 Dinner
20.00-23.00 Open Bar

The event takes place in the EAST Hotel in Hamburg on April 20th 2009. Companies interested can find more information on the event website www.co-brands.de (available in German only). Registration is still possible via this link. We, on our part, look forward to hearing about how well speed dating works in the business/marketing co-operation context.

Source: On-going market screening by Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

My name: Michael Hartwig

My company: General Motors Europe

My position: Head of European Marketing Communications Opel/Vauxhall

Selected co-operations I worked on: None since I started the assignment at GM Europe. Different engagements in my previous jobs in the automotive industry and ecommerce.

Relevance of co-operations in our industry: In general, I believe that the right connection of fitting partners can lead to very valuable synergies. This has always been and will always be important to the industry as such. In times of declining budgets the more evident question will be: What’s the real impact on the business? Sales oriented co-operations will be more important than purely brand related ones. Still, every brand that wants to be recognized with a crystal clear profile needs to think about energizing the territories they want to occupy. They need to cover an authentic brand experience. We should tell the audience that we know what they need and understand their way of living. But a brand should never tell them what fits to their live. Especially the more postmodern milieu will be offended by that since they want to be seen as people who exactly know themselves and what’s good for them and what not.

Our criteria for partner selection: Before we liaise with partners we conduct a detailed and profound brand foundation. Our values and things that we believe in as a brand should certainly show strong and relevant overlaps.

Companies/brands I would like to partner with: Here we are very open to partner with other brands, preferably European or even German since this is something that would support one of our strong core values “German inventiveness”. Preferably strong consumer brands.

Main challenges in establishing co-operations: Main challenge is the consumer take-out, key messaging and a crystal call to action or understanding. Comprehension is key. They have to fit to both companies and they need to bring out the best of the two worlds.

Good practice co-operation examples: Nike - Apple.

Bad practice co-operation examples: Any pure sponsoring based cases. There are tons of examples out there.

DOs in co-operations: Secure the budget - make it happen - on both sides. Also in terms of headcount and dedicated people on the project. Stay credible in all you do, but surprise the audience.

DONTs in co-operations: Don’t meet up with a brand that is far too aspirational for you. Then you loose your genuinity.

The “next big thing” in co-operations: Build really really really integrated cases that work on the varied disciplines in your marketing mix.

Opportunities and risks of co-operations in the current economic crisis: In the current situation only very strong co-operations will have a chance to make it to market. Sales orientation and true relevance for the target group are key.

The measures of Ford and MySpace include a casting call for a guest appearance in the series. Advertisements were placed on MySpace and resulted in a specially created brand community. Moreover, the “Candy Girls” will be driving a Ford Ka in the season.

To renew its young image and to emphasis the “urbanity” and “coolness” of the Ford Ka, the company decided that the “Candy Girls” community was the ideal target group. By co-operating with MySpace Germany, Ford is also able to position itself in an innovative environment with a broad community. The average age of MySpace users is 25, but the web soap addresses an even younger audience. In fact the average age of the “Candy Girls” is between 18 and 20 years.

The last season was watched 1.9 million times by users and the “Candy Girls” had remarkable 700.000 page views, thus a certain reach within the target group is guaranteed. But one must admit that the quality and content of the soap are not appealing to everyone. This might also be the reason why Ford communicates the co-operation almost exclusively via MySpace: to avoid a negative image transfer with regards to its older target groups. But at the latest with the start of the new season of the series in April, we will find out whether this co-operation pays off for Ford and Ford Ka.

Happy New Year 2009! We hope it’s not too late for best wishes and kick of another exciting editorial year of marketing co-operations with Hunter, a long-established brand for traditional British Wellington boots, which is a good example for the successful implementation of an international co-operation.

In collaboration with the well-known charity organization WaterAid, Hunter organized an online auction in order to sell Wellington boots that are signed by different celebrities. The auction aimed to raise money for WaterAid’s endeavours in Madagascar where the organization provides safe water, sanitation as well as hygiene education. During the British Glastonbury music festival last year, several celebrities like Kate Moss, Peaches Geldorf, Lily Cole, James Blunt or Kelly Osbourne were asked to sign Wellington boots. The limited edition was later sold in an online auction and revenues were invested in Madagascar.

This marketing co-operation provides a high value added for both partners. On the one hand, Hunter is able to position itself as an innovative leader in the field of festival shoes. Moreover, Hunter’s international brand recognition has increased due the yellow press, which spread pictures of stars wearing Hunters like wildfire. On the other hand, customers are able to demonstrate social responsibility by buying “charity boots” while feeling “en vogue” wearing the same brand as Kate & Co.

By engaging in another co-operation, Hunter is now trying to address another target group besides music fans. By partnering with the exclusive shoe brand Jimmy Choo, which stands for sophisticated and classy shoes, Hunter will be able to offer another limited edition of exclusive boot. The shoe combines the quintessential design elements of Jimmy Choo with the original British tradition of Hunter - a fusion of fashion and function. This makes the “Wellies”, how they are called affectionately, not only roadworthy but also an accepted fashion accessory.

Interestingly, the shoe is solely distributed by Jimmy Choo, in boutiques or on its website and therewith only available in America and the UK. This is part of Jimmy Choo’s strategy that aims to preserve the exclusiveness of the brand. Moreover, Jimmy Choo wants to position itself in the highly competitive “It-shoe” market by showing its uniqueness and intends to create a younger and more modern brand image. Due to this co-operation with a high-end fashion designer, Hunter is positioning its Wellington boots in the world of fashion and gets rid of the traditional image of plastic boots.

With all of these measures, Hunter is able to create a total repositioning of its brand as well as a high value added for its customer, WaterAid and Jimmy Choo. So let’s see where Hunter’s soft spot for marketing co-operation will lead the brand next - whoever it might be who will be “hunted” next, we’ll keep you posted…

Another year went by so fast and the mesh-box team is about to go on Christmas holiday, but of course not without giving you a short sum up on what has happened in the field of marketing co-operations. Also, 2008 has been an important year for mesh-box and its team and we would like to share the review on this development with you. 

So what was the news in 2008? Well, a lot! We kicked of the year with a little reinvention of mesh-box: the big relaunch in April brought an enhanced lay-out and a new structure with three categories: co-operation examples, articles and facts & figures. Simultaneously, we introduced the mesh-box newsletter with latest information on marketing co-operations. We could also engage experts in the field of co-operations like Marco Sewald of SEB Bank for our new interview series. Also, we could discover a number of relevant theses, e.g. on the topic of co-branding. In 2009, we’re planning to find even more interesting interview partners and theses for you. Last but not least we could again provide you with the latest facts and figures about marketing co-operations in Germany, which clearly showed that the trend towards marketing co-operations is stronger than ever. Where it was about 700 marketing co-operations in 2007, we could count more than 900 in 2008! On mesh-box we picked out the most interesting ones for you… see what has happened: 

• In January adidas & Diesel start the campaign for their joint denim collection “adidas Originals Denim by Diesel” - the beginning of a long term partnership
• In February it became clear that Panties & flowers on Valentines Day - the beginning of a long-term partnership between Fleurop and Palmers can be a great gift when bought in a nice little set from Palmers and Fleurop.
• March showed us that co-operations can not only be utilised for marketing purposes, but at the same time raise money for a good cause, like the Global co-operation of MTV and The Body Shop aims to prevent AIDS.
• April brought us two gigantic partnerships: Live LG like Iron Man – a multi-channel marketing co-operation utilised all sorts of media and measures for a 360 degree activation of potential viewers for the film version of the comic. Only days before, adidas and Samsung jointly launched a mobile training system, a side kick to Nike’s and Apple’s existing partnership and a great co-developed product for every sports enthusiast.
• In May, IKEA entered the virtual worlds of Electronic Arts and
• in June we found a good example on How not to do it - a bad practice co-operation measure by Amazon and McDonald’s
• In July we could see a darling of the Germans supporting a good cause: Michael Schumacher supported Bacardi’s “champions drink responsibly” campaign.
• In August we had to ask: Is The fragrance of love - a senseful co-operation?
• In September a great example on co-operations from the financial sector was posted: Fortis bank in cross-marketing deal with Senseo coffee.
• In October we could see how Procter & Gamble docks laundry to fashion – with fashion being a trend that was continued throughout the year.
• Also in November it was the Fashion talent Svenja Jander that gives new glamour to Pfaff sewing machines.
• And, from a short trip to the US we brought you  Yet another Starbucks & iTunes initiative in December.

To successfully establish and manage co-operations is a great task – that’s why we try to provide you with some insight into this complex topic, e.g. by introducing book recommendations like the New book on co-operations with a “Cool Factor”  , short summaries of theses like the New Master Thesis on Co-Branding as a Tool for Strategic Brand Activation and expert articles like Marketing co-operations in a nutshell or A co-operation comes to an end. What’s to consider? to you. 

As you see, 2008 has been a great year for co-operations and we hope for the year of 2009 to bring up more innovative and interesting partnerships. The mesh-box team is looking forward to report on the latest marketing co-operation examples, facts, figures and articles to you also next year and hopes to hear more from you. 

So, we would like to wish you a Happy Christmas, a lovely holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Title: Cooperative Brand Management – a conceptual guidance for a target-oriented use of Co-Branding strategies

Author: Katharina Lang

Type of publication: Master’s Thesis, University of applied sciences: Berlin School of Economics, Germany

Publication Date: November 2008

Methodology: combination of use of classical academic & practitioner literature and interviews with German marketing researchers as well as company representatives from Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola, Noshokaty, Döring & Thun, Pickmeup

Keywords: brand alliances, marketing alliance, co-marketing, marketing co-operation, co-branding, brand management, co-advertising, strategic alliance, corporate branding

Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to develop management guidelines for the target-oriented use of co-branding strategies. The thesis covers a detailed analysis of the different types of strategic and tactical brand alliances, particular risks and chances as well as potential success factors. The theoretical investigation and the case studies of two selected Apple alliances led to the conclusion that there is no panacea for the success of a co-branding strategy. The results showed clearly that the decision for the type of co-operative strategy depends for the most part on the different co-branding aims that each partner attempts to achieve. As an orientation aid, a conceptual framework was designed that guides through the different stages in the management process of building brand alliances.

The benefits of the co-operation are manifold:
1) Starbucks customers get a free song/video on the iTunes Store and a music recommendation.
2) Starbucks can increase “shop floor traffic” by giving customer an incentive to visit their coffee shops and boosts sales.
3) iTunes activates users, luring them with a free download offer to the iTunes store. This will not only activate existing iTunes customers but result in many new registrations.

Moreover, there is a fourth party benefiting from this initiative. The artists/labels, as awareness of the artist will be increased on a large scale.

For further information on this collaboration check out press release at:

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=857

The paper was submitted for his degree as an Executive Master in Marketing & Advertising at the Solvay Business School in Brussels and is available online at http://introniche.w3point.be/en/about/publications.

Title: Brand Alliances

Author: Sam Desimpel

Type of publication: Master thesis, University: Solvay Business School;
Université Libre de Bruxelles,/Belgium

Publication Date: December 2008

Methodology: the paper has been written inspired by classical academic & practicioner
literature as well as interviews with Belgian marketing professionals.

Keywords: Brand Alliances, Trade marketing, web 2.0, brand alliances 2.0, affiliate marketing, Marketing cooperatives, marketing alliance, marketing partnership, marketing joint venture, co-marketing, marketing co-operation, cause marketing, cause related marketing

Abstract: The brand alliance paper first covers the different advantages and disadvantages of strategic and tactical brand alliances with close attention to rules of thumb on how to organise a good brand alliance and of the regal frameworks applicable to brand alliances. In the second part, the paper discusses the similarities between a brand alliance and the web 2.0 philosophy and lays out a possible framework for a brand alliance 2.0.

The fit between the two co-operation partners seems flawless, as both represent a deep passion for sewing. In its 146 years of history, Pfaff has always had innovation, competence, performance and quality in sewing as its key principles. Young professional Svenja Jander again states that she has sewed passionately ever since her childhood and represents a rising number of young fashion talents. The authenticity of the partnership arises from the very unique characteristics of the young talent: her uncompromising passion for sewing and her high quality standards. It makes her preference for the brand credible.

The partnership clearly shows that it does not always need big names like Madonna as testimonials. With this co-operation, Pfaff will reach young fashion designers as well as young hobby and/or professional tailors, mainly within Germany - a quite specific but highly relevant target group. But if the objective is to address a broad target group globally, than yes, a partnership with a superstar like Madonna is much more sensible.

Pfaff should utilise this co-operation in innovative measure to approach its small and very specific target group. Along the co-work, the company should also grab this chance to pimp up its homepage – making it more interactive - to better serve the younger audience. Until now, Pfaff already improved style and content for parts, mainly by integrating colourful flash applications. The company now also communicates itself as official supplier of Germany’s “The next fashion talent” on its homepage, but the co-operation with Svenja Jander, however, is so far not visible at all.

In consequence, an integrated marketing campaign that features Svenja Jander prominently and that promotes Pfaff’s homepage with Svenja related content seems necessary to fully exploit the collaboration’s potential. I am curious to see how this collaboration develops.

Google can now feed its virtual library with English publications of Bertelsmann daughter Random House, the world’s biggest book publisher. As a start, all new publications will be archived. It can be expected that Bertelsmann’s German publishers Heyne, Goldmann, BTB und DVA will be brought on board in the medium term.

For users of the Google Book Search this implies a considerable added value, as the full-text-search function gives them access to far more digitized books. A mere entering of keywords or text passages leads them to books with appropriate content. Undoubtedly, Google successfully enlarges its book search offering through this partnership. David Drummond, chief legal advisor of Google, notes that „this is the beginning of a new era in accessing digital informations”. At the same time, Random House benefits through the partner program because it helps to boost sales via links to bookstores, online retailers and publisher’s websites. Moreover, scanned books can also be downloaded to the screen immediately when the respective payments have been made.

Nevertheless, this networking program evokes critics: It is likely that small publishing companies - that are not listed in Google’s Book Search - experience a competitive disadvantage and it is questionable if Google’s Book Search will ever manage to include enough abstracts to make the service really work. What do you think?

Daniela Wieser of the Management Center Innsbruck (MCI) in Innsbruck/Austria has written a diploma thesis about co-branding. You find a summary of the study below. For further information, contact the study’s author Daniela Wieser under da.wieser (AT) mci4me.at

Title: “Stellenwert und Perspektiven des Co-Branding - Theoretische Grundlagen und empirische Analyse”

Authors: Daniela Wieser

Type of publication: Diploma Thesis

University: Management Center Innsbruck (MCI), Innsbruck/Austria

Publication Date: July 30, 2008

Methodology: The empirical analysis consists of a comprehensive company survey carried out in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and expert interviews of different consultant firms (Noshokaty, Döring & Thun, Institute of Brand Logic, htp St. Gallen, impalawolfmitbiss, Brandmeyer Markenberatung, Goodbrands, SEMPORA Consulting)

Keywords: Co-Branding

Abstract: Purpose of this paper is to show that co-branding is the central and topical focus of brand management in a time of growing product and brand diversity, stimulus satiation of consumers and loss of clarity of brand profiles. In saturated markets with more and more interchangeable products, companies are looking for ways of differentiation. Brand strategy replaces, in science as well as in application, more and more the classic way of brand extension. Companies are trying to create synergetic partnerships to create products with a dual quality standard. The consumer can satisfy two needs with one purchase. The sometimes difficult decision between brands becomes easier. The results of the company survey and the expert interviews show that co branding as a strategy has not yet reached its peak. The main goals of such co-operations are to gain access to new markets, to create a positive image transfer and thus to create more value for both brands involved. The selection of a well suited partner as well as stringent and comprehensive planning and execution are the main components of a successful co-branding strategy.

My name: Marco Sewald

My company: SEB Bank Deutschland

My position: Director, Head of Strategic Cooperation Management

Selected co-operations I worked on: Since I’m leading the Strategic Cooperation Management department at the SEB Bank, I am constantly dealing with co-operations. In the past years my department has set up marketing partnerships for instance with the swedish ferry company StenaLine, the telco provider o2, the travel provider Berge & Meer, the federal police union and the publishing company vorwärts.

Relevance of co-operations in our industry: For retail banking, co-operations have become an integral element of the marketing mix. Marketing partnerships are a powerful sales tool, especially when the respective partner has an attractive customer base that can be directly addressed. I cannot think of any player that can afford not to use co-operations for addressing new target groups, creating leads and winning new customers. We have to go beyond traditional media/ communication and sales channels, especially when addressing younger target groups that are increasingly difficult to reach via traditional media/communication. Furthermore, partnerships that include joint brand communication can increase brand awareness and can influence the brand image positively. We also use partnerships to offer little extras to our loyal customers.

Our criteria for partner selection: In our department, we evaluate potential partners on the basis of ten selection criteria. However, as our department has the clear objective to generate leads and to win new customers, four questions are of particular importance:

• Does the partner have a customer base that is relevant to us (in terms of size, demography, regions)?
• Does the partner possess the required communication channels to directly address it?
• Does the partner’s target group significantly overlap with our target group?
• Does the partner plan communication campaigns with attractive integration opportunities?

Companies/brands I would like to partner with: There are a few… Ikea and H&M would be great!

Main challenges in establishing co-operations: Many partners struggle to get the required support, since co-operations are in many cases (especially when no dedicated co-operation department is in place) on-top projects that colleagues have to do in addition to their regular workload.

Good practice co-operation examples: Our partnership with StenaLine AB in Germany is pretty successful.

Bad practice co-operation examples: The partnership with the German advisory association for elderly people wasn’t as successful as expected (low business impact, few activities).

DOs in co-operations: Always double-check on both sides if the resources required for implementing all planned measures are in place. Sometimes, it helps to be a bit pragmatic.

DONTs in co-operations: Don’t spend too much time on jointly developing a gigantic, detailed catalogue of joint measures. Once a co-operation concept was developed and a mutual understanding of the co-operation logic and deal established, run a pilot. Get started and check if the partner meets your expectations before spending much time on long-term preparation. Then you can simultaneously and jointly develop the co-operation further.

The “next big thing” in co-operations: The online integration of partner content becomes easier through tools like widgets and work well for pilot activities. In the banking sector there are those “newly-born” partnerships between governments and banks that cause quite a stir at the moment…

Title: “Co-Branding as a Tool for Strategic Brand Activation - How to Find the Ideal Partner. An Explanatory Case Study in the Fashion and Design Sector”

Authors: Natalia Dorozala and Antonia Kohlbrenner
Type of publication: Master thesis
University: School of Economic and Management, Lund University/Sweden
Publication Date: May 30, 2008
Methodology: Multiple Case Study - Interviews with expert consultants and company representatives (adidas, BMW, BMW MINI, Diesel, H&M, Opel, Philips, Sharp, Volkswagen, Noshokaty, Döring & Thun)
Keywords: Brand Building and Brand Activation, Relationship Marketing, Strategic Alliances, Affinity Partnering, Co-Branding, Consumer-Brand Relationships

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the interdependencies within the process of partner selection in the fashion and design sector and the emanating criteria for finding the ideal co-branding partner in order to use co-branding as a strategic brand activation tool. The study results showed that partner selection depends decisively on the different co-branding aims and incorporates the crucial step when using co-branding as a tool for strategic brand activation. The co-branding aim and the corresponding partner lead to various types of relationships, which, in this study, are anthropomorphized to connect the world of marketing and branding to real life. Fashion and design brands have proven to be particularly eligible as co-branding partners for brand activation due to their innovative and trend-oriented nature.

According to Kash Shaikh, marketing manager at P&G, women actually spend $1,500 a year on dry cleaning, whereas 65 percent of those clothes are machine washable. Years of research were necessary, so Shaikh, to invent detergent products that preserve the shape and colour of clothes after repeated washes. Now, P&G send out the message that the new detergents help cutting down on dry cleaning bills by keeping clothes looking new up to 30 washes. As part of the co-operation, Ann Taylor Loft alert customers to the products’ benefits with posters and fitting room decals throughout the stores and an eight-page magazine which contains tips on how to keep clothes looking fresh. Chief marketing officer Robert Luzzi of Ann Taylor Loft notes that the partnership is incredibly relevant to their customers. Apart from delivering an added value (a free detergent sample), Ann Taylor Loft benefits of increased awareness through “Tide and Downy Total Care” print ads in fashion magazines such as Elle and InStyle, which include the Ann Taylor brand.  These activities come along with a series of in-store events with celebrity stylist Jorge Ramon, who makes several appearances throughout the campaign. Thus, Ann Taylor Loft customers get free personalized styling tips.

On the part of P&G the store chain was chosen as Ann Taylor is one of the few upper-class retail chains that has a relatively high percentage of washable products. Additionally, there is a high fit of their target groups as they both appeal to budget-conscious women who are interested in fashion.

Source: On-going market screening by Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

In some cases, marketing co-operations simply phase out unnoticeably in the course of time without causing a stir. This is often the case, when no new budgets are allocated, the performance has not reached the objectives, the belief in the co-operation’s success is missing or the performance has not been tracked properly, the responsible persons change jobs and the new person in charge focuses on different tasks. In other cases, co-operations terminate all of a sudden. Such situations can have several reasons: The management of one of the co-operating companies has changed and now pursuits a different strategy, the allocated budget is suddenly locked or the partner brand faces severe image problems.

Our experiences have shown that co-operations that slowly phase out in the course of time do require in most cases little management effort and collateral communications to finish off decently. Although this might not always be the most efficient approach and exceptions occur, of course (so for instance when co-operations involved complex business processes, many different business interfaces and high number of customer interactions). The sudden end to co-operations, however, runs the risk of severe brand damage and negative consumer experiences. It requires a solid management of the termination process (to smoothly separate the mutual business activities) and a clear communication strategy (to stop people from speculating, to avoid negative user experiences and wrong expectations).

It is certainly understandable, that generally little effort is being allocated to the termination of something that has no future and thus presents little opportunity to distinguish oneself from others in the working environment. But co-operation managers should always analyse the risk related to an unmanaged co-operation termination: meaning for instance image damage, negative user experiences and speculations in the market. Managing the termination of a co-operation professionally can address these risks.

Before you hop onto the next big project, analyse what is at stake here and see if it is worth running the risks of abandoning the co-operation to its fate or not. In addition, the documentation of key learnings of the co-operation engagement including an overview of the people involved, their responsibilities and a list of future contact persons might also be a sensible thing to do.

In the fast-moving and highly competitive, global high street fashion business, retailers face a lot of challenges. They need to regularly provide special incentives and occasions to draw customers to their shop floors. They need to strengthen brand awareness and their fashion positioning. They need to enter new markets and address new target groups. Thus, they need to differentiate themselves constantly from competitors. In the last years, fashion retailers have increasingly turned to “high fashion” designers and trendy/famous celebrities to address these challenges.

H&M might not have been the first fashion retailer to collaborate with fashion designers, but they were the ones who rolled out this strategy most consistently and professionally. Four years have passed since their first seasonal design collaboration with the iconic Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld. While H&M announced one collaboration after another with impressive frequency (e.g. with Italian desiger Roberto Cavalli, pop icon Madonna, Stella McCartney, Dutch designer duo Victor & Rolf, pop princess Kylie Minogue, and now even with Comme des Garçons), other retailers started to follow H&M:

Karstadt & Kostas Murkudis
Gap & Pierre Hardy
Karstadt & Kaviar Gauche
Topshop & Kate Moss
Mango & Penelope/Monica Cruz
EASTPAK & RAF SIMONS
s.Oliver & Anastacia

H&M seems to be uncontested with their strategic and long-term approach to partnering with couture designers and celebrities while other companies experiment with one-off collaborations. They launch new seasonal collaborations regularly and activate them comprehensively (e.g. promoting the collaborations on a global scale with billboard posters, TV- commercials, dedicated websites, press events/fashion shows, videos of the respective designers/celebrities, etc.) creating a huge buzz in the fashion world.

The question for them and others is how long this concept will remain successful. I believe these forms of collaboration will continue to be a popular tactic within the fashion industry’s marketing mix. In the short run, we will see many more fashion retail chains engaging in this field. But it gets increasingly difficult to create an equal amount of awareness with design partnerships compared to the early collaborations. They benefited greatly from their first mover advantage, and the PR effect and store traffic/sales impact were huge.

Nowadays, it is more challenging to capture the public imagination with another cameo by a famous designer, model or actress. The seasonal collections with designers will need to be increasingly distinct from the mainstream collections and should clearly reflect the signature style of the collaborating designer. They require an even more powerful activation and present a clear value proposition to the customer. On the other hand, fashion companies are running the risk of confusing customers with too many design partnerships in the market. In the long run, new innovative partnership concepts are required to achieve a similary high impact. A famous name will hardly be enough…

H&M + Karl Lagerfeld (Key visual):

H&M + Karl Lagerfeld (TV ad):

H&M + Roberto Cavalli (Print ad/poster):

H&M + Madonna (Personal invitation):

H&M + Madonna (Print ad):

H&M + Madonna (Promotion material):

H&M + Stella McCartney (Key visual):

H&M + Stella McCartney (TV ad):

H&M + Victor & Rolf (Key visual):

H&M + Kylie Minogue (Key visual):

H&M + Comme des Garçons (Key visual):

H&M + Comme des Garçons (Internet presence/screenshot):

Gap + Pierre Hardy (Editorial):

Karstadt + Kostas Murkudis (Key visual):

Karstadt + Kaviar Gauche (Product label):

Topshop + Kate Moss (Event promotion):

Topshop + Kate Moss (Internet presence/screenshot):

Topshop + Kate Moss (Online integration):

Topshop + Kate Moss (Shop window):

Mango + Penelope/Monica Cruz (Billboard):

EASTPAK + RAF SIMONS (Key visual):

s.Oliver + Anastacia (Key visual):

For further information:

www.grigri.cn
www.designer-jones.blogspot.com
www.iamnotabookofanswers.blogspot.com
www.insidefashion.com
www.labelleetleblog.wordpress.com
www.sheabutterball.blogspot.com
www.londonoa.wordpress.com
www.modelvita.com
www.davelessio.blogvis.com
www.nymag.com
www.pablochester.typepad.com
www.insider.asos.com
www.phylly.spaces.live.com

For further information go to: www.google.com

The main idea is that your banker at Fortis invites you to come and discuss your investment
profile, not over a cup of coffee, but over a cup of Senseo premium coffee. That aside, there
are as many investment profiles at Fintro as there are coffee flavours at Senseo.

The campaign is mainly print, run in the belgian financial press.
That aside, Fortis has bought and installed 2.500 Senseo machines for all offices.
People who show up for get a free Senseo coffee, an investment chat, some coffee to take home
and a chance to win one of hundred Senseo coffee machines. More details can be found in this online leaflet.

Personally, I think this is a very good way for a beleagered bank, which is rumoured to have alienated a lot of
clients over the last months over credit woes, to show a warmer side by partnering with a coffee brand
that stands for quality, warmth and friendliness. Cross marketing at it’s best, even if the two brands do not seem to have a direct fit.

And a good coffee is always welcome.

Best regards,

Sam from IntroNiche

Undoubtedly, both partners fit well together as they both address technical oriented consumers that are keen on novelties in the electronic segment. Especially to FON this cooperation provides increased awareness in a new high potential target group. The fact that wireless routers are placed aside from game equipment in retail stores, enlarges FON’s distribution channel and communication possibilities. While enhancing user experience on the PSP they can strengthen popularity of Wi-Fi culture among gamers. For Sony’s target group, however, PSPxFON implies a significant added value. From now on, they can join the wireless network community, almost everywhere in Japan. Furthermore, they accomplish the image of a convenient, media savvy-device.

Until now, this service is only available to PSP owners in Japan, and there’s no word on whether Sony intends to go global with their FON partnership. I am looking forward to see, whether Sony plans to roll out of the cooperation concept to other countries with other potential Wi-Fi providers.

 The collaboration provides added value to the customers of both companies and generates a competitive advantage. To Amazon TiVo provides an additional distribution channel which facilitates impulse purchases and to reach new target groups. For TiVo this might be an incentive for suppliers to decide to list products on the online marketplace.  

I think it is a good example for a co-operation as it results in benefits for both partners and their clients. In regard to the general tendency to TV digitalisation I wonder if this innovative application will have success in the long run.

We hope you find this useful. Let us know what you think…

Why? There are several motives for establishing marketing partnerships:

- To access new markets and points of sales
- To increase awareness
- To address new target groups
- To build-up/strengthen the brand
- To strengthen specific image dimensions
- To provide added value to new or existing costumers
- To reduce marketing expenditures
- …

With whom? The general compatibility between two partner companies is core to the success of marketing co-operations. To identify a partner with an adequate fit, it is necessary to conduct a “fit analysis” which is based on a set of questions (depending on the kind of co-operation envisaged) like for instance:

- Does the potential partner have access to a relevant target group?
- Does the partner offer added value for the own target group?
- Does the partner provide relevant distribution/communication channels?
- Does the partner brand fit to ones own brand?
- Are both brands in the same „brand league“?
- How is the personal chemistry between the companies?
- …

How? The process of establishing marketing co-operations can be summarised in three main stages:

1.Conceptual phase:
- Co-operation concept that both partners agree on (including for instance a
theme for the co-operation)
- Transparent contractual agreement that outlines both partners’ contributions
and objectives
2.Establishment
- Internal coordination regarding feasibility
- Development of a business case
- Specification of joint measures
3.Implementation
- Permanent dialogue between partners to facilitate streamlined project
management (also to avoid discrepancies and misunderstandings)
- …

Watch outs When developing a co-operation the following should be avoided:

- Insufficient/irrelevant added value for customers
- Unclear/imprecise objectives
- Inadequate fit of the collaboration partners
- Lack of resources & consistency within managing stage
- Insufficient preparation
- “Rupture” between the three phases
- Sporadic instead of ongoing dialogue of the two partners
- …

Taking a closer look at this partnership it seems questionable whether both brands fit together that well. Here are a few aspects that made me wonder: 

1.) In fact, the coupons do not represent a benefit for the female users as only men have to pay to be a member of the platform. As a result only men receive an added value out of this promotion. 

2.) There is no denying that the addressing of new target groups is often one main motive for establishing marketing partnerships. The core target group of neu.de consists of lifestyle-oriented women and men, who are older than the predominant juvenile ck customers. Moreover, ck does not specifically target singles which means that many coupons deflagrate as they reach individuals that are already in relationships.  

Hence, the question occurs: What was the criterion of this partner selection? According to perfume producer Coty, the idea came up in conversations between executives of neu.de and the Coty product management. “It is just because they know each other” - that could be the reason why the co-operation lacks a clear strategic focus. 

It seems that the partners developed their co-operation concept by a quirk. Even if a co-operation opportunity comes up that seems attractive, it should never be established without a thorough fit analysis and an investigation regarding their potentials and risks. Apparently, the chemistry between the companies is good and was decisive for collaborating. What seems to be an advantage, however, can also become an issue at a later point. The friendship deal of both partners let them act in good faith that a stepwise proceeding is unnecessary. Nevertheless it is fact, that an insufficient preparation and missing contractual agreement containing both partners’ contributions and objectives in the beginning could cause discrepancies and misunderstandings later on. 

In the end, it remains to be seen, if neu.de can generate new registrations through this partnership and inversely ck can increase awareness and sales of the perfume they promote on neu.de.

The corporate social responsibility campaign was launched in April 2008. The first phase of “Champions drink responsibly” includes advertising, consumer engagements, public relations and digital media. 15 to 20 seconds adverts with Michael Schumacher on TV, cinema and online media are broadcast in more than 40 countries worldwide. A print campaign is to follow featuring statements from Schumacher like “If I go out for a drink someone else does the driving” or “A word of advice if you’re going out tonight. Taxi.”.

 
Print campaign

  
See the advert

 All elements of the campaign can be found on www.bacardilimited.com and on the microsite www.championsdrinkresponsibly.com.To further showcase its social responsibility commitment, Bacardi signed the so called “European Road Safety Charta”, which aims at halving the number of traffic deaths on European roads by 2010. 

“Champions drink responsibly” is not the first campaign supported by Michael Schumacher. Since his retirement in 2006 he got heavily involved in road safety initiatives like the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) Foundations “Make Roads Safe” campaign or the “Commission for Global Road Safety”. 

To me, the partnership is based on a good partner-fit. This jointly developed campaign highlights the Bacardi’s dedication to raising awareness and implementing measures against driving under the influence of alcohol. Besides Michael Schumacher is an absolutely trustworthy testimonial for this campaign reaching a broad audience with his messages.

Screenshot of the microsite

Website of the Bacardi Germany initivative “Driver’s Corner”

Source: On-going market screening by Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

Here’s the story: Ryan Spoon ordered Myoplex Light (a diet product) on Amazon. When he opened his Amazon parcel he found not only the ordered diet product, but also a McDonald’s coupon for a free McDonalds Southern Chicken sandwich and a free Southern Chicken Breakfast biscuit.

Couponing can be a very effective marketing instrument. But only if you do it right. And this case it wasn’t done right. This target group - individuals on a diet - couldn’t be more inappropriate for McDonald’s coupons. It’s a cruel temptation. A gym day-pass would have been much better. So either the segmentation did not work or Amazon didn’t segment at all (which is even worse) and put the vouchers in all parcels. In either way, I’m sure this couponing did not reach the aimed objective and might have even had a negative impact.

(This is an example of the booklet)

The DRIVE & RUN booklet informs about where to go running in thirteen German cities. Every running route has its own route description and map and can be easily reached by car. A short description of the cities is given, too. The booklet also contains additional information about running events, running shops and other relevant recommendations concerning running in general. And not to forget: it also includes several ads like for the BMW 1 Series convertible, BMW efficientDynamics and for RUNNER’s WORLD subscriptions. The booklet is promoted on the BMW and RUNNER’s WORLD Website. bmw.de and runnersworld.de but can only be ordered on BMW’site. BMW has leveraged the booklet thoroughly, as a communication campaign was developed for the BMW 1 Series around this running booklet (see banner example on Spiegel.de below).

The booklet is a nice give away but its main potential lies in the use of the content for other communication measures. The idea of offering running routes is not particularly new, though.  Nike has been quite active in this field for its Nike+ products (e.g. on http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/index.jhtml customers can share their running routes). 

From my point of view, this co-operation seems to have mainly two objectives: For BMW to strengthen the positioning of the BMW 1 Series as a product for active, ambitious and (young) professionals; and for RUNNER’s WORLD to increase awareness of its brand – particularly within the target group of professionals and eventually to sell subscriptions. Given that BMW has integrated the booklet in a range of online communication measures, it is very likely that RUNNER’s WORLD increases its awareness even beyond this target group.

(This is the front page of the Runner’s World Magazine)

The special edition is named after the street Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (Fbg) in
Paris, where the headquarters of Hermès are located. 

It is not the first time the French luxury fashion brand Hermès is involved in car design with Bugatti. Both brands are rich in tradition and address an exquisite target group with its luxury products. Co-operations between them go back to the 1920s when Ettore Bugatti asked his friend Émile Hermès to produce suitcases and bags matching the design of the first Bugatti Royale. 

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Fbg par Hermès combines exclusive design and premium technology. Gabriele Pezzini - responsible for the exclusive design - integrated the unique Hermès style into the vehicle. There is a range of Hermès typical design features, so for instance the door handles, which are reminiscent of handles used on Hermès trunks. Furthermore the purchase price of € 1.55 Mio includes a unique Hermès trunk with ones initials.  

The brands fit well together as they both play in the same “brand league” and address a HNW, design-oriented target group. Consequently this co-operation offers a chance for both companies to strengthen and enforce their positioning as one of the most exclusive, premium brand’s in the world.  

It is nice to see that the traditional friendship between a “car-loving saddle maker and a horse-loving carmaker” leads to a co-operation like this, where the combination of design, technology and passion of two luxury brands result in such an exclusive product. 

As the both brands are integrated in the product name, it can be assumed that the Hermès brand will play a vital role in the marketing of the car. I look forward to this autumn, when this co-branded Bugatti is launched. Not because I consider purchasing it (I wish!) but I’m curious how it will be marketed. 

Marketing cooperation can definitely benefit lager corporations, as the examples on Mesh-Box amply illustrate.

Cooperation provides value to small and medium companies with less marketing muscle however as well.

Here’s an easily implementable example of a cross-promotion between European two start-ups:

• Myngle, an online marketplace to learn languages
• the Compare Group, an online price-comparison operator

Both companies target regular internet users in Europe, in casu the Benelux and Finland for the Compare Group.
Given this fit, there’s a definite benefit from a co-operation.

Myngle is focusing to attract quality traffic to it’s site.
The Compare Group is also looking for incentives to increase the retention rate of it’s existing user base.

Both companies posted a classified ad on an online platform for cross-promotion called IntroNiche and consequently found each other. A deal was swiftly negotiated where essentially Myngle sponsors free language courses on it’s platform which will be given away in a contest organised on the different website of the Compare Group. More details of the deal can be found here.

Sponsoring contest or raffles organised by other companies with free samples and trials of one’s own company is a classic co-marketing tool used by small and medium companies.

There is however something less classical about this deal as both parties have found each other on an online platform.

One of the main hurdles for marketing cooperation is the time and effort it takes to source the good deals.

Some newly created online platforms intend to assist companies in their search for matching partners.

Some of the more known examples are banner-exchanging platforms such as Spottt.com, Entrecard and the german language equivalent version Kikabu.

Next to that, there are also some platforms with a broader marketing co-operation scope.

These platforms enable all kinds of online and offline marketing cooperations - not just banner exchanges.
Examples areBrandTorrent.com, IntroNiche.com and german language equivalent MarketMarket.eu.

All three platforms are free to use. They have all been recently created and still need to reach the critical mass needed to be off full value. However, the example above illustrates the determined co-operation marketeer can already make deals on these platforms.

(Disclosure: the author of this post is the founder of IntroNiche.com by the way. But you may have figured that out already…)

From now on the Londoner fashion designer is responsible for the formal appearance of the football team, the trainers and other Manchester United officials for the next three years. The first creation was presented in June at the final match of the Champions League. In 2006 Paul Smith already dealt with the subject “football”. On time to the World Cup he designed some t-shirts and footballs. Some of those can be seen here

This is not the first co-operation between a fashion designer and a football team. As already in 2006, we will see the German national football team also in 2008 at the European Championship in suits and accessories of Strenesse, a German fashion label. The Italian national team gets its clothes from Armani. Beckham & Co. are equipped with Dolce & Gabbana outfits for the public appearances aside the football ground. 

Designers are popular co-operation partners for the rich and famous. At the occasion of film or music festivals, like the Oscars or the Grammy, one sees singers, actors and other VIP’s in fancy dresses and luxurious jewellery on every red carpet. According to the Fashion Coordinator for the Academy Awards Patty Fox the red carpet at the Oscars night is the most important catwalk for all designers. If you wonder where they get the beautiful outfits from – just buy a tabloid paper like UK’s Heat magazine or a fashion magazine like Elle the next day and you will be informed in detail on who was wearing Chanel, Valentino, Dior etc.

Those co-operations with celebrities give the golden opportunity to designers as they can present their products to an international audience. The VIP’s benefit from the glamorous image of the fashion labels. Moreover they do not have to pay for the fashionable clothes, as they get those dresses and suits for free.  Fashion labels have started professionalising this relationship by remunerating celebrities for wearing their clothes -  thus this huge international publicity for their brand is guaranteed  (… and appearances are not dependent on celebrities’ “moods” anymore).  For a long time now, equipping celebrities for official events is an established marketing instrument in high-end fashion. Let’s see how those kinds of co-operations will evolve. But for now – let’s watch the boys play football.

After co-operations with Ford and H&M, Electronic Arts continues to integrate brands from the everyday real life in their games and thereby Electronic Arts meets the players’ demand to further evolve and personalize the Sims world. Moreover, it is a means of differentiation and an additional revenue generator for the game company. In return, IKEA gets access to relevant target groups and increases Sims players’ involvement with the IKEA brand and its products. I think overall a fairly good co-operation concept as it also offers added value for users!

The partnership was originally established in 2005 to jointly develop a report that identifies the risks that climate change poses for the financial services industry. Since then, Allianz Group continuously invested in sustainability projects and implemented numerous measures concerning environmental protection. These activities led to some significant results e.g.: Allianz reduced the consumption of electricity by 20% and the consumption of gas by 40% within two years. Besides, Allianz was voted “Best in Class” within the “Carbon Disclosure Project”, due to a reduction of 5% of their carbon dioxide emission between 2005 and 2006.

Encouraged by those positive results, the Allianz Group decided to intensify this partnership and signed a three year master agreement with the WWF in September 2007 under the motto of the World Economic Forum “The power of collaboration innovation”.

Interview with Joachim Faber, member of the board of management of Allianz SE: 

Allianz.com News: Last year, Allianz formed a partnership with the WWF. What’s it about? 

Joachim Faber: The WWF is one of the largest and most international organizations that has dealt in depth with the issue of climate change for a long time. We’ve been working with them since summer 2005, when we released a joint report estimating the risks of climate change for the financial services industry.

Since September 2007, we’ve been cooperating not just on a project basis, but based on a firm three-year master agreement. One of the main goals of our collaboration is to precisely quantify both the direct and indirect effects of climate change on the Allianz Group – in other words, including the possible repercussions and risks for our very diverse financial investments.  

Why do you need outside support for that? 

Faber: Outside support is a routine affair for any company, no matter what the sector. The only unusual aspect is that this support is from a non-governmental organization.

But it’s exactly that independence which makes the partnership with the WWF so valuable. The WWF is one of the institutions with the most extensive knowledge on climate change. And it’s a good thing to have a sort of “sparring partner” so we can develop further – both ourselves and as a company. We don’t have to be of the same opinion on all matters to achieve that result.  

In what direction would you like to see Allianz develop? 

Faber: I want the insight gained from this quantification of climate change effects to serve as an innovation driver for our products and services in every segment. The WWF will support us in that, as well. We’d like to lower our climate risks as soon as possible, and take advantage of the opportunities resulting from climate change. We also hope that, together with the WWF, we can get the whole industry moving in the right direction. 

Why is the partnership limited to three years?  

Faber: This doesn’t imply that it will automatically end in three years. But three years is a good period of time to achieve the first results, and then to decide together how to go forward. 

This isn’t a new subject for Allianz. What’s been done in this area so far? 

Faber: We have already achieved a good deal. After our first climate report in 2005, we adopted an international program that is now implemented by about two-thirds. For example, between 2005 and 2006, we reduced our direct carbon dioxide emissions – which are caused mainly by offices and business trips – by nearly five percent. By 2012, we’ll be reducing our emissions by another 20 percent compared to 2006.

Within the international Carbon Disclosure Project, we are working for greater transparency in climate-related risks. Moreover, the Project has recognized Allianz as “Best in Class” in our approach to climate change disclosure.

As I mentioned before, climate change also offers opportunities. On August 1 of last year, our new Allianz Climate Solutions subsidiary went into operation. Its team advises companies on how to adapt to climate risks, and about climate-friendly projects like wind farms or biomass plants, covering all aspects of financing, technical risk management and insurance.

In September, we also launched the ECOMotion car insurance policy in
Germany, which is certified by the WWF. For the first time, it enables environmentally-aware drivers to neutralize their CO2 emissions. Our successful Allianz RCM Global EcoTrends fund was also established in collaboration with the WWF. Our Dresdner Kleinwort investment bank is a leading player in the European emissions trading market. And we’re making long-term investments in renewable energies. At the end of last year, we significantly increased our wind farm portfolio.

Source: Interview from Allianz Group Website

“Games that connect to the Internet or online games pose a threat if there is no up-to-date virus protection. The partnership with Ubisoft is an interesting chance for us to highlight the importance of IT security”, explains Tjark Auerbach, CEO of Avira.

“The existing bundle offer is an excellent start for continuing strategic marketing cooperations” said Benedikt Schüler, Marketing Director at Ubisoft.

If this is the start of the co-operation, let’s see what other initiatives are following.

So what has the new mesh-box to offer: The relaunch brings not only a new design - which makes room for more visuals - but also introduces several new features and a new structure. The new structure improves the access to information as we sort posts into three categories. From now on you can directly reach posts by clicking on “facts & figures”, “articles” or “examples”. We take your feedback to heart and will therefore publish more facts about co-operations and more partnership examples with as many co-operation visuals as we can get hold of. With the newsletter subscription we also offer a new service on mesh-box.

With the new mesh-box, we aim to provide even more insights about marketing co-operations than we have done last year!

All the best from your mesh-box team!

P.S.: Do you like the new design? Share your views – you know how it works!

All information about the contest will be available on the joint microsite www.machnewelle.de (in German only). The best spot will be produced with the aid of Sven Unterwaldt, a famous German screenwriter and producer. With this project Coca-Cola and WWF continue their collaboration with regard to environmental protection, which started in 2007 with the global “Water Savers Project” (mesh-box article).

Product placements in movies have been part of Audis marketing strategy for some time now. The Audi RSQ that Will Smith drove in “I, Robot”, for example, was the futuristic design parent for the new Audi R8. With the co-operation, Audi approaches the young cinema audience in a direct way and creates awareness and enthusiasm for the brand amongst them. Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment, on the other hand, benefit from Audi’s marketing power (communication channels and presumably media) to reach specific target groups.

The measures implemented by Paramount Pictures/Marvel Entertainment and Audi remind a bit of the previously presented LG co-operation. Through the cinematic-appearing online campaign Paramount Pictures/Marvel Entertainment and Audi try to strengthen the link between Iron Man and Audi R8. On 10^th march 2008 the joint microsite www.audi.com/ironman went online, an ambitious flash website that features quite similar features as the “InsideTheSuit” microsite of LG (exclusive trailers, background information, exclusive content and a sweepstake), but in addition it enables users to take in two different perspectives. One is the sight of Tony Stark, which is used e.g. for trailers, the other one is an infrared sight called “Iron Man Vision”, which is utilised e.g. for details on the construction of Audi R8 and A5. In beginning of April further measures were implemented, including outdoor advertising and trailers in cinemas. In line with the campaign, eleven trailers were produced exclusively for Audi and show driving scenes from the movie, which are not yet published but to be seen on the joint microsite soon.

The co-operation works well due to the good “fit” between the two partners. As the press article states, both Iron Man and the Audi R8 stand for similar attributes – they are both fast, safe, outstanding in performance, luxurious, intelligent and demanding.

A little anecdote to conclude: Director John Favreau had difficulties with the car and couldn’t use it for the last scene as initially planned. The Audi R8 was supposed to crash into Iron Man’s enemy, but the crash just wasn’t spectacular enough. “Our stunt specialists did all to overturn the car – that would have been a dramatic final scene.”, said Favreau, “But it just did not work as we thought – the car just held the road too well.” Well put (sold), Mr. Favreau…

One of the trailer can be found here.

The partnership started off with a quite unique and attention-grabbing announcement on January 7^th at this year’s CTIA, the largest wireless industry trade show. At the show, the original Iron Man suit was on location to protect Iron Man’s very own mobile phone, the limited ”LG Shine Iron Man Edition”, a handset developed by LG and decked out in solid 18 karat gold.  

Limited LG Shine Iron Man Edition

There is no information on whether this phone is going to be sold, I snapped up unconfirmed information that it will only be sold in the United States with an AT&T contract and for about US$ 2000 – if so, it will be an item for real fans only. The joint microsite http://www.lg2win.com/ does not give any information on this neither – in contrary, it only contains a flash intro and a sweepstake for winning LG solid steal consumer electronics (see screenshot below). No word about the solid gold handset. But the latest announcement of a second joint microsite InsideTheSuit.com to be launched on April 15^th set an end to the rumours. The website will offer visitors exclusive behind-the-scenes content and the chance to win the gold phone by participating in a marketing contest.  

Microsite “LG2WIN” 

But these are only the first pieces of the marketing package that the co-operating partners will wrap around the movie to be released on May 2^nd. So far, it is known that they are going to market across multiple media platforms with traditional, online media vehicles as well as key technology industry initiatives. I’m curious what this “marketing contest” is going to look like. Let me know if you find out anything else about this partnership!  

The “miCoach” system is build around a Samsung/adidas branded mobile phone and comes - in addition to equipment like a compatible apparel line and a training website - with several sports features like a heart rate monitor and a stride sensor chip to fit all running shoes.

The main differences to the Nike+ training system is that “miCoach” works with all kind of running shoes and that it is based on a mobile phone instead of a mp3 player (iPod). “miCoach” was launched last month and from the microsite information it seems that it is available for about 400 Euro in Germany, UK, Russia, Spain and Switzerland. Soon it will also be launched in Italy, Ukraine and the Netherlands. In Germany, the set is sold at adidas and Samsung stores and at the o2 online store.

adidas and Samsung have jointly worked on the “miCoach” for almost two years. While adidas provided expertise in the area of sports and developed the monitoring and website training system, Samsung developed the matching mobile phone.

Print ad

Both partners promote the joint product, but the communication measures are quite different. Samsung’s “miCoach” print ad (see above) focuses on the mobile phone, while adidas is putting the training system in the focus of its measures. These differences can been seen best on the two individual microsites that were developed for “miCoach”. While both websites have the same features for the training program, Samsung’s microsite (see below) concentrates on the mobile phone and the adidas training website focuses on the training system with no visibile integration of the Samsung logo at all. Samsung and adidas even use slightly different “miCoach” logos.

Microsite www.micoach.samsungmobile.com

Microsite www.micoach.com

In the joint commercial the adidas logo as well as the adidas microsite is used:

This is not adidas first co-operation of this kind. In 2005, adidas already launched a training product in collaboration with Polar, a producer of heart rate monitors, that is comparable with “miCoach”. The technology of the Polar product and “miCoach” is probably quite similar.

http://www.adidas-polar.com/phase5/index.html
Press release: adidas and Polar introduce the world’s first completely integrated training system

As the Samsung and adidas co-operation was announced as a long-term strategic partnership, it remains to be seen what other products the co-operation will bring to market. Eventually, the continuation of this partnership will probably depend on how successful “miCoach” will be.

For the press release see the adidas website

The first of their two campaigns “Stop HIV: Spray to Change Attitudes” promoted a joint perfume called “Rougeberry” which was launched as a limited edition and sold in The Body Shop stores. Additionally, the campaign motive, a piece of art designed by Australian Graffiti artist Sarah Howell, was auctioned and the revenue was given to the “Staying Alive” foundation.

The co-operation was a great success with MTV communicating the message via TV, websites, broadband services and mobile TV to a potential audience of 1.3 billion people worldwide. The promotion also had a relevant financial impact, as it could raise more than 500.000 Euro which were given to more than 80 projects.

After the success of last year’s campaign both partners joined again for a second promotion. The new campaign “Move your Lips” promotes a MTV-branded “Guarana lip butter” and will be available in The Body Shop stores from today. The campaign’s microsite www.moveyourlips.com is now also online in Germany.

The promotion includes posters at the POS as well as a commercial which will be broadcasted at MTV and reach approximately 500.000 households worldwide. Besides raising money for the foundation by donating two thirds of the money for every co-branded product sold, the campaign also aims to encourage young people to participate in the “Staying Alive Awards” which endow up to 10.000 dollar per project.

Both campaigns were executed likewise in more than 50 countries. Together, MTV and The Body Shop created a multi-platform campaign between media and retail of incredible impact. Well done – and way to go…

According to the new agreement, BBCGreen.com will place ebay advertisements on its site, offering consumers the opportunity to buy ‘used only’ products from eBay. The benefits of the co-operation are quite clear: BBC can inspire the public to take action with examples like this drawn from life, while eBay generates more traffic on its website.   

This is a quite an unusual co-operation, but  I’m sure the economy wouldn’t be particularly impressed, if people would avoid the trading of new goods and instead buy old and used products…     

The following clip represents from my point of view a good example of a successful joint TV-commercial. Ramazzotti is well integrated into the spot - far beyond a mere logo integration. The spot is part of Ritter Sport ’s current campaign with the slogan „Ritter Sport-friends“. The commercial is in German, but really there are no language skills required to grasp the idea - so go ahead and check it out.

The aim of this partnership is presumably to address new target groups, especially adults who like bitters and will boost Ramazzotti’s awareness in Germany. In addition to the commercial, the co-operation also includes a range of joint POS promotions. The special edition is available until March 7th.

This co-branding is accompanied by the two other Ritter Sport special editions “Eierlikör-Trüffel” and “Marc-de-Champagne-Trüffel”.

This is not the Gap’s first design collaboration. As part of the in 2007 launched “GAP Design Editions”, an initiative established to support and encourage new American design talent, the Gap has already collaborated with Doo-Ri Chung (DOO.RI), Kate and Laura Mulleavy (RODARTE) and Thakoon Panichgul (THAKOON). Then, for Valentines day 2008, Gap has partnered with British handbag brand Mulberry to create a new version of Mulberry’s iconic Roxanne bag for the Gap (PRODUCT) RED™ collection. In April, the company plans to launch another collection of white shirts with a new group of young designers. 

The cooperation gives Pierre Hardy a great chance to increase awareness among high-street consumers. Alike to the engagement of Stella McCartney and H&M, the Gap will immensely benefit from the co-operation, especially image wise as it is likely to bring a high-fashion feel to its jeans-and-T-shirt image, if the collaboration is effectively communicated. It will also attract many new fashion conscious customers to the Gap’s high street shops… . if they find out about it.  I found out about the collaboration through an article in the latest issue of Elle
USA but have so far not seen any ads…The shoes look great and I will definitely try to get a pair….

As everyone knows, Valentines Day is the top-selling day of the year for flower shops worldwide. Back in the last century it was celebrated in the United States only, but became increasingly popular throughout Europe and the rest of the world within the last years. According to its own account, Fleurop Austria is making an incredible ten percent of their annual turnover on Valentines Day alone.

The decision to engage in a marketing co-operation with Palmers was based on a market analysis by Fleurop, which shows that customers in general do not only want to buy flowers for their beloved, but flowers combined with vouchers of all kinds. So there is further potential for marketing co-operation partners, especially for those of other business sectors, to benefit from the run to flower shops these days.

Music films shown at the Berlinale will be for example:

• Martin Scorsese: “Shine a light” about the Rolling Stones (Concert Promotions International)
• Todd Haynes: “I’m Not There” about Bob Dylan (Killer Films)
• Anton Corbijn: “Control” about Ian Curtis (Becker Film
• Madonna: “Filth and Wisdom” about Gogol Bordello (Exposure/HIS)
• Neil Young: “CSNY déjà vu” about Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (Shakey Pictures)
• Steven Sebring: “Dream of Life” about Patti Smith (Thirteen/WNET New York and Clean Socks)

The last years have already brought a number of highly successfully music films as well as tour documentaries. So for instance: “Ray” about Ray Charles (2005, Anvil Films), Scorsese’s “No Direction Home” about Bob Dylan (Box TV), “Walk the line” about Johnny Cash (2006, Fox 2000 Pictures) and “Runnin’ Down A Dream” about Ton Petty (2007, Warner Bros).

A parody of this trend has not been long time coming. The biography “Walk hard” (2007, Apatow Productions) pokes fun at films like “Walk the line” and challenges typical clichés.

What is the reason for the increasing number of co-operations between the music and film industry?

Well, from the music industry’s point of view the motivation is quite clear: The music market has been on a downwards trend for several years. Money is rather made by concert tours than by selling CDs. So films represent an additional revenue source. Music films increase not only the involvement of fans and raise awareness of certain musicians, bands or music genres but eventually also boost CD sales through the high media coverage they get; especially if a well known director stands behind the production. And let’s not forget the released soundtracks accompanying the films.

So the benefits for the music industry are evident, but why is the movie industry currently so keen on releasing music films?

First of all there is the latest development in the movie industry. A rising number of movies with top actors have recently turned out to be flops. “Invasion” with Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, for example, only generated revenues of $15 million in the US, and $80 million worldwide. That is only half of the actual production costs. Several other films had similarly underwhelming results: Tom Cruise’s “Lions for Lambs”, Angelina Jolie’s “A mighty heart” and Brad Pitt’s “The Assassination of Jesse James”. Stars of that popularity ask increasingly high salaries and profit participations. Cameron Diaz, for instance, received $30 million merely for synchronising Princess Fiona in the movie “Shrek”, while Tom Cruise got an estimated $70-90 million for “Mission Impossible 3”. It seems that more and more productions that feature Hollywood’s biggest superstars turn out to be unprofitable. Films featuring musicians who people identify with and which make them remember the good old times, seem to be more rewarding – and probably less expensive/risky.

A recent article of Germany’s “Der Spiegel” even declares that today people don’t look up to Hollywood’s “Stars” anymore; they rather idolize music stars of the past. In Hollywood’s first decades, stars were created by the industry, with actors behaving perfectly synchronised with their images and the press only reporting on what the studios wanted. Today it is different: If stars like Mel Gibson or Lindsay Lohan are lowering their guards, the press directly reports it to the world. According to “Der Spiegel” this is one of the reasons, why we see that many films featuring music stars of the “good old times”.

Berlinale 2008 director Dieter Kosslick states about the music movies trend:

“In today’s fast-paced society where nobody can hold on to things anymore, there is a desire for emotion, a desire for ‘the good old times’ where some things were actually better.”

(Original German quote at http://www.taz.de/1/leben/film/artikel/1/die-musikfilm-festspiele/?src=ST&cHash=1404817e0e

But is that really so? Don’t stars appear more real to us, the audience, by having their whole life showcased in TV? Shouldn’t it cause the audience to follow their stories and watch their movies even more frequently?

I personally think this trend is going to abate pretty soon. But for now, let’s enjoy the music films that are currently on as some of them are absolutely brilliant - like Anton Corbijn’s CONTROL!!!

Now they have joined forces with Britain’s biggest fashion retailer Marks & Spencer for a special promotion: “The M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange”. Whoever donates a bag of clothes containing at least one item of M&S clothing to one of Oxfam’s 790 high street shops across the UK and Ireland, will in return receive a £5 M&S voucher off the next purchase of £35 or more in M&S. Vouchers will be valid for one month.

The clothes exchange runs for a six-month trial from January 28.

Barbara Stocking, director of Oxfam, said: “Recycling and reusing clothes - and anything else we can sell - has always been central to Oxfam’s fundraising, as well as being good for the environment.”

The benefits for both partners are obvious. The M&S voucher is on the one hand an incentive to go shopping at M&S. On the other hand it encourages customers to recycle their clothes, and is very likely to increase the revenue of Oxfam’s shops through the increased traffic in the shops and all the new (M&S) offerings.

The deal with MTV will initially involve clips shows such as Pimp My Ride, Punk’d, South Park, Cribs and The Hills as well as music videos from artists as diverse as Elvis and Britney Spears. The deal spans across nine European countries including the UK, France and Germany and builds on the wide-ranging $500m (£250m) advertising and content agreement between Viacom and Microsoft from December 2007.

The deal with Sony BMG will include thousands of music videos as well as exclusive backstage footage and interviews with BMG artists.

Microsoft Expands EU Video Reach With MTV & Sony BMG Deals
Microsoft today ramped up its MSN Video strategy for the UK and Western Europe announcing deals with MTV Networks International (MTVNI) and Sony BMG. MSN Video viewers can now watch content on the web from MTV shows, videos and exclusive footage of Sony BMG’s roster on top of the existing selection of global and local news and other entertainment videos plus user generated content on MSN Video’s Soapbox…

Microsoft in MTV and Sony BMG deals (Guardian Unlimited Media)

The Yahoo-Rhapsody partnership was announced after Microsoft’s $44.6 billion offer for Yahoo. Yahoo said its Music Unlimited subscribers will be migrated to Rhapsody’s digital music service in the coming months and will be able to maintain their existing pricing tiers for a limited time period. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

See also:

Yahoo Music’s Slow Death
Yahoo Music has been reported to be struggling for a long time. As the anti-climatic 100 days came to a close, we began hearing rumors that Yahoo Music’s 300 employees would face the first round of layoffs. Just weeks ago, Yahoo launched a web-based MP3 player, but it just wasn’t enough to keep the money rolling in. While the free portions of Yahoo Music will continue to work, Yahoo Music is losing its paid subscription service. As of today, they are supposed to redirect traffic to their paid service to Rhapsody…

Yahoo Dumps “Music Unlimited” for Rhapsody; Buys FoxyTunes
Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) announced on Monday that it will dump its Yahoo Music Unlimited digital music service, and replace it with Rhapsody, the competing on-demand streaming service offered by Rhapsody America, a joint venture between RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) and Viacom’s (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks. Yahoo and Rhapsody also intend to collaborate on other digital music services, such as music downloads…

The new Renuzit(R) Tri Scents(TM) air freshener is on store shelves now. The partnership between the two global household care companies expands the geographic reach of a concept that helped Sara Lee’s Ambi Pur brand increase its sales of electric air fresheners by more than 40% over the past 18 months. The innovation is based on the insight that people notice and enjoy complementary fragrances that change regularly much more than static, background smells. The device automatically rotates through three complementary fragrances every 45 minutes to deliver fresh, noticeable aromas that consumers can enjoy.

“Collaborating with Sara Lee provides an excellent opportunity for Henkel and showcases the best of technologies from two global partners. As the air care category continues to advance, products are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It’s imperative to have an innovation strategy that creates a new dimension of performance and TriScents air freshener illustrates the spirit of innovation and collaboration,” said Brad Casper, President and CEO-The Dial Corporation, A Henkel Company.

Air care products are becoming a steady feature in consumers’ shopping carts. The air care market in the US has grown 8% annually in this decade to its current US.8 billion. The worldwide market has benefited from strong demand in both mature and emerging markets and now stands at roughly billion.

“3Volution confirms our belief in strong consumer insights and effective innovation as the keys for Sara Lee’s continued growth,” said Vincent Janssen, chief executive officer of Sara Lee’s Household & Body Care business. “This partnership with Henkel provides an exciting opportunity to strengthen our global reach in household and body care products by expanding our presence in the US market.”

Sara Lee is well-positioned to take advantage of the worldwide growth in air care with innovative products such as 3Volution, Ambi Pur Puresse and Ambi Pur 2Motion. Sara Lee’s global portfolio of household and body care brands includes such highly trusted names as Ambi Pur, Sanex, Kiwi, Radox and GoodKnight.

Henkel is a worldwide leader in home care, personal care, and adhesives technologies and is committed to the development of innovative and sustainable products. In North America, Henkel markets a wide range of well-known consumer and industrial brands, including Dial(R) soaps, Purex(R) laundry detergents, Right Guard(R) antiperspirants, got2b(R) hair gels, and Loctite(R) adhesives. The Renuzit(R) family of products includes Renuzit Adjustables, Super Odor Neutralizer, and Subtle Effects.

http://www.personalcaremarketshares.com/2008/02/sara-lee-and-he.html

Henkel schließt Partnerschaft mit Sara Lee
Der Konsumgüterkonzern Henkel hat mit der amerikanischen Sara Lee Corp. eine Vertriebspartnerschaft zur Vermarktung eines Lufterfrischers in den USA geschlossen…
http://www.aktuell-24.de/2008/02/04/ots-sara-lee-und-henkel-schliessen-apartnerschaft-um-innovation-2/

The poster you see below is the first of ten collaboration images of the campaign. It teaches us to “Collaborate with a friend” and shows “83 original ways to successfully waste your time”.

So what about the brand and target group fit? Both brands are successful European lifestyle fashion brands with worldwide success and individuality and expression as important values. One brand is from Italy, the other from Germany. OK, nothing wrong here.

But originality is a key brand value of adidas Originals with both - communication and product themes - focusing on this topic. And this image dimension would have been much better addressed through a partnership with Levi’s (“Levi’s® jeans are the original, authentic jeans”). Respectively, I believe the brand fit is not ideal.

However, the partnership provides benefits to both partners: the denim collection is expanding adidas Originals product range and strengthens its positioning as a fashion rather than sports brand. Diesel, on the other hand benefits from the positive image transfer – especially regarding the trend dimension, I believe.

I’m really looking forward to the following campaigns. Let’s wait and see what’s coming next…

Other blogs that wrote about this marketing co-operation and the co-branded jeans:

Adidas joins hands with Diesel: Introduces new jeans

The latest news in the clothing industry world is that Adidas is teaming up with Diesel to release the latest clothing line. It seems like Adidas is on a roll these days. The company already introduced Y3 as well Stella Mac Cartney line of clothing this spring. Now, it has signed a four year deal with the Italian Denim company called Diesel.

Full article at: http://www.styleguru.org/entry/adidas-joins-hands-with-diesel-introduces-new-jeans/

Co-Branding From The Waist Down. adidas & Diesel

On February 1, 2008 adidas Originals and Diesel will enter a four-year product collaboration by introducing the first adidas Originals Denim by Diesel collection. Two male and female jeans models will be available exclusively at adidas Originals stores worldwide.

Full article at: http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2008/01/co-branding-from-waist-down-adidas.html

Diesel Adidas Originals Denim Jeans

Now you can match your Jam Master Jay Adidas Shoes with a pair of new Diesel Adidas Originals Denim Jeans! The new Adidas Originals Denim Jeans collection comes in adi-Thanaz Dirty Medium Treated, Raw and Super Black while the adi-Viker is available in Dark Blue Treated, Dirty Medium Treated and Raw. Diesel Adidas Originals Denim Jeans feature cool trademarks like an Adidas trefoil label and Adidas’s signature stripes on the hip and on the inseam.

Full article at: http://www.besportier.com/archives/adidas-originals-denim-by-dies.html

Adidas press article

On February 1, 2008 two iconic lifestyle brands, adidas Originals and Diesel will launch a landmark product collaboration – adidas Originals Denim by Diesel. The first denim collection to result from this four year relationship is a collectible line of extremely detailed, premium denim for true jeans lovers, designed in conjunction with the adidas Originals and the Diesel Creative Team, latter headed by Creative Director Wilbert Das. Two male and two female models presented in four different washes will be available exclusively at adidas Originals stores all around the world starting spring/summer 2008. Prices range from 160 Euro for the female adi-rohnary model up to 210 Euro for the male adi-viker model. Representing the long-term partnership of the two brands, the range is recognizable by the adidas Originals Trefoil and the Diesel co-branding.

Full article at: http://www.press.adidas.com/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-4/79_read-8626/

“´Collaborations` is the buzz word of the minute. Everyone’s at it. Record labels are merging, genres are blending, worlds are colliding, club nights are joining forces, brands are fusing - strength in numbers and throwing the marketing net bigger and wider and embracing a more varied skill set has never been so fashionable.The social networking phenomena has swung open virtual doors for the meeting and exploitation of new creative business, and modern culture is mutating into a blur of boundaries - giving birth to an open space where anything is possible…. ”  

(From Electronic Beats magazine, issue 4/2007 ”When worlds collide”).  For the full article click here.

 ILLUSTRATIONS BY LEONA LIST 

As usual, not that much has happened in the holiday season. But we’ve come across one interesting new partnership: DHL has entered into a strategic agreement with US’ largest drugstore chain Walgreens.

The Walgreens/DHL agreement allows customers to ship packages by DHL from Walgreen’s 6,500 outlets, including 1,600 24-hour shops. The partnership expands DHL retail presence in the United States substantially - it will double the number of DHL’ outlets in the US, boosting particularly its reach to small- and mid-sized companies and individuals. This is a required move, as DHL’s rivals have already strong retail networks: Fedex with Kinko’s and UPS with UPS Stores. Walgreens aims at boosting traffic and sales with the co-operation, offering more services to its customers. For more information on the partnership check out:

http://www.dhl-usa.com/about/pr/PRDetail.asp?nav=PressRoom/PressReleases&year=2008&seq=1145
http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2008-01/artikel-9833722.asp

Christmas and the end of this year is right around the corner and the mesh-box team is about to go on holiday. A good moment, we believe, to thank you all for joining the discussions on mesh-box.

So what’s been going on over the last 12 months? The topic of marketing co-operations has certainly gained a great boost. Or as the editors of Electronic Beats magazine put it: “Collaborations is the buzz word of the minute. Everyone’s at it“. They even dedicated the last issue to the topic: “When worlds collide – the collaboration issue”.

This year has brought some interesting co-operations to the market. We’ve seen The National Gallery and Hewlett Packard bringing art to the streets of London, Opel and Mango joining forces for the “every street is a catwalk”´campaign, Eastpak launching a couture rucksack collection with the help of fashion enfant terrible Raf Simons and Eurocopter and Hermès designing private helicopters for the super rich.

Co-operations are now popping up in marketing newsletters on a daily basis and companies are establishing departments dedicated to this topic. In Germany alone, we counted more than 700 new marketing partnerships in 2007. Furthermore, we have found out that most marketing co-operations were set up to boost sales and that many co-operations fail due to either a lack of resources or a lack of continuous project management. To bring a bit of clarification to the terms that regularly pop-up in relation to the topic, we have also put together a glossary that you might find helpful.

We look forward to a year that brings many new, innovative co-operations and opens up new perspectives in this field. We’ll keep you posted on what’s going on in the “collaboration world” and hope to hear more from you.

The mesh-box team wishes you a lovely holiday season and a happy New Year.

Sounds familiar? Right, this kind of partnership is not new, just think of the iTunes and Coca Cola marketing co-operation. But also Pepsi’s has conducted a quite similar music co-promotion in the past. In 2004 they already offered their customers free music downloads. At that time with another partner, guess with who – right again, with iTunes!

Pepsi’s and iTunes’ co-promotion in 2004 failed to become a success though. Of 100 million songs available (a tenth of Pepsi’s present campaign), only five million were downloaded and therewith. The reason might have been that three years ago fewer people were familiar with music downloads. Only 142 million songs were downloaded from the Internet in 2004 (worldwide), while the number is continuously rising to an expected 735 million in 2007.* Maybe they were just ahead of their times.

Now that music downloads have become more popular, the marketing co-operation of Pepsi and Amazon should turn out to be more successful than Pepsi’s previous one with iTunes in 2004, especially with its launch being scheduled for the Super Bowl break in February 2008. However, the co-promotion’s success will eventually depend on how well it is integrated into Pepsi’s overall marketing strategy and whether it will be marketed through all relevant communication channels.

As a new player in music downloads, it is not easy for Amazon to win market share, especially as competition is fierce and the market is overwhelmingly dominated by iTunes (85% market share globally). It will be particularly difficult to get iPod owners to download Amazon’s music. But Amazon has already managed to capture three percent of the digital download market since its opening in September. Let’s see if the marketing co-operation with Pepsi supports Amazon in becoming a serious player in the music download business.

Despite the fact that Amazon is a fairly new player in this field, I doubt it will hold people back from using the free music codes as people know Amazon and trust it.

Overall the partnership looks like a great win-win-win situation: Amazon offers added value (songs), Pepsi communication power and access to new customers – and customers get free downloads.

Since barter deals are highly difficult to set up in the US (different regulations compared to Europe), I wonder what the deal between Pepsi and Amazon looks like in detail. Any idea?

* Source: http://www.golem.de/0712/56337.html

Blog links for further reading:

Amazon and Pepsi to pair up for music giveaway

http://valleywag.com/tech/online-music/amazon-and-pepsi-to-pair-up-for-music-giveaway-329973.php

Amazon and Pepsi plan to give away 1 billion DRM-free songs

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/11/30/amazon-and-pepsi-plan-to-give-away-1-billion-drm-free-songs/

We have put together a glossary of terms that regularly pop-up in relation to the topic of marketing co-operations. For the convenience of our international audience, we will add translations into other languages. We hope you find this glossary helpful. The explanations are not carved in stone, so any comments are highly welcome.

You can download the glossary as pdf here (20 kb).

Term	Explanation	Translations (to be extended)
Branded entertainment (branded content or advertainment)	Describes the link of a brand with an entertainment program/format (e.g. “presented by”) predominantly to increase awareness and to improve the image of a brand among the program’s target group	Formatpräsentation, Markenwerbung in Verbindung mit Unterhaltungsangeboten
Co-advertising	A specific form of co-communication. The term is used when two brands are integrated in one advertising campaign. Integrating a partners’ brand in an advertising campaign can facilitate access to specific target groups and strengthen the own brand	Gemeinsame Werbung
Co-branding (in a broader sense)	Describes a marketing arrangement that associates a single product or service with more than one brand name or otherwise associates a product with someone other than the principal producer. Many companies engage in co-branding opportunities to better address new target groups	Gemeinsame Markierung/ Markenführung (i.w.S.), Markenkooperation, Markenpartnerschaften
Co-branding (in a limited sense; joint product development)	Describes the joint development and launch of a product or service by two companies under one brand. Many companies develop products jointly to reduce research & development cost by sharing knowledge, resources and marketing budgets	Gemeinsame Markierung/ Markenführung (i.e.S.)
Co-communication (joint communication)	Describes joint communication activities of two companies (e.g. joint advertising campaigns or joint below-the-line measures). Image transfer is a key driver for companies to integrate a partner in their own communication measures	Gemeinsame Kommunikation
Co-marketing (marketing co-operation)	Describes joint activities in the area of marketing with the objective to tap the full potential of a market by bundling specific competences or resources	Marketingkooperation, Kooperationsmarketing
Co-promotion	A specific form of co-sales. When companies team up to promote products jointly, one refers to a co-promotion. It is a specific form of sales activities. This often includes the use of both partners’ distribution and communication channels. In most cases, co-promotion activities are conducted at the point of sale (POS) and/or with promotional staff. Co-promotion can be an effective vehicle to directly address new target groups and to drive sales	Gemeinsame Vermarktungs-/Abverkaufsmaßnahmen
Co-sales (sales partnerships)	Describes marketing co-operations that focus on distribution/sales measures. They often include the mutual use of distribution channels to increase sales and to reach new target groups	Vertriebspartnerschaften
Licensing	Describes the practice of leasing a legally protected property (such as a trademarked or copyrighted name, logo, likeness, character, phrase or design) to another party for use on a product	Lizenzierung
Product bundling	In order to increase relevance, attractiveness and eventually sales of a product, companies bundle services and products together – not only from their own product range but often with other brands’ products – and promote the bundle as a combined offering, either under a new brand or with a co-branding (in a broader sense)	Produktbündelung
Product placement	Describes the integration of (branded) products or mentioning of brands in films, TV-series, video games etc. in order to raise brand/product awareness and improve image within the program’s audience	Produktplatzierung
Sponsoring	Describes the support of an activity, organization or event either financially or through the provision of products or services to increase the awareness of a brand, to facilitate access to a target group and/or to strengthen brand image	Sponsoring

You ask yourself why? Well, there are industries – predominantly infrastructural industries like telecommunication, transportation and utility – whose products’ benefits and USPs are not perfectly clear until one illustrates what one can do with it. And in many cases the integration of a partner is just doing that!

Samsung has recently launched the iPhone competitor “Qbowl” in Germany. They marketed it with a far-reaching campaign that features several online portals, e.g. Google, Xing and eBay. Now everybody knows what one can do with it. eBay… mobile bidding, YouTube… watching videos while out and about! So the product features and benefits are transported through the integrated partners more clearly than Samsung could ever do by itself. In this prominent integration the online platforms increase awareness and their reach enormously. With Internet service providers it works quite similar.

Besides the telecommunication industry, there are a lot of other sectors that integrate partner brands or other companies’ products to make their offering more tangible and to emphasise the offering’s USP.

Travel companies like airlines or car rentals market their offerings by promoting certain destinations. They do so by integrating musical productions like THE LION KING or a major art show to make the destinations particularly attractive. The main beneficiaries in this case are, however, the according cities as they are marketed as attractive tourist destinations without doing anything.

Or financial service providers: To illustrate the benefits of a credit product, they integrate desirable products/services in the communication – just to show what would be possible with the credit product. One can go travelling, buy new furniture, a car or a range of consumer electronics products.

Similarly the utility sector: Companies like energy, water, fuel or gas providers offer products that are not really what consumers want – it’s what they make possible in combination with other products. So also in this case, the main benefit of the offering can best be illustrated through the integration of other products or partners.

This phenomenon of integrating partners in communication campaigns to illustrate the main benefits of the offering is not new, but it seems that more and more companies are becoming highly professional at this as they have realised the great potential lying in its strategy. We will definitely see more of this in the future.

The aim of Google’s Open Handset Alliance is the development of - no, not the much-anticipated “Gphone” - but an operating system for all kinds of mobile devices called “Android”. Therefore, Google is not only co-operating with hardware companies and network operators, like e.g. Skype does for their new Skypephone, but also with chip producers, software providers and the e-commerce sector. Google’s new partner portfolio is impressive - among its new partners are Motorola, Qualcomm, HTC and T-Mobile (for complete list see below).

Microsoft with its operating system “Windows Mobile 6 Professional” will certainly be obliged to react on the upcoming competition.

The further development of Google’s alliance and the products/applications it will generate will be interesting to observe. This “new alliance” will have a huge impact on the telecommunications and software industry and could even result in a kind of industry ‘realignment’. The launch of the operating system will probably be showcased under high public interest. Even more stirring will be the question whether the system will keep its promises and how Google’s competitors will react on it.

Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms, whose company Android was bought by Google in 2005, stated: “Android is the first open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications - all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation.” We think the result will ultimately be a better and faster pace for innovation that will give mobile customers unforeseen applications and capabilities.”

List of all partners:

Time Out & O2 = collaborating on mobile city guides
ITN & Telegraph - collaborating on new web based news services
118 118 & Pricerunner - co-branded web sites for consumer pricing
Racing Post & Racing UK - collaboration on new specialist horse racing betting website …
Lonely Planet & Sony - are collaborating upon city guides made available through Sony PSP

A few days ago the online chat and call service Skype and the British network operator 3 (former Hutchison 3G) showcased the product of their new co-operation: the Skypephone. The new mobile phone has all the Skype functions and enables Skype users to call each other for free. Besides its Skype functionality it’s also a regular mobile phone. For further information on the phone check out: http://www.three.co.uk/personal/products_services_/skype_phone.omp

The phone itself was realized in co-operation with Qualcomm. It’s an UMTS phone with an integrated camera, mp3 player and Bluetooth functionality. In the
UK, were the phone will be launched within the next days, it will be sold as a Pre-Paid phone for about 50 Pounds (70 Euro). For those who have a contract with 3 it will be available for free. Skype is also planning to launch the mobile in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hongkong, Italy, Ireland and
Sweden till the end of this year.

The other side of the coin is however that – at the moment – it doesn’t work for free with the Skype-In and Skype-Out services and it won’t be available in
Germany very soon. But still, one can see the trend: Calling for free is not a thing of the future – it’s already happening.

In the meantime, 3 is also holding talks with Google as Google is apparently planning to launch an own mobile phone. The GooglePhone is likely to have all possible Google features integrated – from Google Maps, Gmail, video sharing and maintenance of the own social networking profiles. I can’t wait to hear more about it…

Antastacia does it with s.Oliver, Kate with Topshop and Gwen did it with Dior before establishing her own brand. Co-operations of fashion brands and stars from the music and modelling scene sprung up like mushrooms during the last two years. Ever since, it seems like almost every major fashion company has a famous face. St. John has Angelina Jolie, Tommy Hilfiger has Beyoncé, Versace has had Madonna, Demi Moore and
Halle Berry. Stars linked to fashion brands serve as a perfect image bearer and as guarantors for rising sales.

Names and faces definitely put a brand on the mainstream map or, as in the case of H&M engaging Karl Lagerfeld and Roberto Cavalli, take a mainstream brand and put it on the fashion map. Like so many times, the Swedish chain also leads the trend when it comes to co-operations with musicians. In March 2007 Madonna was starring at H&M and was soon followed by Kylie Minogue. While H&M has been able to raise its game in the
United States as a much hotter brand since they engaged Madonna, sales underachieved and surged by only 17 percent thanks to the Queen of Pop.

That is why other fashion brands hope to increase their sales by winning stars with a more questionable reputation. In the case of Topshop it is Kate Moss they cut a 3 million pound deal with. The look she pulls together for herself - skinny jeans and waistcoats, floral mini dresses and sawn off denim shorts - continues to drive global fashion trends. And the fashion press sees the deal: Moss gets the opportunity to found a career beyond modelling and singing and Topshop uses Moss’s extra cachet to break into the
U.S. market. http://www.katemosstopshop.com/

Germany has finally grasped this strategy. About a year ago one of
Germany’s largest clothing labels s.Oliver announced its co-operation with the American singer Anastacia, who will be the face of the company and the campaign realpeoplefashion.com for three more years.

Fashion sells music

Now, the music industry is turning the “Music sells fashion”-model upside down. This November the Spice Girls will release a Best-Of-CD containing twelve hits and a new song, all being available for download in the Internet.

But those who want to buy the original CD will have to go to a lingerie store. The new album of the Spice Girls will be exclusively sold by the famous lingerie chain Victoria’s Secret, which bought 600.000 of the CD’s. The reunion of the Spice Girls is awaited so eagerly by fans that the first concert of their upcoming tour sold out within 38 seconds. The copies of their new album will probably be sold out by the third day at the latest and the one or other will surely buy a bra and panty of the new
Victoria’s Secret collection with it.

Fashion sells everything?

The fashion sector certainly has more potential when it comes to marketing. Rosenthal, the German porcelain producer, shows it with their new campaign. On the print advertisements you can see 3 models in porcelain-inspired robe under the headline

“TRENDSHOW – Amazing variety on Rosenthal’s catwalk: vanguard, classical elegant, playful or uncomplicated modern is the style of the novelties of the new ‘Design Nation’-collection.”

Well, obviously this isn’t a co-operation, but it shows the strong relation and mutual marketing effect fashion has with other products. In the end, there’s only one question left: Is there anything fashion cannot sell?

Armani, please make toasters

Dear designers: please help the world with products actually needed. Or at least with a toaster that knows who the boss at home is.

Original German article by Stefan Wimmer, Weekend edition of Handelsblatt, 12.10.2007

Can you imagine spending 98 Euros on a 0.75 litre bottle of water? Well, a lot of people do! A new trend in Germany’s classy hotels is offering the new water brand “Bling”, which was invented in Hollywood. But what makes it so expensive? Simply its glass bottle, jewelled with the precious Swarovski crystals. Additionally, the high-society water from Tennessee runs through a nine filter system like an ozone filter and an ultraviolet radiation filter. The water already won awards for its high quality.

America’s stars and starlets discovered the glamorous “More than a Pretty Taste”- water quite a while ago and buy it for various reasons ever since: One of them is the perfect fit with Swarovski accessories, thus nowadays you can find it at MTV-Parties, Emmy-Awards and – believe it or not - as a status symbol in Hip-Hop videos.

The system is based on the RFID technology. In order to use the new ordering service one has to download a program to ones handsets, using SK Telecom’s Nate mobile Internet service. Each table at the McDonald’s restaurant is equipped with an RFID enabled menu as well as an RFID reader that plugs into the handsets. Customers plug the reader into their mobile phones and point them at the item on the menu that they wish to eat or drink. The bill is then charged through the mobile phone. Once the order is ready, the system sends a text message to the phone so the customer can pick it up at a designated counter. This means that McDonald’s customers can now make orders from their table using their mobile phones. Good news for those who hate to wait in a queue to get a burger and chips.

With the help of Hermès, Eurocopter aims to better market its helicopters to VIP-clients like CEOs. According to Eurocopter, the sales volume of helicopters for business trips has increased by 30 percent per year for the past three years. It is still a niche, but one with a growing importance. “Hermès teaches us to understand the perception of more demanding costumers”, says Philippe Harache, Vice-CEO of Eurocopter and adds: “We would like to serve every niche on the market and we have to catch up on this customer segment.” He sees the greatest sales potential in the US, the biggest market for helicopters.
Hermès sees the co-operation as a kind of showcase for their product quality. “We can show that we are able to work with high-tech-companies.”, says François Taverne, CEO of Hermès Gainier. In the context of another project, Hermès already designed the interior for the French state president’s Peugeot cabriolet.
Eurocopter has planned to produce ten EC 135-helicopters, but if demand is higher they also could imagine extending the co-operation with Hermès to other models.

Co-operations between fashion/luxury brands with transportation companies are not entirely new. The Italian fashion brand Versace, for instance, already designs the interior of TAG Group’s business jets and partners since March this year with Eurocopter’s Italian competitor Augusta Westland with the aim to give the interior of its helicopters a more luxury feel. Such partnerships definitely help helicopter and business jet manufacturers to address the VIP clientele – but from my point of view especially luxury brands like Hermès need to be very careful in selecting co-operations. I’m not so sure whether the traditional Hermès customer understands a co-operation like this as for him the Hermès brand values probably stand for totally different things than the brand values of a company like Eurocopter. I’m also wondering whether CEOs really want helicopters with Hermès styling. What do you think?

Charity auctions have become a regular on eBay. In total, eBay and its auctioneers have apparently raised more than US$ 100 million since 2000 worldwide. In addition, eBay users can automatically donate a small percentage of their winning bid to a charity of their preference (only available in selected countries).

Cynthia Rowley’s Sidekick

The Diane von Furstenberg Sidekick

During the last years, Volkswagen and NABU were organizing free fuel saving training sessions throughout Germany. At the IAA, a new project regarding the protection of the species wolf called “Willkommen Wolf!” was communicated. In line with the extended co-operation, Volkswagen is supporting NABU with a variety of measures: rental cars, financial aid and the set-up of workshops and networks. 

“Protecting the environment has become a global challenge. Wherever we look - design, climate technology or packaging, sensor technology and architecture, material development, micro- and nano-technology – researchers and developers take their lead from nature, just as we do in the automotive industry. In this sense, biodiversity also has an economic value. That is one reason why our cooperation with NABU is so important for Volkswagen,” said Stephan Grühsem, Head of Group Communications, commenting on Volkswagen’s commitment.

“See what’s driving the future” was the motto of this year’s international motor show in Frankfurt. Matching its theme, this year’s show was less about luxury cars and practical innovations than about new sustainable technologies and the “green cars” of tomorrow. “Manufacturers should think how to cut carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in ‘every single part of the car’”, said Chancellor Angela Merkel as she opened the IAA. She seemed pleased when walking through the halls, mainly because European automakers demonstrated a general tendency towards ‘green thinking’ and a new interest in economical, hybrid and electric vehicles – and also in environmental co-operations.  

But Volkswagen is not the only automaker partnering with an environmental organization. Toyota and the “German association for environmental aid” have also joined forces. Together they established the “German Climate Protection Prize”. The award rewards special accomplishments, innovative concepts, effective actions and new strategic initiatives concerning the protection of the climate. But this is only one of many projects that Toyota is supporting worldwide. In total, the company invested about 8.2 million Euros in more than 40 environmental projects and co-operations since 2000 within their Environmental Activities Grant Program.  

But all this is not breaking news. It only seems that with the increased importance of CSR over the last few years, more and more companies are engaging in partnerships with environmental and social organisations. Mostly B2C companies partner with NGOs. The alliances help them not only to improve their image but in some cases also to boost sales. In most cases, both partners benefit from the partnership. NGOs receive financial support and in many cases also increased exposure as most companies prominently communicate these engagements. But to be perceived by consumers as ‘green’ in the long term, partnerships with environmental organizations are not sufficient. A ‘green’ strategy that is embedded in all business areas is required; from the development of ‘green’ products/ technologies to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the production etc. Sony, for instance, has maximised the energy efficiency of many of its products, especially of its BRAVIA LCD TV models. For this voluntary commitment Sony won the Sustainable Energy Europe Award from the European Commission. Furthermore, Sony has started using “renewable energy” for some of its offices in Germany. A good start…  

Further examples of partnerships with NGOs: 

Volvic & UNICEF

The „1 litre for 10 litre“-themed project of the two co-operation partners, water brand Volvic and the organization UNICEF, is entering its second year. During the period of the campaign every litre of Volvic water bought equals ten litres of water for Ethiopia funded by the two parties. Goal of the co-operation is to build at least 55 sustainable water fountains in Ethiopia in order to provide the country with two billions litres of water, enough for about 21.000 people during the next ten years. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ethiopia_34957.html 

Coca-Cola & WWF

Coca-Cola entered a co-operation with the environmental organisation WWF to change its water spending behaviour – at the moment 2.19 litre of clean tap water are used to produce one litre of Coca-Cola. In its favour, Coca-Cola is willing to invest about 15 million Euros in the co-operation and the related “Water Savers Project”. Goal of the co-operation is to use water more economically in the future and to enforce the effort regarding the recycling of water.                     

http://sustainable.rain-barrel.net/coca-cola-pledges-to-replace-the-water-it-uses/http://www.worldwildlife.org/news/displayPR.cfm?prID=102

AEG & Twentieth Century Fox & WWF

WWF has also joined forces with AEG and for an energy saving project in relation to its household appliances. WWF was giving energy saving tips for AEG customers. During the same period of time, 20^th Century Fox contributed 2 Eurocents per ”Ice Age 2”-visitor to the organization WWF. This summed up to 140.000 Euro, which will be used for WWF’s work on the tideland. http://www.wwf.de/kooperationen/aeg/ (German)

Google & UNEP

The collaboration between UNEP and Google Earth provides a ‘flying’ experience around a virtual planet Earth, zooming in on environmental hotspots and comparing environmental conditions over time. Therewith, the UNEP offices have become more visible and it is easier for interested people to review the state of the environment and environmental changes taking place around the world.  http://www.unep.org/home/unep-google.asp 

Starbucks & AWF

In 2004 Starbucks and AWF teamed up to build awareness for conservation of the wild lands and wildlife in Africa and explore new ways to bring sustainable coffee growing practices to Kenya and Tanzania.   http://www.awf.org/content/solution/detail/3372 

Bayer/Schering & UNEP

Bayer has entered a long-term partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The partners first began cooperating on youth environmental projects in Asia in the late 1990s. In the summer of 2004, Bayer and UNEP signed a framework agreement to make this partnership global, and the partners now jointly organize a dozen environmental projects for young people around the world. In addition, Bayer supports project work through donations worth one million Euros every year.  http://www.sustainability2006.bayer.com/en/News-Detail.aspx?id=7632 

Montblanc & UNICEF

Since 2004 Montblanc is supporting UNICEF in their fight against illiteracy. This year Montblanc is continuing its engagement and invited 149 celebrities from all over the world for the campaign “The Power To Write”. The celebrities will sell a special edition pen at selected Montblanc stores. The company donates 149 US-Dollars for every pen for the benefit of the international campaign which will - at the most - raise 1 million Dollars.                                                                              http://www.montblanc.com/3375.php?showSubKat=true                       http://www.stylophilesonline.com/12-04/12unicef.htm  

FIFA & SOS Kinderdörfer

”6 villages for 2006“ was the motto of the official charity campaign for the FIFA world championship 2006 in Germany. Together the FIFA and the non-profit organization SOS Kinderdorf were collecting donations for the construction of six villages for children in Brazil, Nigeria, Ukraine, Vietnam, South Africa and Mexico. http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/organisation/media/newsid=112583.html 

Telekom Austria & WWF

A new project is the “ecological footprint” of the Austrian Telekom and WWF. The footprint marks the usage of resources by everyone and shows how our lifestyle affects the climate change worldwide.                                                                          http://www.telekom.at/Content.Node/media/news/0608-wwf-kooperation.php (German) 

Canon Europe & WWF

CanonEurope started an official co-operation with the WWF, after its close collaboration since 1998. Their project is all about polar bears in the artic, which will allow the WWF to mark and track polar bears within the future. Canon is supporting the scientific research work of the laboratories and extends the shared micro site, where the polar bears can be tracked by everyone and where kids can learn more about them. http://www.canon.com/scsa/group/europe/environment/index.html  http://www.panda.org/polarbears 

IMLEK & UNICEF

In January 2007 IMLEK and UNICEF, the largest milk production factory in Serbia, renewed their decades-long cooperation. UNICEF and IMLEK engaged in cooperation back in 1957 when UNICEF allocated a production line for the pasteurization and bottling of 30,000 litres of milk a day. The cooperation has been steady ever since, culminating in community welfare events planned for this year. http://www.b92.net/eng/news/economy-article.php?yyyy=2007&mm=01&dd=29&nav_category=96

Girard Perregaux was one of the first watchmakers to gauge the potential of partnerships with premium car manufacturers. In 1994 Perregaux launched the product line “pour Ferrari”. It took surprisingly long for competitors to follow.

In 2003 the co-operation between Breitling and Bentley was a breakthrough that “has made such deals seemingly derigeur within the industry” (QP Magazine, 2007).

Today, several watchmakers partner with automotive companies.

So for instance: - Officine Panerai & Ferrari - Audemars Piguet & Maserati- Tag-Heuer & Mercedes-Benz- Parmigiani Fleurier & Bugatti - Jaeger LeCoultre & Aston Martin.

According to the Financial Times co-branded watches make it possible to carry the prestige of an Aston Martin, a Bentley or a Maserati on a wrist, while the car itself might be sitting in the garage – or even, for that matter, when one doesn’t actually own one” (Financial Times, 08.06.2006).

High end watchmaker and premium car manufacturers have a lot in common – for instance high quality products, progressive engineering, groundbreaking technology and a love of detail as well as desirable brands – but what is even more important, they address the same target group: High net-worth men, with a passion for groundbreaking technology and beautiful, high performance objects – gadgets, cars, accessories (…perhaps also for status symbols).

These similarities represent a great potential that many companies now have seemed to realise. Through co-operations with car manufacturers watchmakers can broaden their product lines and address new customer segments.

For car manufacturers, these partnerships support them in their effort to address future customers (that don’t have the funds available to buy a premium car but might have in the future) and start a relationship with them. Moreover, both partners can use these co-operations to strengthen their high-end image.

I wonder, however, if these partnerships go beyond mere licensing partnerships. How integrated are they really? Do they fully exploit their synergies? Do they share competences, resources and media/communication channels? Have they collaborated regarding the design of the watch? What joint measures do they conduct?

In the case of Audemars Piguet and Maserati the special edition watch is just one among several joint measures. Audemars Piguet sponsored for instance the Maserati Trophy and became “Official Supplier” for the G.T. car that competed in the FIA championship. Well done…

Just came across an article on a co-operation that seems to be worth discussing. Consumer electronics company Philips and jewel-lery company Swarovski jointly launched a USB data stick as a fashionable accessory.

Ok, some might say “kitsch”, but decide for yourself:

Yet another example for a TECH & FASHION co-operation. The only question is: who is the target audience?

• Fashion victims with a lack of data storage - hm…
• IT administrators who want to better express themselves - no, I won’t further elaborate this idea…
• PC users who are not happy with the hand-ful of data sticks they have gathered as freebies or rewards - most certainly …

But there still is another great target group:

• Husbands looking for a last-minute surprise present - you can imagine the kind of excitement this will lead to…

So, from my point of view, this looks more like creating a reason for communication than a real break-through product. But, hey, I do not have any personal experiences how this product is being bought in the stores nor can I correct my impression based on figures on the performance of this product. If you have: tell me!

Source: On-going market screening by Noshokaty, Döring & Thun

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn and Apple CEO Steve Jobs have met a few days ago in California to plan an intensive co-operation with the building of vehicles and plan to meet for further discussions, said Hans-Gerd Bode, a spokesman for VW. He also said that there are “scores of ideas,” but few concrete plans at this point.

With the co-operation, both companies aim at attracting young customers.

I can’t wait to hear more!

See also:
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/29/apple-volkswagen-creating-the-icar/
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/29/business/EU-FIN-COM-Germany-VW-iCar.php
http://www.intechnews.com/2007/08/29/ibug-steve-jobs-and-vw-chairman-talk-icar/

The BRIGITTE lounge that is planned will offer a clever entertainment program - mainly for female trade show visitors. The program is “cheekily” themed “Why women can’t park…” and includes concerts by the soul singer Joy Denalane. There will also be round table discussions with German actresses, a professor of social research and the director Leander Haussmann - all hosted by Maybrit Illner, a famous German presenter.

Volkswagen AG, L’Oréal Germany and Brauerei Beck & Co support the BRIGITTE engagement at the IAA.

“More and more new cars are bought by women and an increasing number of women are visiting the IAA. Through the partnership with Germany’s most popular women’s magazine, we want to address this development accordingly” says VDA president Matthias Wissmann. “With BRIGITTE we have won a strong partner for the IAA, with high credibility and great popularity.”

Only recently we wrote about “Car manufacturers’ effective flirt with fashion companies”. This involves car manufactures increasingly teaming up with fashion brands. Partnerships such as Mango & Opel/Vauxhall and Alfa Romeo & Amica are forged to address female target groups more effectively. The partnership between the IAA and BRIGITTE is another example of this ongoing trend.

With BRIGITTE, the IAA has won the right partner… to reach German ladies. And BRIGITTE? I’m sure they will be rewarded by their readers and the press for being the first women’s magazine to take a step into this direction.

MTV will merge its digital music store Urge with RealNetworks’ Rhapsody music subscription service in a joint venture called Rhapsody America.

Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications Inc and Vodafone Group Plc, will become the exclusive wireless distributor for the joint venture’s digital content once it is up and running.

Starting today, URGE customers will be able to use their existing usernames and passwords to log in to Rhapsody and enjoy access to both services (see image).

Urge was launched by MTV and Microsoft only last year. Considering that RealNetwork and Microsoft are “cross-town rivals”, the question is: What are MTV’s future collaboration plans with Microsoft regarding Urge?

With the partnership, RealNetworks and MTV launch another attempt to increase their market share in the Apple dominated music entertainment market. Until now, Apple has been hard to beat. Let’s see if this will change.

Also see:

Associated Press: MTV, RealNetworks Challenge Apple

Intechnews: http://www.intechnews.com/2007/08/21/mtv-and-real-flesh-out-a-few-rhapsody-america-details/

Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/mtv-real-to-merge-urge-and-rhapsody/