The Importance of Brand Partnerships

Brand marketing is imperative for businesses to not only increase brand awareness, but also to reach new and diverse audiences with additional access to the latest resources and a wider budget. According to recent research by Forrester, 76 per cent of businesses agree that strategic partnerships are crucial in increasing growth, highlighting that partnering with a range of brands can lead to business success. In fact, 57 per cent of consumers trust products with recognisable brand names more than those with names they don’t recognise. Invariably, this can expose brands to different markets as well build brand credibility and trust.

However, despite the success partnerships can bring to businesses, it is crucial that organisations are careful and selective in choosing other brands to partner with. This can be seen with 61 per cent of consumers reporting that they sometimes avoid buying products that have a negative brand reputation, highlighting the significance of wisely selecting a partner. Making the wrong choice has the potential to negatively impact business.

Diverse partnerships

Brand partnerships are ubiquitous as any company from any industry has the ability to form one. With various partnerships dedicated to different target audiences, from the toys in McDonald’s happy meals targeted to kids, to an older demographic with the Levi’s and Pinterest partnership as well as the Nike and Apple Nike+ watch collaboration, partnerships have proven themselves to be popular. The Nike and Apple partnership catered to runners, resulting in not only increased exposure for both companies, but also bringing in existing loyal customers.

Lego is among those that have successfully partnered with a myriad of other successful brands. These brands include Adidas, Disney, IKEA, Levi’s and more recently, 2K Games with its release of 2K Drive. As a company, Lego exercises its creative play and ensures that it finds new ways to maximise this playfulness for its audience whilst also maintaining a degree of practicality. This is particularly seen in Lego’s partnership with IKEA where both brands share the same belief that creative play is essential for children’s development. This partnership has enabled the brands to cultivate a fun and functional environment in the household for both parents and kids.

Similarly, its partnership with 2K Games has allowed it to evolve off current games whilst delving into a world of fun and adventures. Ultimately, Lego’s partnerships have allowed its brand to reach new audiences as it has carefully selected to partner with brands who share similar values, while at the same time being committed to its fun and creative image.

Strategic partnerships

Partnering strategically is vital in the partnership process. By joining forces, Apple and MasterCard were able to not only draw in new customers, but also add practical value to their current ones by innovatively changing the way users are able to carry out transactions with the Apple Pay app. As such, approximately 51 per cent of iPhone users use Apple Pay, showcasing its popularity.

Another brand that does this particularly well is Netflix. Netflix has a diverse belt of brands it has successfully partnered with, its more recent one being its content partnership with Formula One™ (F1). This partnership is aimed to not only please existing fans but also attract new ones. Since the airing of the docuseries, F1 has been exposed to a bigger and more diverse audience, resulting in approximately 40 per cent of F1 fans being female. Though the docuseries may not have been the sole reason for the growth in fanbase, it is an important contributing factor in gaining new fans.

Netflix’s decision to diversify its content into the sports market whilst still proving entertainment through creative storytelling for its viewers, alongside F1 using a worldwide platform to unveil the complexity and high and lows of a grand prix season, both brands were exposed to new audiences as well as enticed their current ones. This partnership emphasises the benefits of strategic partnerships.

Aston Martin and AvaTrade partnership

Naturally, a successful partnership can bring multiple benefits to both brands. Nevertheless, selecting a partner that not only shares similar goals and values but also delivers the same quality is important to ensure success for both brands. In fact, with 70 per cent of business partnerships being unsuccessful, it is imperative for brands to be selective regarding who they partner with.

Furthermore, 41 per cent of consumers think that a brand’s values are imperative for engaging with a company. This includes purchasing products, which highlights the importance of aligned values for a successful partnership for both parties.

In February, AvaTrade, a global leader in online trading with over 1 million loyal traders, announced its partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team™(AMF1). Similar to the cars built and driven by AMF1, AvaTrade prides its platforms such as their AvaTradeGo mobile app and their AvaOptions, DupliTrade and Web Trader platforms on revolutionising the trading industry with its cutting-edge technology and innovation all whilst ensuring it provides its traders with support.

With the risk that comes with the Formula 1 sport, AMF1 is dedicated to ensuring the safety of their drivers with leading engineers and the skills of their expert pit crew, whilst providing them with all the support they need to reap the rewards. Additionally, AvaTrade’s innovative risk management AvaProtect feature safeguards its traders from any losses on a specific trade.

This partnership between two powerhouse brands is built on the shared values of striving for constant excellence in every aspect, pushing the boundaries of speed, innovation, advanced technology, success, and precision. To help its traders reach excellence, AvaTrade’s free, global tool AvaAcademy, provides its traders with educational resources ranging from pre-set articles, videos, and quizzes with its content targeted towards both experts as well as beginners.

By ensuring their traders have the knowledge they need on a range of topics, such as stocks, bonds, commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices, users have the right tools available to help them to gain the knowledge required to achieve both constant success and excellence.

Despite both brands being from different industries, they have ensured this partnership is aligned when it comes to attributes and the end goal. As AMF1 seeks to maximise the potential of their drivers on the track, AvaTrade aims to drive investors trading potential and make certain that traders are at the top of their game.

The road ahead

While brand partnerships have the potential to be successful for businesses, as mentioned, it is vital that they wisely choose their partners. By taking into account aligned values and common goals, in addition to the delivery of quality of other brands businesses want to partner with, organisations are ensuring they are doing all they can to cultivate an effective partnership, for instance AvaTrade’s partnership with Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team™ (AMF1). Undeniably, strategic brand partnerships have the potential to maximise the success and growth of both brands when leveraged correctly.