What makes co-branding successful?

Co-branding . . . when a product carries two (or more) brands. 

One of the classic co-branding categories is the credit card. For years, companies like MasterCard and Visa have offered co-branding opportunities. Virgin Group co-brands credit cards with MasterCard, for instance. American Express co-brands a credit card with British Airways, as another example. Individual banks that issue cards are also co-branding, as Barclaycard has done with its Uber Visa card (combining 3 brands in all).

Co-branding is most successful when both brands are well known, reputable and able to appeal to each other's customer base. The communication styles and marketing content of the brands involved must be compatible, as well. The synergy from combining brands will be strongest under these conditions.

Google has used co-branding to name its Android operating systems more than once. Last year, it co-branded with the famous biscuit brand Oreo to name the Android Oreo OS. In 2013, it co-branded with the popular chocolate bar KitKat for an Android OS name that also appeared on the candy bar wrappers. The co-branding worked because the combined names were quirky and attention-getting.

This post updates material on co-branding in Chapter 6 of my Essential Guide to Marketing Planning, 4e.

Marketing predictions for 2016

Marketing experts have a number of predictions for the year ahead. Keep these developments in mind if you're creating or refining a marketing plan in 2016:

• Trust will be more important than ever. Brands must take care to keep earning it with every transaction, every marketing action. Customers still want transparency and authenticity, not just the right product at the right price.
• Omnichannel is no longer merely an option, it's a basic requirement as customers expect personalisation and relevant marketing communications and offerings across platforms, online and offline. Customers who buy online should be able to return products in a store without fuss.
• Real-time analysis of Big Data wins. Customers leave traces everywhere they digitally go. It's up to marketers to interpret wants and needs by tracking behaviour and offering ads, content and other information at the moment consumers need and want it.
• Virtual reality is a reality. Brands and entertainment marketers need to have communications and services for cutting-edge technology, especially for millennial consumers.
• 'Alternative' has gone mainstream. Goods and services that were once on the margins are increasingly popular. Customers want 'unique', and retailers want to differentiate themselves by offering something other than the usual.
  
• 'Buy it now' is the new social media reality. See it on Pinterest or Instagram, buy with a swipe or click. Is your brand ready to take advantage of this trend?

Trust + reputation + service = Customer experience

The latest survey of Top 100 UK Brands for customer experience shows what happens when well-known brands get a reputation for trying to dodge corporate taxes.

As shown at right, the top 2013 brand for customer experience is John Lewis. However, Starbucks, which has been criticised for avoiding UK corporate taxes for several years, isn't anywhere to be found on this year's list of 100 brands.

Nunwood, the consultancy behind this survey, notes that customer service in meeting needs is important, but so is trustworthiness and reputation. The companies in this 2013 Top 100 list scored the highest on all those dimensions.

Some companies are new to the top of the list, others have been near or at the top for some time. Take a look at this comparison of the top 10 in 2011 and the top 10 in 2013. John Lewis, Amazon, Virgin Atlantic and M&S (food and brand) have extended their top-10 stays, even though they're not at exactly the same spot in the survey from one year to the other.

2013

1. John Lewis
2. QVC
3. First Direct
4. Amazon
5. Virgin Atlantic
6. Marks & Spencer (food)
7. Lush
8. Ocado
9. Marks & Spencer (brand)
10. Waitrose

2011

1. Amazon
2. John Lewis
3. Virgin Atlantic
4. Emirates airline
5. Marks & Spencer (brand)
6. Marks & Spencer (food)
7. Millie's cookies
8. Gregg's
9. Hilton hotels
10. Krispy Kreme donuts

Canada: Best Brand Reputation Goes To . . .

Heinz shot to the top in its first appearance on Canada's Marketing/Leger Corporate Reputation Survey. Heinz itself acknowledges that its ketchup holds a special place in the hearts and pantries of Canadian consumers. But the company has also launched some popular new products such as Dip and Squeeze ketchup packages and embarked on eco-friendly projects such as putting ketchup into a partly plant-based bottle.

Heinz's most recent sustainability report details its environmental conservation accomplishments and food safety initiatives as well as its efforts to provide micronutrient foods for consumers in developing nations. These efforts certainly add to the brand's positive reputation.

Operating in dozens of countries worldwide, Heinz also sells to restaurants and institutional customers. Its food service division in Canada provides marketing support to help businesses highlight the well-known, well-regarded Heinz name. Reputations, like brands, take time to establish, and this survey demonstrates that the company knows how to Heinz It Up.