Collaborative Marketing - More Results With Less Work

Strategic Alliances are the key for your Cross-Promotion success. A beloved imagine for clubs to come together is to reciprocally promote one another. Ideas are as uncomplicated as a local pharmacy and dry cleaner promoting each other with specials or coupons, to regional promotions, to national promotions. Cross-promotions can be industrialized with competitors or between organizations from distinct industries. The key is naturally this-do you have similar customers? approximately everywhere you look, you can see one society cross promoting with another. Recently, a cross-promotion advertisement in a San Francisco newspaper for Pacific Bell also complex Round Table Pizza, Hollywood Video, Nokia and the extra Olympics.

In your exertion to make cross-promotion alliances work, organize your process by keeping the below listed steps in mind:

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1. Be clear on what you want to generate for yourself or your company.

2. contemplate the; What's in it for me (Wiifm) for your partner(s).

3. organize a list of who does what for physical and financial contributions.

4. Plan for the unexpected.

5. interpret to your partner(s) the value they will receive.

6. Help your partner(s) to have an emotional proprietary in the alliance.

7. Do the above step for yourself also.

8. Execute the promotion.

9. Debrief with partner(s) the value received from the investment.

10. Plan the next promotion.

"Got Milk?" The California Milk Processors Board, as reported in The Wall street Journal in the late 1990s stated that this national promotion has been running since 1993. They also put "Got Milk" on Girl Scout Cookies. They have even gotten their milk advertisements on cereal, cookies and chocolate mix packaging. Jeff Manning, menagerial director of the California Milk Processors Board, says, "We need those habitancy to promote for us." "In return, we affectionately call them co-dependent foods."

Manning doesn't stop there. He convinced Dole Food Co. In Westlake Village, California to add someone else symbol on to their clusters of bananas for the retail market. You got it, "Got Milk" stickers. In the late 1990s Dole started putting "Got Milk" stickers on bunches of bananas--millions. Milk is getting more interruptions in the minds of consumers. The more Partnering milk can do with products in other parts of the grocery stores, the more sales potential they enjoy. Dole even got an "ah ha" from the cross-promotion, they have been Partnering with Hollywood to promote new release movies such as Anastasia and Babe in the City.

Researching for a presentation for the National Home Furnishings Association, I discovered an involving alliance in Northern California. They call themselves the Sonoma County Fine Furniture relationship (Scffa). What did they do? Eight fine furniture retailers, competitors, banded together to survive the stepping back of the early 1990s through cross-promotion and buying strength.

They bought advertising together on the local radio and in the local newspaper. They even dictated to the newspaper on which pages their advertising would be located. They industrialized combined events where customers would visit any of the stores to be eligible to win prizes. They promoted each other to their customers within the store, especially if the definite retailer did not have exactly what the buyer was seeking. They even printed a combined brochure, along with the address and map locations of each member. The front of the brochure said, habitancy you can trust. Wow, what impact!

On a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C. To Atlanta, the cabin attendant handed me my usual bag of peanuts. But, what was unusual was the size of the bag and its weight. After closer examination, I noticed that an America Online (Aol) diskette was included with the peanuts. It made sense, a firm route shuttle-what a great way to get the Aol software into the hands of firm people. But do not get caught sleeping. Now, things have changed for Aol and they have been forced to offer for free what they once charged.

Forest City, Iowa, recreational vehicle (Rv) manufacturer, Winnebago Industries, Inc. And Nebraska-based sportsman's outfitter, Cabela's have found synergies through reciprocal promotion activities. Cabala's has provided an ideal venue in which Winnebago dealers have displayed their Rvs in quite a number of outdoor events. Most events were run by Cabela's promotional arm, Sportsman's Quest. Winnebago products were also displayed in Cabela's catalogs. Winnebago, in turn displayed Cabela's products at their events.

Strategic Alliances for Co-Branding
Bringing together more than one trusted and established brand name organize a marketing synergism that cannot be beat. The advertisement headline read, Bring The Magic of Mattel Home for the Holidays. Just under the headline were any foods producing toys offered. The hook was that it showed Golden Arches type food. Mattel had a relationship with McDonald's. And, what capability parent would deny their child the opportunity to make their own McDonald's hamburgers, fries, shakes and cookies at home?

Nestlé/Road Gold Flipz (chocolate covered pretzels), the synergy that can be industrialized by co-branding is awesome. Co-branded products have, at a minimum; twice the marketing impact and buyer pull as traditional branding. Consumers believe that with two trusted names, the goods must be exceptional. There was one question with the Flip though. When they were first introduced, the consumers' acceptance was so great that the distributors had issue keeping their stores in stock. What a question to have...

In recent years the automotive commerce has found value in Partnering with very recognizable prestigious brands of clothing and accessories. Ford Motor firm partners with the thriving catalog retailer, Eddie Bauer to offer luxurious editions of their beloved sport utility vehicle models, Explorer and Expedition. As customers' perception of capability and value can be influenced through these offerings, they are also willing to pay more for the perceived value.

Ford Motor firm has enjoyed its relationship with Eddie Bauer for over 20 years. In 1999, the two brands reached a milestone in their collaboration as Ford and Eddie Bauer predominant yield of the one millionth Eddie Bauer edition Ford vehicle at the St. Louis Assembly Plant, home of the Ford Explorer sport utility.

At the time, stated "It's approximately uncanny how well-matched Ford and Eddie Bauer are," says Ford group Marketing Communications owner Jan Klug. "Both clubs have reputations built on an uncompromising commitment to quality, endurance and buyer satisfaction. For our customers, this means the irresistible compound of Ford's 'go anywhere' capability and Eddie Bauer's rugged style. For both companies, it means enhancing each other's brand."

"It's no underground why Ford is setting commerce records for Suv sales in a U.S. Store that currently has 41 Suv nameplates," says Explorer Brand owner Doug Scott. "We are creating products that indeed excite the customer. And in partnering with Eddie Bauer, we are increasing the opportunities for the Explorer and Expedition to be a meaningful part of our customer's active lifestyles."

Because of Ford's success in co-brand Partnering with Eddie Bauer, they are trying to duplicate their success with Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in their diminutive edition Harley-Davidson F-150 pickup truck. The customized version is restyled, all-black, with distinctive Harley-Davidson orange pinstriping and chrome accessories.

"A strategic alliance between the Ford Motor firm and Harley-Davidson makes mutual historical and firm sense," noted Gurminder Bedi, vice president, Ford Truck vehicle town in a January 6, 2000 Ford news release. "Our base inheritance as American motor vehicle manufacturers and our base centennials of 2003 were just too good to pass up as a natural firm opportunity. "The partnership makes good firm sense," Bedi added. "The world recognizes both clubs as traditional American innovators known for exciting, capability products."

"This alliance brings together two of the most familiar and admired clubs in the world," said Jeff Bleustein in the same release, Harley-Davidson chairman and chief menagerial officer. "Ford and Harley-Davidson customers alike want a distinctive vehicle that makes a statement about themselves as individuals."

Even in the recreational vehicle (Rv) industry, a constructor sees marketing value in co-branding. Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. In Riverside, California is in alliance with Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. Fleetwood has enjoyed good sales volume in its private-label Rv partnership with Missouri-based Tracker nautical Lp and its Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World stores. Fleetwood built and branded with the Tracker and Trailstar name are sold in six Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World stores and 56 Tracker nautical dealerships. Rvs promoted at the Outdoor World stores sell for a single, non-negotiable price (unique to the Rv industry) and can be purchased over the Internet. Models range from a Trailstar 8 folding trailer to the 29-foot Class C Trailstar Rv.

Cross promotion and co-branding are prominent strategies for firm increase that you will want to think very soon. Why wait until your competitors gobble up the best partnering relationships?

Collaborative Marketing - More Results With Less Work