The power of brand collaboration: who’s doing it, and how you can join in

Image: Wedgwood

In the era of the influencer, it seems many business’ instant thoughts of a ‘#collab’ dart towards social media and the much revered mini-celebrities sharing their favourite products and services with their doting followers. This can be a great technique, but it isn’t the only way. Before the rise of the social media empire, brands had to be more creative about their marketing campaigns and how collaborations could benefit them.

Wedgwood × Loverboy

Wedgwood are an internationally renowned ceramics manufacturer, founded in the 1700’s. They’re most known for their blue and white pieces, and if you’ve ever watched The Great Pottery Throwdown you’ll have seen the contestants eyes light up when they’re set a challenge based on it. They’ve recently developed a new vision, and collaborated with Charles Jeffrey Loverboy to bring fashion and ceramics together. With pre-loved Jasperwear pieces displayed on the catwalk at Milan fashion week, and Loverboy hand decorating a series of pieces, this new direction is far from the traditional view of the brand.

This is a clever move from Wedgwood — placing their products into the fashion world and the audience of Loverboy will bring a whole new perspective (and audience) to the brand. Bringing it out of the stately home cabinets and into the homes of a younger, fashion forward generation may be the key to making this brand last another 260 years.

Goal: aUdience Pivot
Method: Pair with a brand in your new audience's sights

If you’re looking to introduce your brand to a new audience, you need to establish who they currently resonate with. Sit with your notebook and come up with a profile for your perfect client — think about the following:

- Gender
- Location
- Disposable Income
- Hobbies
- Where they shop
- What they wear
- Where they spend their time
- What products they use

This will help you to understand the other brands they are interacting with, and therefore who it would be valuable for you to collaborate with. For example, a yoga teacher may be running prenatal workshops and needing to get the attention of pregnant women. They could discover that these women also love to get massages at a local spa — leaving leaflets, running an event or even offering a discount through that spa could catch their attention.

It’s all about finding out where your desired audience is, and how to put yourself right under their nose without them having to find you first.

Fortnum & Mason

Alternatively if you’re happy with your audience and you’re looking to appeal to more of the same people, the task above can also be a great way to discover who else they’re interested in and how you can integrate yourself into that world. A great example is the campaign Fortnum & Mason ran back in 2021 — they invited six theatre set designers to design their store windows. On one hand this was a great campaign for the arts, as the theatre was closed due to the pandemic and this showed us how important those job roles are.

On the other hand… The audiences of both F&M and the theatre were very similar — people who enjoyed watching a show would also be highly likely to shop at Fortum & Mason, appreciate quality, have a higher disposable income and enjoy treating themselves. The collaboration will have brought this audience together and encouraged them to enjoy both brands as a part of their lifestyle.

Goal: aUdience growth
Method: Discover your audience's wider world

Explore the task above and get to know more about your ideal client. You should already know them quite well as your marketing already speaks to them, but think about their lifestyles and how they’re spending their spare time. What brands are a big part of their lives and also resonate with your offering?

Imagine an alcohol brand’s dream client loves listening to jazz — they could host an event with a jazz bar or musician who can bring them directly to the product. Maybe their client also loves to listen to vinyl, so they can explore creating an album sleeve or insert that advertises the brand.

I’d love to know your thoughts on collaborations — have you had any ideas of who you could work with? If you’d like to consider collaborations as part of your marketing plan, you can get in touch with me via email or Instagram.

hello@becmorris.co.uk
@_becmorris