One for you AND one for you...

Partnering with Charities and Non-Profits is a big idea that has proved to be successful for all parties involved. As we discussed before, the ability to help others while still driving consumers to work/purchase your brand is a success all around. Today many corporations are launching creative new campaigns to bring attention to not just their brand but also the charities they are partnered with. However, a new concept is catching steam that is not just creating awareness but is using the act of giving as their branding.

The original idea caught on in 2006 when the creator of TOMS shoes, Blake Mycoskie, returned from a trip to Argentina. While traveling he found so many children in the small villages could not afford shoes. Without shoes they were not allowed to attend school. Mycoskie returned with the concept "one for one". Once a pair of his brand's shoes are purchased, they would donate a brand new pair of shoes to a child in Argentina. Once word got out, consumer support started pouring out and when he returned to Argentina he was able to bring back 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in need. Today more than 1,000,000 shoes have been donated to children through the TOMS organization. With the help of social conscious celebrity trendsetters, TOMS shoes are the "it" shoe of the summer and the story behind the brand has sold more shoes than any advertisement reach has. TOMS is not the only fashion company who is going after the "one for one" concept.

Warby Parker, an eyeglass retailer , was built on the concept of chic eye wear at affordable prices. This past spring, Neil Blumenthal, Co-Creator of Warby Parker and former director of VisionSpring, brought the two companies together to form a "one for one" initiative. Once a consumer purchases a pair of glasses from Warby Parker, a pair is donated to VisionSpring. VisionSpring, who not only distributes glasses to those in need, also teaches women how to make eyeglasses. With the knowledge and skill to make and sell eyeglasses these women are not only providing income but also the ability to see for people in their villages, who for the most part live on $4 a day. Over the past 5 years, VisionSpring has expanded to serving 10 countries and now with the help of Warby Parker hopes to continue that growth.

Those are just two companies who are seeing success with the "one for one" branding concept. With limited advertising they are able to brand themselves and reach the eye of the fashion forward consumer leading them to choose their brands over other mass marketed brands. So why not help yourself by helping others?

A Sweet (and Charitable) Partnership

While a lot of partnerships start with the common idea of influencing and selling to a consumer, there is another partnership which happens to make a difference. Partnering with a charity is a way for large corporations to help make a difference and still drive the consumer to buy or support their brand.

Recently Dole announced its partnership with the leading domestic relief charity, Feeding America. The two partnered up as Dole launched their "Traveling Fruit Stand" for the Summer of 2011. Dole announced that for every person who comes out and samples or checks in via four square at the traveling fruit stand, they will donate a fresh fruit cup to a Feeding America food bank

in that city.

And if you can not come out to the fruit stand, they are directing people to their Facebook page where you can "like" Dole and a donation will be made.

With this partnership Dole is able to create awareness for their brand through social media as well as the coverage they are getting from local and national media outlets... and that is just naturally sweet.

Howdy Partner

Country Music is one of the founding genres of American music. With 47% of Americans choosing Country Music as their tune of choice,this brand not only has star power but also selling power.

Country Music has produced the two top selling recording artists of all time in the U.S (Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks) plus countless other musicians that have sang us the love stories of the southwest. These soul-filled artists are as passionate about their roots and image as they are about their lyrics. Meaning they don't want to sell out for a brand or company that does not stand for what they believe in.

It wasn't until Elvis Presley seduced the nation that Country music was considered a music genre with branding power.

By 1990 Country music was as popular and making as many waves in the industry as Rock and Roll. Superstar names like Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks began teaming up with major companies that let them keep their twangie image and still lend a hand.

Just last year Garth Brooks teamed up with the Professional Bull Riders association to raise money for his chairty Teammates for Kids. The two raised $1 million for the charity in 2010.

Now, big names like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Rodney Atkins not only rule the airwaves but also raise awareness for their musical roots by partnering with brands that let them represent themselves as well as a product in line with their music.

Partnering with major mass marketed brands like Cover girl, Vitamin Water and Velveeta Shells and Cheese these artists are raising awareness in all demographics.

The Fashionable Partnership

"You're wearing a sweater that was actually selected for you by the people in this room two years ago from what you call stuff..."

According to Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada", the fashion industry is so powerful that predetermined colors and styles are envisioned for the masses long before the latest trends hit the high end runway shows, let alone the magazines and mass marketed stores.

With power like this, combined with the fact that the fashion industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, you wonder why every product brand is not campaigning to every available fashion house to partner up. And the answer is simple, in fashion, it's all about the perfect fit.

Fashion partnerships are born with many goals in mind, most of which to entice and drive the consumer to crave and eventually purchase the product. Most of the successful partnerships have brought high end fashion names to a brand that is affordable and in line with every demographic. One of the first and most successful of these relationships was between Target and Issac Mizrahi in 2004. This collaboration brought the wild styles of the famed designer to affordable prices for the everyday consumer, the success of this merger lead to Target partnering with other high end brands including William Rast and most recently Calypso St. Barth. These relationships have given Target the results to put them ahead of their retail competitors.

In some cases a brand will look to a fashion partner for the name that will add a "luxury" factor to the product. Serta Mattresses accomplished this in 2006 when they partnered with Vera Wang to create a mattress that screams luxury before you even lay down on it. This partnership allowed Serta to re market their mattresses in new media outlets.

A strong example was their 2009 campaign "Comfortably Ever After" which they used bridal magazines and trade shows to market to the young women who are looking for the Vera Wang name, synonymous with the wedding industry, to sell the mattresses to.

With success stories like these you wonder what will be the next successful fashion partnership. As the fashion industry has taught us, just wait because the deal and launch has probably already been planned well over two years ago.

PARTNERING A TOY COMPANY AND A LEARNING NETWORK

Growing up I use to play Transformers with my brother in return for him playing My Little Pony's with me. I secretly actually liked playing Transformers so that trade off was definitely in my favor.

But in early childhood, games and toys like G.I. Joe, Transformers, Battleship, My Little Pony, and Fragglerock were staples of my brother and my childhoods, and also home to famed toy manufacturer, Hasbro.

Fast forward to 2010, Hasbro has partnered with learning and entertainment network, Discovery, to create "The Hub," which premiered today on the small screen to bring these famed toys to life for the next generation and to re-hash memories for the rest of us. This partnership shows a great opportunity for a company with valuable brands to further its reach and growth potential by tapping into another distribution outlet--TV. But because Hasbro does not necessarily have the infrastructure and experience to go out on its own, partnering with an established network provides value to them. And for Hasbro, what better partner than one that already reaches an audience that craves learning and entertainment opportunities for the family. Discovery Communications epitomizes the Hasbro brand's demographic, but provides a platform that is open and doesn't necessarily have competing shows like a Nickelodeon might have for Hasbro.

With the launch today, 10.10.10, we are curious to see how the network succeeds. Hopefully it will be like a Spider-Man success story and not The Hulk.

Barnes & Noble and HP partner for e-book store

"We expect that there is going to be a lot of digital reading that is consumed on devices that aren't specifically targeted to e-reading, such as laptops and netbooks."
-Kevin Frain, B&N EVP of e-commerce

Barnes & Noble and Hewlett-Packard launched a co-branded eBookstore. And from our assessment it looks like a nice partnership to help both defend against changes in the digital marketplace.
HP is providing:
-link to the store on new HP computers
-some preloaded Barnes & Noble reading applications on some devices

Barnes & Noble is providing:
-its e-commerce platform
-flexibility to HP to tailor the site's content how they choose
-providing HP users that download the e-reader application, the LendMe technology that allows HP users to share e-books with friends for free for up to 14 days.

Barnes & Noble is obviously looking to reposition themselves as a provider of digital content to replace the lagging brick and mortar sales; and HP is looking to catch up to Apple's iPad as a provider of digital content as well.

HP doesn't have the sophisticated e-commerce infrastructure that a retailer like B&N has or even its rival Apple who benefits from iTunes store, so needs B&N for this technology. And B&N needs new channels that reach the digital reader to gain awareness about its eBookstore.

Partnering with Cinemas

In any down economy, movie attendance has always kept up, and in many ways has increased as a relatively cheap form of entertainment. That was no different this past year, where worldwide ticket sales increased by 7.6% to $29.9 Billion (Reuters 2010).

The US/Canada market saw a 10% growth in admissions to $10.6 Billion from 2008 to 2009.

-MPAA 2009

This growth makes movie theaters an increasingly attractive place for marketers to connect with their consumers. Not only are people in an enjoyable environment, but with the increasingly creative ways marketers are engaging with their consumers via mobile coupons, interactive booths, and interactive ads, you can make a memorable impression.

PRE-COMMERCIAL ADS

THINK OUTSIDE THE TV BOX

Take it from the studios--before a trailer runs nationally on TV, it usually will run teaser campaigns on the big screen. Now of course the studios are reaching people who like to go to the movies; however, keep this in mind 75% of cinema patrons eat out either before or after a movie, and most people in the U.S. go to the theater at least once each year.

When Taco Bell launched their Roosevelt campaign they first debuted it on the silverscreen before rolling it out on TV a week later.

MOBILE PROMOTIONS

WITH COUPON REDEMPTION UP 27% FROM LAST YEAR, SAVING MONEY IS A HUGE PRIORITY FOR CONSUMERS NO MATTER WHERE THEY ARE

Last fall, to reward its customers, Sprint set up 500 in-theater bCode mobile coupon kiosks.

During the pre-roll ads, Sprint customers could text in various discount offers that appeared on the screen. Once they received the confirmation they went to the kiosks and printed their coupons out for 50% off popcorn, or $2 off their soda. What a nice treat!

SHOWROOMS

MOBILE TOURS AND SHOWROOMS ARE POPULAR PROMOTIONAL TOOLS AND NOW THEY ARE AVAILABLE IN THEATERS

When Hewlett Packard launched its "Touch the Web, Print the Web" multi-media campaign in late 2009, the team quickly determined consumers needed to physically touch its products to truly experience it.

To achieve this, HP rolled out a cinema campaign with in-lobby demos. These lobby dominations were in 15 theaters and included holographic kiosks, banner signage, and booths for live demonstrations.

To demonstrate the printer and make the connection movie tickets were printed.