The past few years have shown a significant rise in brand collaborations, especially in the beauty industry. From brands partnering up with celebrities and influencers, to many beauty and pop-culture-inspired launches with some of the most popular including Fenty Beauty x HEYTEA, Colourpop x Sailor Moon, Urban Decay x Game of Thrones to name a few. Brands getting creative as they integrate ideas and merge their packaging aesthetics is exciting to observe from a consumer point of view but is it the right approach for you?
Broaden your horizons
Collaboration has genuinely become an integral part of a brand’s growth strategy
According to a study on Market Analysis, “brand collaborations in any industry were up to 30 times cheaper than digital advertising”. This is largely because of its “ability to tap into already existing audiences.” You don’t have to look very far to imagine some of the marketing benefits. It’s one of the easiest ways to reach a completely new audience and do so through a collaboration with a brand the consumers already love and trust. A successful product crossover will expand the consumer base to the audience of both brands combined. It’s for this reason that many brands experience audience growth and increased brand recognition after a successful launch.
Initial Action
Don’t forget that the customer is the most important, and how will they benefit from the collaboration
Launching a collaboration that isn’t up to standard could easily turn out to be a lot more trouble and money than it’s worth. Going in, before even getting into talks with potential partners, checking if the perception of your brand reflects how your business is currently positioned is crucial for success. Conducting a thorough brand health check serves as a foundation to align your future strategy and tactics with your goals and identify the easiest, most effective way of getting there. It will also bring clarity on who you could potentially partner up and in which way.
It’s not all about the product
Partnerships are a great way to introduce a new product due to the opportunity of navigating more attention to it than you would have otherwise. It’s also a way of putting an already existing product back into trend with a spin from the brand you are working with. But launching a product is often a long process that requires a lot of resources. If you’re currently not in a position to take on the plunge, there are numerous other ways you can collaborate in, that don’t necessarily require product development.
Social media partnerships are a great way to introduce your brand to a new audience with minimal risk. Even if you decide to work with another brand or an influencer for a simple giveaway, creating a story around it backed with fun, engaging content will help strengthen your brand image with the new audience.
Thanks to Instagram, Youtube and TikTok, it’s easier than ever to tap into the “likes” of your target audience and identify where potential partnerships lie. Collaborating with content creators, creatives and influencers comes with numerous benefits, from opening new doors and tapping into a new audience, to strengthening your brand visibility and creating various PR, marketing, and even retail opportunities.
Brand partnerships have now risen to one of the highest points, and judging by the number of successful outcomes, doesn’t look like this trend will be going anywhere anytime soon. “As influencer sponsorships lose luster and Instagram algorithm changes make it tougher to break into people’s feeds”, brand crossovers are seemingly starting to become the new partnership trend within the beauty industry and beyond.
Before jumping in on the partnerships train, make sure your brand is exactly where you want it to be in the mind of your consumers. MABE’s brand development consultancy services support new and developing beauty and lifestyle brands with sustainable content creation, brand messaging, values and culture, social influencer marketing, and recruitment outreach in addition to promoting a brand’s efforts in reaching new audiences.
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