Co-branding

Also known as: Brand Partnership, Brand Collaboration, Co-brand

Strategic alliance between two or more brands to launch a joint product or campaign, mutually transferring equity and credibility.

Co-branding is a marketing strategy where two or more brands associate to launch a joint product, service, or campaign, with the goal that each brand benefits from the other's equity, credibility, and audience.

Types: ingredient co-branding (Intel Inside, Gore-Tex), complementary value co-branding (Nike + Apple), and marketing co-branding (limited edition collaborations).

From a market research perspective, co-branding requires brand fit studies—are the brands perceived as compatible by consumers?—and measurement of the impact on brand equity of both brands before, during, and after the collaboration.