As I was putting together material for our upcoming book, I came across several examples of two brands working together to create a mutual experience that benefits both equities, and especially their joint customers. One example I ran across while staying at my regular W Hotel in NYC (541 Lexington) is the above offer for a free ride in an Acura MDX. I didn’t have time to take a ride, but I saw another great example of Marketing with Meaning.
This is a clear example of a win-win-win for all three parties. W Hotels gets to offer another service under its umbrella brand of “Whatever/Whenever,” which itself is a great way to differentiate their hotels from the many choices business travelers have around the world. And this comes at zero cost to the hotel chain. Acura gets a chance to connect with W Hotel customers, likely the kind of young, higher-income crowd that is in the sweet spot for its vehicles. These people can be difficult to reach with traditional, interruptive ads. And a free ride is a great chance to let prospects sample the vehicle in a low-pressure way.
Of course, let’s not forget the benefit to the customer. He or she gets a free ride in a cozy car by a considerate driver who knows his way around town. The customer also feels appreciated, and may feel a little like a big shot or movie star. This is a meaningful experience for the customer that connects her closer to both the W Hotel and Acura brands.
I have run across a few other examples of diverse brands hooking up to build mutually valuable experiences. A while back I wrote about Honda and Mattel hooking up for a special-edition Hot Wheels collectible car. There’s the Nike/Apple join-up with the Nike+ system. I read recently about the story behind how Fox and 7-Eleven partnered to create a dozen branded Kwik-E-Marts to support last year’s The Simpsons Movie. And I also recently came across the story of how Victoria’s Secret put on a fashion show last year in the aisle of Virgin Airways. (Check out the photos below for a glimpse of these diverse experiences.)
These experiential tie-ins seem to work best when the brands share both a common target customer and brand equity elements. The Simpsons and 7-Eleven both target 18-34 Men, for example. But they also take corporate organizations that are willing to give up some control and ownership to the other side. It’s a great exercise to conduct for your own brand: Think about other relevant brands in your customer’s life and consider the synergies that lie around a partnership, and then pick up the BlackBerry and reach out. Chances are there will be another marketer out there similarly looking for ideas to something new and meaningful.
Fun post, Bob. Tide Total Care just ran a promotion with Ann Taylor Clothing targeting women that are dry cleaning clothing that doesn’t need to be dry cleaned. This is a great partnership, given the state of our current market climate. Ann Taylor can boost sales by claiming their clothing can be cheaper to maintain and Tide takes advantage of increased market awareness. Here’s to seeing more great synergistic partnerships in the near future!
Bob. I’m with you on the Acura / W partnership. That seems to make sense and really does add value to the customer.
The other examples I need some help with. How are you defining meaning? How does a Victoria’s secret fashion show on an airplane add value or meaning? Or how does a 7-11 with a new facade add meaning? I think those are cool ideas; but how are they adding meaning?
Thanks for the post, and I’m looking forward to your insight.
Josh, we define it as: (1) marketing that people choose to engage with; and (2) marketing that itself adds value to consumers’ lives.
For Victoria’s Secret. People got to experience a fun event on an otherwise boring flight. They got some free products as well. For a lot of people on that flight, this was meaningful.
For 7-11, fans of the Simpson’s got to experience a real-world version of one of their favorite programs. They took pictures, bought marketing materials in the form of donuts, etc. As a fan of the show, I personally would have driven 100 miles to visit one of these 7-11s.
Overall, the latter two turn a regular store visit or airplane flight into something special, something worth taking pictures of and sharing with friends and family.
Let me know what you think!
Bob
Bob:
Thanks for clarifying. That makes more sense. I needed to better understand how you were defining “meaning.”
It’s something I wrestle with regularly as not all things that are “enjoyable” really do add “meaning.”
Under your definition, both of those examples make sense. I’m still working my own definition of “meaning.” That’s not to say yours is wrong; but I’m still struggling to walk that balance between over-consumption and materialistic consumerism, and truly valuable marketing. Make sense?
I totally get you, Josh. One think I do believe is that some marketing is more meaningful than others. Marketing that helps you accomplish a personal goal or improve the world is more meaningful than personal enjoyment, for example. But both are more meaningful than an interruptive 30 second ad.
On the issue of over-consumerism, it’s a hard one to tackle, as it is full of personal beliefs and individual motivations.
I’d love to hear more about your developing point-of-view!