Sharing the Spotlight: Amplifying Your Brand Through Co-Branded Marketing
It has become increasingly difficult to stand out in the IT channel. Sometimes you need an extra boost to put you ahead of your competition. While corporate-focused marketing can be and still is successful, when you want to extend your reach, dilute the costs of a large campaign, or launch a joint venture, co-branded marketing can be a very effective strategy.
Co-branded marketing provides the opportunity to amplify your message by partnering with a strategic vendor that provides funding to support joint messaging and go-to-market strategies. Using custom co-branded marketing campaigns to bolster your content marketing strategy, nurture leads and drive demand is a proven method for differentiating yourself from your competitors who sell similar products and for increasing sales of your unique, value-added solutions and services around a given vendor’s products.
While co-branded marketing has many benefits, it is vital that your own brand retains its unique identity and does not get lost in the vendor’s message. Like any relationship, it’s necessary to find the balance that benefits both brands. To make sure that you are amplifying your own brand as you engage in joint go-to-market campaigns, follow these tips and guidelines.
Create Engaging, Unique Content
Even during a co-branding marketing campaign, your company brings a unique perspective to the table. Use your knowledge and value proposition to offer something unique. Buyers go through about 70 percent to 90 percent of the purchasing process before ever talking to sales, so your content alone needs to sell your offerings.
Remember you need to map your content to the buyer’s journey and because there is a lot of content out there, make sure it provides real value to your prospects. It is also important to understand what type of content your prospects use in the decision-making process. Multiple studies show that end-user, expert and brand content can have a real impact on the buying process.
Reveal Your Personality
Just because you’re in a partnership, it doesn’t mean your company’s individual personality and message should be lost. Even in shared content, make sure your company voice and value proposition are heard.
Staying true to the vendor funding your marketing does not mean losing your brand. Your brand provides real value, and for your vendor to get the most from its channel marketing investment, it relies on what you bring to the table.
Use Social Media
When co-marketing, inbound marketing through social media is your company’s opportunity to develop your individual name and story in line with some of the industry’s top brands. Inbound marketing is prioritized by three out of four marketers worldwide, and social media leads help create conversions. But to entice new prospects, your social media content—whether on Twitter, LinkedIn or YouTube—should tell your brand story.
If you are using content provided by your vendor or are sharing content posted on its social networks, be sure to add in your own value proposition. In this way, you can leverage your vendor’s audience and increase your recognition without your brand being overshadowed.
Brand Yourself Consistently
In all of your co-branded marketing, it is vital for your brand to be consistent. Your logo, company name, voice and value proposition should be present and easily recognizable across all social media, your website, blogs, press releases and additional marketing content.
Your value proposition and mission statement are essential to your brand. As you customize existing vendor content, make sure the message does not dilute your brand and instead supports and amplifies it.
Leveraging a vendor’s marketing resources and presenting your unique value proposition through a collaborative lens can amplify your influence. To learn more about how HP is providing assistance with your co-branded marketing strategy and campaigns, check out www.partnerdemand.com.
