Before we talk about collaborativism between brands, it is interesting to understand where this trend comes from, as well as its influence on the placement of organizations.
Some time ago, we noticed a growing development of collaborative consumption. A commercial practice idea that enables access of goods and services without necessarily acquiring them; in other words, funds lending and sharing.
And then we heard terms like crowdfunding, a form of collective financing where the public interested in the initiative generally provides resources to make the project come true. And crowdsourcing, which is a way of obtaining services, ideas or content through the contribution of a large group of people, each one of them helping in their own specialization.Well, if the way we consume and produce is becoming increasingly collaborative, why don’t brands transform their resources and work together? It is better to join those who specialize in certain areas than to start an effort from scratch. Many brands have percieved this need to take advantage of what already exists, rather than create a competition or enter a new area where they have no experience at all.
The unlikely combination of place, partnership and brand has often created the most interesting stories of retail in the latest years. At NRF Big Show – the biggest event of the retail universe – the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben S. Bernanke, spoke about successful and overcoming strategies during the period of his management.
Bernanke stressed the need for transparency and dialogue with the market, and adopted a collaborative process called “blue sky thinking” as strategy, aimed at maintaining permanent contact with several economic leaders of the world and promoting connections, engagement and the quest for joint solutions.
Another example, also presented at the NRF Big Show, was the partnership of HSN Inc. with Ford – together, they created a strategy to extend the customer’s confidence, largely female, to the automaker. The response was based on a study in which women regularly said that buying a car was one of the most hated experiences for them. On the other hand, female customers regarded HSN as a friendly and reliable company. The initiative used multiple contact points for consumers, including the original content, product placement, dedicated experiments, games and digital integration, and, of course, there was a preferential price for HSN customers so as to “sweeten” the deal with Ford.
The partnership between GAP and Virgin Hotels is another example of collaboration between brands. Leveraging technology from Gap, visitors of Hotel Chicago Virgin can shop the online catalog of GAP and have the items delivered to their rooms within hours, with the purchases added to their hotel bills.
It means there is no need to originate everything yourself. Using unusual features in the form of partnership and collaborativism brings returns for both brands. Joining forces instead of creating efforts is the market’s present and future.