Posted: 11 Minute read

Brand Collabs: Taking Trends and Making Them Work for You

As a nation, we love to take two things and smoosh them together until it pretty much sounds wrong when you don’t hear them together – from delicious food pairings like fish & chips or strawberries & cream, to iconic double acts like Ant & Dec or French & Saunders, we Brits love a pairing.

And, in an absolutely seamless segue, do you know who else loves a double-act? Brands. 

Okay, getting there was a bit laboured, but hear us out. Consider the absolute global phenomenon that was Barbenheimer. While this was originally an organic social movement, this powerhouse idea had a massive impact on the marketing of both films – and has arguably catapulted the idea that brands can work together to boost each other into contemporary advertising strategies. In fact, this organic collab grew to spawn a huge wave of paid social efforts, where brands paid to boost the reach of their own ads and videos using the trend.

And, they’re not even retailers so to speak; simply two absolute belters of modern cinema that have pretty much nothing in common, but worked together to capture the imagination of their respective audiences. So, if this can be done organically, what about when brands actually put in the work as part of a considered and/or reactive, targeted paid social media campaign?

Brand collabs, co-branding opportunities, and partnerships have been around for years. Jumping onto a trending topic, paying to boost posts, and/or spotting an opportunity to create a novel new partnership, is an emerging social advertising trend that has loads of upsides: from creating a buzz about your brand, to boosting your rep and adding to a wider discussion – so it’s an idea that's definitely worth exploring…

So, why would two brands want to work together?...

There are loads of potential reasons why brands might be interested in forming a partnership – and some are even pretty obvious when you think about it…

Two brands = two audiences

The most obvious advantage of brand collabs is commercial. Working with other brands and creating a joint product is the easiest way to leverage two audiences for the price of one. And this partnership can be as big or small as each side wants it…

Just look at Joanie. A certified B-Corp, Joanie has collaborated on some amazing clothing collections with other organisations, including World Book Day and the Natural History Museum – and we dare you to find someone who doesn’t want a dress with dinosaurs.

A screenshot of the Joanie X Community Clothing collection.

 

One of their more recent collabs however, with Community Clothing, is a great example of two brands working together with shared values. Community Clothing, headed by Patrick Grant (of Sewing Bee fame), is a slow fashion pioneer based in the UK, just like Joanie. Working together means they can draw upon both audiences to advertise to like-minded customers.

Two brands = twice the name recognition

Two powerhouses that had an interesting collab this year are the somewhat unexpected duo of Greggs and Monzo. Yes, you heard us correctly. The bakery and the bank became besties in a super fun and original promo serving Greggs sausage rolls out of an ATM (truly, the dream).

Now, if you live in the north of England, you will understand that Greggs is more than a bakery. It’s a way of life. Naturally, this is why London Euston station not having a Greggs when it’s a gateway to the North-West is an absolute insult, but we digress. Combining this clout with the fun personality behind Monzo – we can’t be the only ones obsessed with their LinkedIn profile, right? – is what made this pop-up so much better.

Another advantage of working together? Twice the budget, credibility, time, energy etc. Pooling resources is a time-honoured tradition to do something bigger than you could potentially do on your own. Adding in two big names simply adds to the bang you could get for your buck.

Two brands = more fresh ideas

Add your brand name, a goodly pinch of market reach, and a hefty glug of budget – stir and season to taste. Hmm, it’s missing something, but you can’t think of what… 

Fortunately, working with another brand as a wider team gives you access to some fresh ideas that could help you hit new highs with your followers. This is especially true for older, legacy brands. Getting fresh ideas from younger brands who might not be afraid to push the envelope a bit more can be a fantastic way to get people talking about your company in new ways – and even attract new audiences to buy from you.

Two brands = share the risk

No-one wants to think about it, but there is always an element of risk involved when you launch a new product that’s akin to the first day at a new school – what if no-one likes me, what if I can’t find friends? etc. 

Going into a new venture with a partner reduces the risk involved because you can share any potential loss, helping to mitigate any negative impact of the campaign. On the flip side of course, succeeding means you share the benefits – and you can all pat yourselves on the back and have a celebratory cake. Yay!

A couple of unhinged collabs we couldn’t not include

Looking through some of the brand partnerships when researching this article was a wild time – we’ve seen some things... And now you will too, with some of our honourable (and unhinged) favourites we couldn’t not mention…

Crocs

Crocs are very much the marmite of footwear. But, no matter on which side you fall, you’re still talking about them… So the marketing team is definitely doing something right. But, there have been a couple of collabs that seem to have come out of left field to smack us right in the face.

Take the Crocs X Duolingo collection. Working with the language learning giant, Crocs created a frankly adorable style set that was marketed in a way that perfectly represented the cute but particularly unhinged nature of our big, green owl pal Duo (IYKYK).

(Of course, Duolingo is perhaps the king of unhinged – has anyone seen the Duolingo X Squid Game music video? But we digress…)

Or, how about Crocs X Balenciaga? Mixing Crocs of all things with high fashion is not something we ever thought we’d have on our marketing bingo card, but here we are. This interesting collab was highly publicised by the actor Elliot Page, who was seen wearing some heavy duty platform Balenciaga Crocs at a red carpet event.

Surreal

A cereal brand isn’t often your first thought when it comes to interesting marketing collaborations. But, Surreal is certainly becoming known for having a certain level of irreverent, tongue-in-cheek humour – which becomes evident across their innovative and exciting digital and OOH campaigns.

A screenshot of Surreal's LinkedIn post with Hanx.

 

One that’s definitely unexpected was their collab with Hanx (a sexual wellness company) around Valentine's Day. A simple, but exceedingly clever, play on words meant the campaign was eye-catching and funny – which is arguably two of the most important aspects in a social media driven world.

What about when brands don’t work together?

Obviously, working together is great in a loving, caring and sharing kind of way. But what about using competitors and other brands to boost your own profile in a way that isn’t so collaborative?...

The most famous way you’ve probably seen this is through the social and marketing profiles generated by the Burger Wars. (To repeat, that is Burger Wars. For real, we’re not making this up). 

This name was coined to describe the somewhat antagonistic relationship between fast-food chains within the marketing sphere – more specifically between Burger King and McDonalds. These two giants have been rivals for decades, and as the underdog, Burger King has often got creative by taking potshots at Maccy’s. From questioning their ingredients, to location-based campaigns to poach customers, using this type of paid social advertising – an ‘anti-collab’ if you will – can be a fun, innovative and attention-grabbing way to boost your profile to customers (as long as you avoid a lawsuit).

Another classic (organic) example is the ‘Caterpillar Cake Commotion’ caused by Aldi and aimed at Marks & Spencer. Pitting Cuthbert and Colin up against each other was a massive campaign that definitely got people talking – even if this did end in some legal disputes…

It’s not just brand collabs – there’s also hopping on social trends…

The reason Barbenheimer worked is because it trended. People were constantly talking about it and it became a thing. But, staying on trend is hard. There’s a lot of work to do to keep up with what everyone else is doing, and how they’re doing it – and ensure you get in on time to maximise the profile boost you’ll get from being a part of the trend in the first place. 

Of course, there are some brands that get it spot on – and we’ve shamelessly included some of our favourites below…

“When Gen-Z write the script”

Marketers, and audiences (like me, hi) were pretty obsessed with this trend. As a baby millennial (or begrudging zillenial), this trend was ridiculous, funny, and so so smart.

(For those of you who have no idea what we’re talking about, the “when Gen-z wrote the script” trend involved a selection of older staff members of an organisation, from Boomers and Gen-Xers to older Millennials, reading scripts written by Gen-Z and looking generally perplexed by the slang involved).

But honestly, this trend is/was everything. A particular favourite, and honourable mention, is the one from Beamish. 

Beamish is an open-air living history museum that quite frankly, slays. In the video, a wonderful older gentleman (whose name we don’t know, but we fully stan you sir), goes around Beamish pointing at different attractions according to the script looking wonderfully confused. Including the peak moment of, ‘This is Brian. We stan’ whilst pointing to a zebra head wearing a bowler hat. Yes, you did in fact read that correctly.

“I hope she plays Hot to Go”

The music of Chappel Roan has been sweeping the world, and we are fully on board with the femininomenon that’s currently happening for all the pop girlies out there. But, in true social media fashion, clips of Chappel’s songs have been used all across TikTok, eventually spawning the ironic trend of people hoping for Hot to Go in random or unexpected places.

There are dozens of excellent examples of brands and businesses jumping on this trend to drive engagement: from Milwaukee Public Library to universities, to fast food chains. But, a particularly unhinged entry into this comes from the British Museum Young People’s social media account. In an effort not to spoil it, we won’t let on what happens – but it’s definitely on to watch.

Wicked: The Musical

Another box office smash that has spawned a social media storm is the film adaptation of the musical Wicked (which itself is based on a book). It does make sense – Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum… need we say more?

But, the quality, creativity, and imagination that has come from this has been incredible. First of all, there are some excellent product collabs out there, with clothing collections from Primark and Forever 21, phone cases from Casetify and even limited edition make-up and skincare collections from brands like Beekman 1802 and R.E.M Beauty.

But it’s once again socials where these collabs really shine. Making their own memes and videos alluding to Elphaba and Glinda (or simply green and pink) has meant dozens of brands have been able to promote themselves, new products, or simply boost their profile around such a highly searched topic.

A screenshot of the M&S X Wicked clothing collab.

 

One particular example – M&S dueted Colin and Percy as their very own Elphaba and Glinda in an homage to movie release (and the M&S X Wicked collection) to the backing of Defying Gravity in the perfect blend of absurd and clever.

Interestingly, some people have argued that Barbenheimer walked so that ‘Glicked’ (Wicked and Gladiator II) could run – but we’ll leave that consensus up to the experts…

Names within a name

Following a trend is one thing – but starting them is even better. 

Marks and Spencer are up yet again, this time with their ‘Mark and Spencer’ ambassador ad. Mark Wright and Spencer Matthews, from TOWIE and Made in Chelsea respectively, were shown together in a funny new take on advertising their brand. And others were quick to follow suit, tagging in their competitors to keep the trend going.

We’ll let you work out the brands for yourself, but this trend saw big highstreet names come up with videos from Mat and Alan, John and Lewis, Pri and Mark and more. Aldi even got in by saying they couldn’t join in as ‘Diane from legal said no’ (which is an excellent link back to the furiously contested caterpillar cake debacle that was gripping us Brits a while ago).

TLDR

That’s fun and all, but if you’re looking at us like ‘yes, but what’s the point in bringing this up?’, this is the bit for you…

Basically, getting involved with the right brand collabs and hopping on the social media trend train *choo choo* is an amazing way to:

  • Keep your brand relevant and boost your profile to existing customers and potential new audiences.
  • Come up with new and innovative ideas to breathe some life into your marketing campaign.
  • Reduce the impact of any flops, or campaigns that don’t go your way by spreading the hit.

And, if you’re interested in finding ways to boost your social profile, why not drop us a message? We have an amazing team of Paid Social specialists who can help you supercharge your digital presence across different platforms…

Or, want to keep reading? We have loads for you to check out, including Spotify on Shopify: The Musicians Making a Killing at Ecommerce | Keeping Shop With The Kardashians | The Value of the Written Word

Written by:

Photo of Rachel Stevens
Rachel Stevens
Content Executive
Rachel (she/her) is an enthusiastic content writer with a keen interest in fitness, socio-political history, and theatre. She is a writer to her core, and specialises in writing creative and engaging copy for a variety of topics. Rachel previously studied Ancient History at university, and tries to keep up with new and exciting developments within the subject. Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn.