How to hit the brand collaborations jackpot
By Creative and Research teams. Top image: Lego, Fortnite
Partnerships between videogame IPs and non-endemic brands can pay out like three cherries on a slot machine. Here are our tips and ideas to tilt the odds in your favor
Videogamers do not like clunky sales messages shoved down their throats. Gen Z videogamers even less so. They engage with brands who understand their values and mercilessly pillory corporates that blunder into gaming spaces.
Hence non-videogame brands who want to reach gamers are well advised to explore brand collaboration strategies.
In contrast to their intolerance of corporate crassness, gamers are incredibly receptive to smart collabs that add value.
That’s partly because players often want their games to reflect the real world, and the presence of brands can naturally feed into that.
Partly it’s because gamers understand their favorite entertainment medium is not always taken seriously. So when a non-endemic brand demonstrates that they respect gamers, they are lauded and rewarded with the enthusiasm you’d expect from such a passionate demographic.
But mostly it’s because gamers love to game, and anybody who enhances their experience is welcomed with open arms.
Naturally, the line between legendary collabs that break the Internet and derisory cash-grabs that elicit the sound of crickets can be a fine one.
So we’ve put together this guide to successful execution along with recent examples of impactful partnerships both from within and without the videogame industry.
The strategic importance of brand collaborations
Brand collaborations are the Batman v Superman of marketing. They are an awesome way to combine the strengths, audiences, and creative energies of two mighty forces into a product, service, or event that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Get it right and you:
Expand market reach - gaining exposure to new customer segments that previously wouldn’t have given you the time of day but are now seeing you for the first time or are viewing you through fresh eyes.
Enhance brand perception - collaborating with a well-respected partner can boost brand equity, earning you extra points for cultural relevance as the fusion triggers reappraisal and renewed admiration from consumers, commentators and influencers.
Drive innovation - mash-ups can inspire new products or services that neither brand would have created on its own as their different perspectives, skills, and resources unlock new synergies. This is especially so in videogaming as IRL brands must reconstitute themselves in a virtual space while producing a fun and authentic crossover in their physical channels.
Create hype and engagement - the pay-off is measured in increased brand visibility and conversion rates as measured by sold-out limited editions, spillover sales to related products, wishlist and waitlist counts, social media buzz, earned media headlines, and soaring mention volumes, sentiment scores, hashtag and search trends.
Key considerations for successful brand collaborations
While the potential benefits of brand collaborations are substantial, success is not guaranteed. Effective execution requires deep audience insight, creative thinking, careful planning, coordination, alignment of goals, and extensive communication between the partners. Here are our key considerations illustrated by example collabs fizzing with great chemistry:
Brand fit
One of the most critical factors is ensuring that the partnering brands have aligned values and complementary target audiences. If the brands are too dissimilar, the collaboration may confuse consumers, dilute the brand message, or provoke a backlash.
Quality audience data is crucial, as is intimate knowledge of your partner’s ethos, fanbase, and cultural standing.
Key questions to ask include:
Does the partnership make sense? What’s the link that aligns the brands?
What does the potential partner bring to the table? Is it social cachet? A large audience? Design skills, technology, or an experience that your customers will love?
Do the respective IPs reach the same type of people?
Are the brand values a good match? Do your core beliefs, ideals, and actions harmonize sufficiently that the alliance will feel authentic?
LEGO x Super Mario Nintendo Entertainment System
It’s a match made in heaven. Perfectly aligned values, massive audience overlap, and the nostalgia appeal of one of the best loved characters in videogames (plus the seminal NES console) realized in Lego. It’s the perfect gift for a long-time Ninty fan, and irresistible to parents seeking shared experiences with a child they’ve introduced to the world of Nintendo.
McDonald’s x Travis Scott
The Travis Scott Meal - which featured the artist’s favorite McDonald’s order - became a viral sensation. The partnership leveraged Travis Scott’s cultural influence to connect with a younger demographic, leading to a surge in sales and social media engagement.
Audience insight
The right brand fit is delivered by audience insight. Suitable partners for videogame brands can be collated from the worlds of music, fashion, food and drink, film and TV, tech, sports, travel, creators, influencers, and other game IPs.
Start by mapping your potential partners’ brand traits to your audience’s affinities, preferences, motivations, and values.
Watch out for cultural trends and conversations that can create an opportunity. For example, Heinz and Absolut Vodka hooked-up to release a joint pasta sauce after supermodel Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta went viral.
Our research team then narrow down potential partners by scoring them on the following dimensions:
Story-telling - assesses the brand’s social capital. Do they have a compelling narrative plus the channel engagement to promote it?
Inclusion - does the brand reach out to diverse communities, promote inclusivity, celebrate and support different cultures?
Customer first - does the brand actively listen and respond to its consumers? Do they offer customization options that reflect personal style and preferences? Gamers love to create unique items and play with permutations so this is an important aspect of a team-up.
Limitless - empowering individuals to push their limits is another key videogaming mindset. Can the partnership facilitate that? Does the brand innovate and rewrite the rules in novel and exciting ways?
Collaboration - is the brand open to flexible and creative strategic partnerships? Do they use their platforms to reach broader audiences and create genuine, valuable connections? Are they open to fresh perspectives and playful takes on their brand universe?
Ubisoft x Stormzy
When undertaking research for the London-based action-adventure, Watch Dogs: Legion, Ubisoft surveyed Londoners on who would best represent the game’s themes of fighting establishment oppression. The answer was grime star Stormzy. Cue a mo-capped Stormzy appearing in the game and contributing to the soundtrack. Stormzy then repaid the compliment by setting the music video for his track, Rainfall, inside the game.
Heinz x Absolut
As mentioned, Heinz and Absolut went into overdrive when Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta recipe provoked a social media frenzy. The two companies responded by rustling up a limited edition tomato vodka pasta sauce. The product has since become a solid revenue generator as it was reissued and remains on the shelves today. The playfulness of the partnership was topped off with a twist on Heinz’s “Ridiculously Late, Ridiculously Good” pasta sauce campaign, which morphed into “Ridiculously Late, Absolutely Good”.
Creative inspiration
In the attention economy, collaborations that cut-through often hinge on the ability to think outside the box. Brands should be willing to experiment with new ideas to create something truly compelling that surprises and delights both loyal fans and curious newcomers alike.
Creatively charged collaborations understand their audience inside out and feature a delicate balance of excitement, entertainment, humor, and smarts.
Wendy’s x Fortnite
Wendy’s creative team spotted the chance to organically participate in Fortnite during the Food Fight event, pitting Team Burger vs Team Pizza. The fast food chain scored an engagement coup as they subverted the original scenario by smashing up the in-game freezers storing burger meat. Why? Because: “Wendy’s doesn’t do frozen beef.”
Fenty x MSCHF
Rihanna’s beauty brand and the New York art collective created a lucky dip product drop called Ketchup or Makeup. Your $25 dollar beauty box contained six packets. You opened them one by one. Maybe they contained lip gloss. Maybe they contained ketchup. Who knows? People went nuts for it.
Drive innovation
Another route is to materially uplift the customer experience by fusing the brand’s platforms, technologies, and expertise into something genuinely new.
Walmart x Roblox
Walmart Discovered is the retail giant’s latest Roblox venture as it continues to experiment with the blockbuster virtual platform. The digital experience is analogous to Walmart’s purpose in real life - a store of everyday products you might need. In the virtual world, Walmart Discovered enables you to pick up essential Roblox items like UGC content and indie experiences. There’s an AR version too: curating Roblox consumables via your phone, or in-store displays at Walmart. Blurring the boundaries still further, the retailer has trialed an in-game commerce experience which offered consumers real-world versions of select in-game items.
Starbucks x Spotify
This link-up allowed Starbucks’ customers to use the coffee brand’s app to discover the music playing in-store. They could then save Starbuck’s curated songs to a playlist on Spotify. Patrons could even influence their favorite store’s playlist by making suggestions direct from their phone.
Clear Objectives and KPIs
Naturally, it’s crucial for both brands to establish specific objectives for the collaboration from the outset. Whether the goal is to drive sales, increase brand awareness, or enter a new market, having measurable KPIs will help evaluate the success of the partnership.
Once the “why” of the collab is established, we translate the business objectives into measurable KPIs agreed from the outset. For example:
Objective: Increase brand awareness by 20% among 18-30 year old gamers within the next year.
KPI: Brand mentions and reach (organic and paid).
Objective: Increase brand consideration by 5% among 18-30 year old gamers within the next year.
KPI: Consumer sentiment scores, reviews, ratings and feedback.
Objective: Recruit new players.
KPI: Player acquisition metrics (1P/2P/3P), conversion rates, retention rates, market share growth among target demographic.
Golf x Roblox
Like all sports, golf must innovate to nurture the next generation of fans. The UK golf governing body, the R&A, is reaching out with a Roblox experience called Just Swing. Their approach is to introduce young players to golf with a fun, virtual version of the game that builds a bridge to the physical experience. The R&A then hope to encourage that transition via in-game challenges that unlock codes for IRL golf experiences.
NASA x LEGO
NASA also seeks to build a relationship with the next generation, hence its long history of collaborations with LEGO. Beyond partnering on incredible sets like the Artemis I moon mission (pictured), NASA and LEGO have devised a STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) educational program to inspire the budding astronauts and scientists of the future.
Conclusion: maximizing brand collaborations
Brilliantly executed partnerships can be a powerful tool for expanding reach, enhancing brand equity, and driving innovation in ways that individual brands simply cannot achieve on their own. Indeed, in a crowded, cut-throat marketplace the ability to collaborate could be the difference between standing out and blending in.
However, success requires deep insight, strategic alignment, and a willingness to think creatively.
We also believe that coordination and communication are key factors that are easily underestimated. Too many partnerships have foundered because promising early discussions weren’t followed up with sufficient drive. That’s why we put experienced client service directors on the case to keep projects on track.
If you’re interested in that, or a creative team swimming in ideas, or an audience insight department that handles data like The Matrix then drop us a line.
If you would like to discover more about our integrated approach and work together on a project, get in touch.
