The word partnership has many meanings, most with positive connotations. Let’s collaborate, cooperate, associate, support each other, or form an alliance, are constructive and progressive suggestions.
But why should you consider a strategic partnership? Here are seven reasons:
Increase audience reach or brand awareness.
Enhance staff or audience engagement.
Transfer brand values or create brand differentiation.
Acquire expertise or credibility.
Develop a new product.
Unlock new sales channels.
Act to benefit society or a community.
There are many well-known examples we can place alongside one or more of the above motives. AIG and the All Blacks; Nespresso and George Clooney; Whittakers Chocolate and the Plunket Society; or adidas and Kanye West which resulted in Yeezys! But they do not always have to fit the corporate brand plus rights owner formula. Sometimes two rights owners, or two brands collaborating achieve the desired goals.
Relaxing with a coffee and listening to music is an obvious pleasure, but two major brands made it even more enjoyable, and for a variety of stakeholders. Starbucks partnered with Spotify to use music to enhance the customer experience. But it went far beyond that.
Coffeeshop staff were gifted Spotify Premium subscriptions and asked to pick playlists from Starbucks’ catalogue of tracks to share throughout the day in their stores. You may recall since the mid-1990s Starbucks curated, showcased, and sold over 250 original CD compilations. Starbucks pressed stop on that practice following this partnership. Now if customers hear something they like in store, they can access these playlists via the Starbucks app. Music artists (some of whom have been critical of the digital streaming platform) get greater exposure to new and larger audiences.
There is also a reciprocal loyalty scheme (the first time Starbucks has made this accessible to any third party) to extend both audience reach and reward benefits even further. Via its app, Spotify promotes Starbucks playlists to its users, and Starbucks members can use their rewards to upgrade their Spotify. The app’s Premium service is also promoted in store to make the music artists smile.
Over 7,000 coffeeshops in the USA, Canada and UK are now a more pleasant place to visit, and 10 million Starbucks’ loyalty members have combined with 60 million Spotify users to create what the two brands call a “first-of-its-kind music eco-system”. Both corporates are sharing their customers but in a mutually beneficial way, and in doing so enhance their respective brands.
Many people use either coffee or music as a form of medicine, but now they can choose a double-shot to help get them through the day.
