Why a strategic partnership could be key to brand awareness

By February 12, 2017General

Sometimes in business, the temptation is to try to keep everything in-house and do everything on your own. But the problem is, that’s a shortsighted approach that severely limits the number of opportunities that might come our way.

Could partnering with another business allow you to tap into any gaps in another market? Could teaming up with a company unlock your potential growth?

Gatorade recently boosted the brand awareness for their Propel drink by leveraging its relationship with a partner company.

Propel is a fitness water product that Gatorade makes. It’s fairly popular, but Gatorade felt that brand awareness for the item had waned over the years.

What Gatorade did was really clever. They made the most of their relationship with digital audio company Pandora.

To raise the profile of Propel, Gatorade and Pandora created a campaign that combined sponsored listening and sponsored station adverts to target the fitness enthusiast part of the music streaming industry.

Immediately, then, you can see that Gatorade is being quite specific in terms of whom they’re focusing on reaching. But there’s a key point: Gatorade couldn’t execute this plan without a relationship with Pandora.

What does this campaign teach us?

For starters, it reveals the power of accurate audience segmentation.

Many small businesses like to aim big and think that if they niche down, they’ll miss out. But if segmentation and targeting a smaller audience is good enough for huge companies like Gatorade, we should take note.

Clearly, it also shows the benefits of having a good partnership. The campaign raised awareness of Propel by 63% and purchase intent by 60%.

On a more general level, Gatorade’s campaign also shows how music streaming services can be used to emotionally engage with consumers.

What is brand awareness?

Remember that brand awareness is about getting consumers familiar with a business, product or service.

You can’t be all things to all people. There are only so many channels that you can deliver on. By developing key, strategic partnerships with businesses, it’s easier to reach more potential customers.

A strategic alliance can take on many forms, but initially, businesses need to believe in nurturing relationships. Remember to focus on creating mutually desired outcomes and success will be just around the corner.