Co-branding is a collaboration between two or more brands on a joint product, service or campaign, in which both appear visibly. The benefit is access to the partner's audience, shared costs, and a transfer of credibility, which helps the less well-known party in particular. The condition for success is that the pairing makes sense to the customer – random partnerships come across as confusing and do not work. The risk is that reputation transfers in both directions: a partner's problem also affects the other brand, so it is worth checking its track record and having the termination of the collaboration agreed in the contract. Rights to jointly created content, rules for using logos, and the division of responsibility for customer support and complaints also need to be addressed. Smaller companies find it worthwhile to start with a one-off joint output and move to deeper integration only after confirming that the collaboration delivers results for both sides.
See also: Brand guidelines for partners, Collaboration with an influencer, Corporate crisis communication.
