In Marketing Week from the 25th August, there was an interesting case study on Proctor and Gamble, looking at their collective marketing strategy in their bid to save money. Interview available here...
Collective Marketing is an initiative whereby parent companies bundle their complementary brands together into one advert in a bid to target new audiences and save money. On occasion there will also be a cross-company initiative if the products complement but don't compete with each other. Marketing Week identified three main types of collective marketing/brand bundling including
- Executive Bundling - using your buying power across brands to save money on advert slots
- Big Idea Bundling - cross-company selling of complementary products e.g. washing machines and washing powder
- Endorsement or co-brand bundling - adding an additional brand to your product in a bid to sell more and split the cost e.g. PG Tips and the Rainforest Alliance.
As a consumer, I had never noticed/been conciously aware of this process, other than the obvious Supermarket adverts. Since reading the article however, I've been on the look out for these collaborations, from both a personal and industry viewpoint.
The first obvious example I see? Collective marketing of the new Jalapeño Doritos and Citrus Pepsi Max by parent company Pepsi Co. The advert combines a cartoon strip theme, with the 'Firefinger' crisps and 'Icefist' drink turning two 'regular Joes' into superheroes. The two products are hailed as a 'superpowerful' combination with the aim of persuading consumers to buy both products at the same time. Visit the website here...
So how will Pepsi Co benefit?
- Monetary value - Pepsi Co will have saved money by making one advertising slot work twice as hard, using the same space to promote two products that complement one another.
- New audience generation - the advert is aspirational and implies that the two new products are the coolest/best on the market, enticing people to buy them.
- Cross-audience promotion - this type of collaboration will potentially target new customers for the company, from their existing consumer base; loyal Doritos consumers may be enticed to buy the drink and vice versa.
I like what Pepsi Co did here; ok, so I won't be rushing out to buy the drink because personally I can't stand fizzy drinks, but the advert did do its job! It made me watch, it successfully marketed two products (both of which I can remember) AND it combined two products into the same space.
This method isn't without risk; picking the wrong products and combining two brands with opposing values could be an advertising nightmare. At the same time, unless handled carefully, this method also dilutes the messaging of the individual brands and runs the risk of reducing the overall effectiveness of the advert.
Thanks to Marketing Week for highlighting Collective Marketing and I'll definitely be on the lookout for more examples in the near future!
Watch the superpowerful advert here...
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