Research: How Social Media Can Help You Find a Partner Brand
Partnering with a brand outside your industry can be a great, win-win way to create new value. But what does it take to select the right partner? The authors share new research suggesting that social media data can be a useful tool to identify high-potential brand partners, as well as to gain insight into both your own customer base and that of your competitors. Specifically, brands that share a high number of social media followers often go well together in consumers’ minds, increasing the chances of success if they choose to collaborate. Of course, this approach has its limitations, and must be complemented by a comprehensive analysis of the risks and benefits of a potential partnership. But when thoughtfully implemented, analysis of social media co-followership patterns can be a quick and inexpensive way to identify non-obvious alliances whose potential might otherwise be difficult to anticipate.
In 2014, Uber and Spotify launched an innovative cross-industry collaboration: Though ride sharing and music streaming may seem like unrelated businesses, the partnership — in which Uber riders could use Spotify to wirelessly control the music being played — benefited both brands, allowing them to cross-promote and access new markets without either party having to develop costly new technologies internally. Similarly creative examples of cross-category collaborations include Disney and MAC Cosmetics’ Aladdin makeup collection, IKEA and LEGO’s storage solutions for kids, and Red Bull and GoPro’s joint promotional campaigns.
By Pankhuri Malhotra, Siddhartha Bhattacharyya, and Mark C. Bolino via Harvard Business Review