Co-branding: what it is, types, examples and how a collaboration between two brands is made

What co-branding is, in plain words

Co-branding literally means a shared brand. It is also called a brand collaboration, a brand partnership or, in fashion, a collab or capsule collection. It happens when two brands put their name to something in common: a product, a limited edition, a promotion or a campaign.

The logic is simple. Each brand has an audience that trusts it. By teaming up, each one appears in front of the other's audience with an implicit recommendation: "if this brand you like works with us, there must be a reason". On top of that, the novelty of the pairing creates conversation and attention, which is increasingly hard to come by.

One of the most quoted examples is the collaboration between Nike and Apple, which connected running shoes to the music player to track workouts. One brand brought sport and the other technology, and the result was something neither had alone. In fashion, designer collections with big high-street chains are well known, and in food, products that carry another brand's ingredient on the pack.

You do not need to be a multinational to do it. A restaurant and a delivery platform, a clothing brand and a designer, a bike shop and a local brewery can also collaborate, with the same rules at a different scale.

Types of co-branding and what each is for

There are many ways to classify it, but in practice we see four types.

Product co-branding. Two brands create a new product together: a trainer, a special edition of a sweet, a capsule collection. It is the most visible type and the one that draws most attention, because there is something new to buy.

Ingredient co-branding. A brand highlights that its product contains a component from another well-known brand. The textbook example is computers carrying the processor maker's sticker. It lends credibility to the final product.

Promotional or channel co-branding. Two brands team up for a specific promotion or campaign, usually because one has the product and the other the channel. A restaurant running a campaign with a delivery app is the typical case.

Values or cause co-branding. A brand joins an organisation or another brand to stand up for something they share. It works if the cause is genuinely part of both.

Each type serves a different purpose. Product co-branding, to create novelty and reach a new audience. Ingredient, to gain credibility. Promotional, to sell at a particular moment. And cause, to strengthen reputation.

Before looking for a partner, be clear about which of the four you are after. It changes the kind of brand worth partnering with and the kind of campaign that needs producing.

Two real examples we have worked on

Two collaborations from our own work, very different from each other.

Dr. Pizza × Glovo. It is a textbook promotional co-branding: a Barcelona pizza brand and a delivery platform joining forces for a campaign. We were already handling Dr. Pizza's whole image and monthly social media, and for the collaboration with Glovo we produced food product photography, short videos under ten seconds designed for the fast scroll of delivery apps, and promotional content. In total, more than sixty photographs and fifteen videos with the same look. The challenge was making the pizza look just as appetising in the Glovo app as on the brand's Instagram. You can see it in the Dr. Pizza × Glovo case.

Stradivarius × Ainhoa Uruñuela. Designer Ainhoa Uruñuela developed a capsule collection concept for Stradivarius, the Inditex brand, and commissioned us to produce the visuals so she could present it to the brand at the level a company like that expects. We handled art direction, more than forty lookbook photographs and social media content, with a young visual language that worked for Stradivarius and for the designer's own communication. You can see it in the Stradivarius × Ainhoa Uruñuela case.

This second example shows something often forgotten: many collaborations begin with a visual proposal. Before two brands say yes, someone has to show what it would look like.

How a brand collaboration is made, step by step

If you are considering a collaboration, this is the order we recommend.

First, the objective. What you want to achieve: reach a new audience, launch a product, sell on a specific date or strengthen your image. That determines who is worth partnering with.

Second, the partner. The other brand has to share values with yours, have an audience you care about and bring something you do not have. Two brands that do the same thing and speak to the same people add little to each other.

Third, the agreement. What each one contributes, how costs and returns are split, who approves what, for how long and what happens to the content afterwards. It is worth putting it in writing with professional help before producing anything.

Fourth, the idea. A collaboration needs a concept of its own that explains why those two brands are together. Putting both logos on an image is not enough: you have to tell a story in which both make sense. If it helps, we explain it with examples in what a creative concept is.

Fifth, production. Photos, video, social clips and point-of-sale pieces, with a look that respects both brands without either swallowing the other.

Sixth, the launch. Both brands publish at the same time, each to its own audience, with pieces designed for their channels. That is the advantage that justifies everything else.

Risks and common mistakes

Co-branding has clear advantages, but also risks worth knowing before you sign.

The first is imbalance. If one brand is much better known than the other, it can swallow the campaign: the audience only sees the big one and the small one disappears. It is offset with good design, in which both have their space, and with a story in which both are necessary.

The second is a poor fit. If the two brands have nothing to do with each other, people do not understand the pairing and the campaign creates mistrust instead of attention. Before launching, ask yourself whether an outsider would understand within five seconds why you are together.

The third is shared reputation. What the other brand does affects you. A crisis at your partner during the campaign is your crisis too. It is another reason to choose carefully and put the terms in writing.

The fourth is more practical: production by committee. Two marketing teams approving every image and video can stretch deadlines and water down the idea. It works better with a single creative team producing for both brands, with one person on each side empowered to decide.

And the last: thinking only about the launch. A well-produced collaboration leaves content for months. If it is planned from the start, a single production yields pieces for both brands and for several moments. We explain this in what branded content is, which is closely related.

How we help with a brand collaboration

At Bostak Films we help brands plan and produce collaborations: from the visual proposal that wins over the other brand to the full launch campaign. We are a creative agency and a production company at once, so the same team comes up with the idea, films, photographs and delivers every piece for both brands.

We can come in at three moments. Before the yes, with a visual proposal or a short teaser showing what the collaboration would look like, as we did for Ainhoa Uruñuela's capsule. During the campaign, with the concept, the production and the pieces for each channel. And afterwards, with ongoing content if the collaboration lasts, so both brands keep having new pieces to publish weeks after the launch.

We work from our studio in Viladecans, in the Baix Llobregat, with brands in Barcelona, its surroundings and the rest of Spain. See how we work as a creative agency in Viladecans. If you are thinking of collaborating with another brand, or want to pitch them an idea, book a free diagnosis and we will tell you how we would approach it.

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