Co-Branding

Co-branding is the practice of using multiple brand names together on a single product or service. The term can also refer to the display of multiple brand names or corporate logos on a single Web site, so that people who visit the site see it as a joint enterprise. When effectively done, co-branding provides a way for companies to combine forces so that their marketing efforts work in synergy.

Co branding has become fashionable, not all alliances should be made visible.

- In the car industry, although the rover company is now owned by BMW, at the product level Rover cars show no BMW insignia. Mercedes and Swatch have created a joint venture to produce and market a revolutionary new car, called Smart, to which each company will add its specific expertise. However, Mercedes is unlikely to put its trademark on the smart!

- To conquer the iced tea market (depite late entry), Nestle and coca Cola decided to unite against Unilever’s Lipton range. Nestle would create and market the product, and Coca Cola would distribute it. The product, called Nestea, is not co-branded, though the Coca Cola company gets only a small mention on the back of the packaging.