November 1983. The world was thrilled to the sound of Thriller, the super album recently released by Michael Jackson. It is still considered the best-selling album of all time.
At the same time, the world of soft drink lovers was divided between two giants: Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Both brands invested heavily in their marketing campaigns to convert more and more consumers and brand presence in the beverage industry.
And then, in November of that year, the entire world watched on TV (and drank soda :D) the biggest collab in history. PepsiCo partnered with Michael Jackson for its “New Generation” campaign, and the long-awaited commercial aired. It was a huge success!
According to Jay Coleman, who was responsible for the partnership between PepsiCo and Michael Jackson at the time, “The goal was to make Pepsi look young, and Coca-Cola look old, and Michael Jackson was indeed the choice of that generation – he was already the King of Pop, even though he hadn’t declared it.”
Even today, the commercial available on YouTube has reached more than 130 million views, even 40 years after the campaign. Running a campaign of this magnitude today would be a considerable investment. Watch the commercial video:
The battle between the giants was different from then on. 1984, Pepsi increased its sales, earning US$7.7 billion, while Coca-Cola's revenue fell. The partnership worked, and for a moment, Pepsi turned the tables with a well-planned and strategic campaign.
Partnerships like this, also known as collabs, are on the rise more than ever, fostering the Creator Economy and the entire global advertising ecosystem.
So, what is collab?
Collab is a short-term collaboration, which translates to the partnership. The term became more well-known when social networks allowed more than one user to perform live broadcasts, such as on Instagram, for example. Today, it is common to open Instagram around 8 p.m. and see the live broadcasts currently taking place in the Stories dots, and there is almost always more than one profile broadcasting the live broadcast.
Since 2023, the number of Google searches about collabs and partnerships has doubled, as we can see in the Google Trends data:
And collabs aren't just for live streams. They can be any shared content created with a brand, artist, celebrity, or content creator. It could be a post, podcast, video, stories, articles, commercial videos, radio shows, in-person or online events, clothing collections, cell phone cases, music... There's a world of possibilities for collaborations.
Collab yesterday, collab today, collab always!
Since the advertising market first appeared business-like over a century ago, collabs have been part of strategies. As we saw in the introduction to this article, in the early 1980s, a collab changed the course of advertising and became a global giant. It has always been successful and will continue to be even more successful now, with the possibilities of integration and social networks we have today.
Today's collabs are more diverse because the market has expanded the types of partnerships, varying between some models and strategies:
PARTNERSHIP 😍 Brand + Content creator or Celebrities
When the brand partners with content creators, artists, athletes, and celebrities. The skateboarder Tony Hawk ran a campaign with TikTok to attract new users to the social network, and it was a great success, with millions of views and many new users
⭐ This super Tony Hawk + TikTok campaign was brokered by our inCast team, and we acted as a bridge between the brand and the skateboarder.
FRIENDSHIP 🤜🤛 Content creator + Content creator or Celebrities
This also applies to artists who collaborate with other artists. Super YouTuber Mr. Beast collaborated with actor Dwayne Johnson, challenging each other to donate $100,000 to charity in a simple game of rock, paper, scissors. Mr. Beast won, and The Rock confirmed that he would donate his money to a charity.
PARTNERS 🤝 Brand + Brand
When brands come together around a campaign aiming for some conversion, a good example is the collaboration between Starbucks and Samsung, launching smartphone accessories with the theme and identity of the giant coffee and snack chain.
MIX 😁 Product + Product
When brands come together and make a product together with another. For example, McDonald's makes memorable lines with its ice cream, McFlurry, Ovomaltine, Oreo, and KitKat. Then, a McDonald's ice cream with products from other brands appears.
And in the future, collabs will be increasingly used in marketing campaigns. Brands are realizing the urgency of adapting to this trend, as influencers and content creators are closer to their audience, and their voices have the power to influence many people.
What's more, influencers can create their brands! But that's a topic for another article...
Win-win mentality: both sides benefit!
First of all, you need to be strategic for collaborations to be effective. Choose the brand, content creator, or celebrity not only based on numbers but also on how they represent the community involved. Depending on the strategy, a large brand can collaborate with several small and medium influencers (up to 100 thousand followers) rather than with a mega-celebrity who will not generate the appropriate conversion.
And it doesn't just apply to large brands or influencers with millions of followers. The bakery in your neighborhood can collaborate with a well-known content creator in the city. Or even small influencers from a specific niche can do live streams together to expand their audience and reach a potential audience that will get to know them through affinities and the authority that the other already has in their community.
Thus, many influencers and brands grow with collabs. Both sides benefit.
When Havaianas partnered with Oreo for a new line of sandals, both brands gained visibility and, more importantly, united Havaianas fans with Oreo cookie consumers around a single product. This sense of unity and connection is a powerful outcome of strategic collaborations, making the audience feel engaged and part of a larger community.
Collab is everywhere and will continue to be a tremendous strategic asset in expanding audiences, sales, brand presence, engagement, and a sense of community.
🚀 Collab has power, and you can benefit from it, whether small or large. Collab is for everyone!
Conclusion...
Be sure to incorporate collabs and partnerships into your marketing strategies, whether you are a brand or a content creator. You don't have to be a giant to-do collabs with other giants. Even if you are a local business or an influencer just starting, you can and should do collabs and partnerships.
Collabs are the future that is already in the present and made history in the past. And the best part is that both sides win, not only in money, but in experiences and community.
Your brand can take advantage of the power of collabs and partnerships! Here at inCast, we have more than 16,000 partner content creators and tools to track results in real time.
If you are an influencer or content creator, we have our inCast Partner and Exclusive Casting, which offers some benefits to partners.
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