Co-Branding Strategies During the Pandemic: A Win or a Loss?

Co-branding is likely no longer a foreign term to business founders. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, co-branding is a marketing strategy that involves a collaboration between two or more brands aimed at creating a new, unique, and exclusive product—one that can enhance mutually beneficial strategic value.

Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, co-branding seems to have become a must-have alternative strategy for brands. This is because the strategy is not only effective for introducing a brand’s product but also has a significant impact on sales.

Many companies have engaged in co-branding during the pandemic, ranging from the food, cosmetics, and household goods industries to electronics and beyond.

For all you coffee lovers out there, you’re surely familiar with the trendy “Kopi Kulo,” right?

Throughout the pandemic, Kulo has been actively pursuing collaborations, both with other brands and with communities.

Last September, Kulo launched a co-branding initiative with Hydro Coco, a packaged coconut drink. This collaboration resulted in four new flavored drinks—Cocolapa, Pink Paradise, Coco Latte, and Pinacoco—which were marketed to the public to enjoy while staying at home. Through this initiative, Kopi Kulo’s online sales increased to 70% from the previous 55%.

Oreo employed a similar strategy by collaborating with the hypebeast brand Supreme. This move captured the attention of netizens in early 2020. That’s because Oreo cookies, which we usually find in stores for Rp2,000–Rp6,000, have now skyrocketed in price to Rp500,000–Rp600,000 per package.

As Lulu and Lula put it on the @dnnashabrina account: “Wow, The Best Fantastic Four!!”

But despite the price being downright astronomical, it hasn’t deterred influencers from trying these bright red cookies. From top influencers like Rachel Vennya, Rachel Goddard, and Nabila Zirus to Kekeyi, they’ve all tried them and shared their experiences tasting the Oreo x Supreme collaboration on their social media accounts.

It’s no wonder that Oreo’s co-branding strategy with Supreme has successfully boosted growth and engagement for both brands!

“These days, brands no longer compete with each other—now is the era of collaboration.”

Written by Savira Chesaria, PR Consultancy Intern at Media Buffet