Partnership Marketing Brings Style to Nokia

Partnership Marketing (PM) has been appointed as the partnership marketing agency to create synergistic partnerships for Nokia in the Asia Pacific.

Nokia has recently launched their latest smartphone, C7 and the objective of the partnership program is to drive awareness and sales for the device, as well as to align it with style. PM will target at the fashion brands in Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand to offer C7 as prizes for their customers, creation of brand’s exclusive phone app to be promoted at Nokia’s Ovi Store and brand presence through Nokia’s (and partner’s) communication channels.

This partnership develops a win-win situation by helping Nokia and partner to achieve their marketing goals in the specific markets. The partnership is targeting to launch in March 2011.

Partnership Marketing Takes On La Perla Account

SINGAPORE – Partnership Marketing (PM) has been appointed by La Perla, as the partnership marketing agency to create marketing partnerships for them to gain their reach and awareness to more sophisticated, luxury buyers in Asia.

La Perla, the leading creator of Italian’s luxurious and fashionable intimate wear for women and men, has 21 boutiques located across Asia. PM is targeting at the niche markets in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore, to offer them exclusive La Perla incentives for their customer loyalty program. Incentives include La Perla’s gift card and selected range of products that are accustomed to the profile of partners’ customers.

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING to form partnerships for American Express

Partnership Marketing, Asia’s leading partnership marketing agency, has been engaged to assist American Express in sourcing partners for their Rewards Card Program. The main objective of this partnership is increase the sign up rate of their Rewards Card.

PM will help to identify synergistic brand partners and negotiate with them to implement partnership marketing initiatives and help American Express achieve their objectives.

PM team will be starting work on this partnership in 2011.

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING to launch partnership for CIMB Bank’s new Junior Savings Program

Partnership Marketing, Asia’s leading partnership marketing agency, has been retained by CIMB Bank to launch loyalty partnership for their new Junior Savers Account Program in Singapore. CIMB Bank has been in Singapore since 2005 and running this program in Malaysia successfully.

CIMB Junior Savers Account program is targeted at kids less than 12 years. PM will be sourcing 10 partners from the retail and kids entertainment categories for this program.

PM will be looking for partners to provide exclusive offers to the kids who opened an account with CIMB. Redemption will be in the simple form of flashing the Junior Savers Account card by the kids.

The partners’ offers will be communicated to the card members via a co-branded eDM, welcome kit, dedicated website and brochures.

This program is set to launch in February 2011.

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING from around the world part 9

Skechers USA, a global leader in the footwear industry and the number two footwear brand in the United States, recently announced an unprecedented, worldwide, multi-platform marketing and brand partnership for Shape-ups with Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner. Kim and Kris, as they are known to their friends, will be the faces of the campaign which launches in 2011 and includes multiple mediums of advertising, in-store and social media, a “Shaping Up With The Kardashians” challenge, and other very exciting elements that will be unveiled at a near future date…. no really they will be, I can’t wait. This “Shaping Up With The Kardashians” mother-daughter fitness challenge between Kim and Kris will encourage consumers to begin their own Shapeups fitness challenges. Because who wouldn’t want to follow in the steps of these two. “My mom” (she really said that) “and I are thrilled to be joining the Skechers family to help promote health and wellness,” said Kim Kardashian. “Shape-ups have already impacted my fitness routine for the better. I am always on-the-move and never know exactly when I can fit in my next workout. Skechers Shape-ups help me get the most out of every step.” And the money’s great too! Kris Jenner added, “The Skechers Shape-ups styles are perfect for the woman-on-the-go. As a working mother of six” (yes six! She doesn’t need any exercise but I bet she needs shaping up), “I am constantly on my feet, running from one appearance to the next (what about the kids?), but with Shape-ups, I am always working out, even when I’m working.” And my seventh is on the way so I had better prepare! A worldwide phenomenon, the patented Skechers Shape-ups fitness footwear line offers a variety of styles and specialized features to meet the varied workout needs of every individual. Fittingly, the unique personal style of each Kardashian family member is highlighted throughout the extensive collection. I can only imagine! Very American and you know what it’ll work too!

This article first appeared on  http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/chrisreed/archive/2010/12/14/partnership-marketing-from-around-the-world-part-9.aspx

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING from around the world part 8

Lonely Planet and the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau (VCB) announced a first-of-its-kind strategic marketing partnership which is very simple and obvious and yet not done as much as you would think. Lonely Planet, the world’s leading travel content provider, will create editorial guides across multiple channels–including print, digital, and mobile–to compliment the VCB’s promotional campaigns and expand its marketing reach. Lonely Planet will produce a customized printed guide for the destination, and a digital version will be posted online at www.fortmyers-sanibel.com. The partnership also includes development of a custom iPhone app, eight unique travel videos featuring Lonely Planet authors touring the region, a micro-site hosted by www.lonelyplanet.com, and advertising on both LonelyPlanet.com and the UK edition of Lonely Planet Magazine. The partnership enables the Lee County VCB to provide unique content, recommendations and information to visitors from a well-known and trusted travel guide source and respond effectively to consumers across all platforms. “There’s no better global marketing partner for our destination than Lonely Planet. Their dedication to sustainability and responsible travel is directly in line with our commitment to protect and preserve our beaches and natural resources,” says Tamara Pigott, VCB executive director. “The audience for their content closely matches the profile of our visitors; we also have an opportunity to introduce our brand to a younger audience.” As long as VCB do indeed care about the environment in the way that they claim the brand endorsement from LP will work well. Why LP have chosen to do this with VCB as opposed to other counties in both America and the world is somewhat of a mystery but it’s quite a coup for VCB.

 This article first appeared on http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/chrisreed/archive/2010/12/14/partneship-marketing-from-around-the-world-part-8.aspx

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING from around the world part 7

How partnership promotions go wrong could be the headline for this next partnership. The mighty Procter & Gamble is in the dock because it unwisely indulged in a sales promotion in Rio de Janeiro which involved leaving mystery packing cases all over the place to intrigue consumers, who would have found that they were full of goodies. Unfortunately the authorities in trigger-happy Rio thought they were full of bombs. The bomb squad was summoned after panicked residents called the police to report two large wooden crates abandoned in public squares in the upscale Ipanema beach area of Rio de Janeiro. The city of six million people was already on edge after days of fighting between violent drug gangs and heavily-armed police with armored military vehicles left at least 23 dead. The suspect crates were intended to be a teaser promotion for P&G’s biggest-ever sweepstakes in Brazil, called “P&G Faustão’s Airplane,” with multiple drawings to be held on the Sunday afternoon variety show hosted by Fausto Silva, Brazil’s most popular TV host. Six lucky winners will each win the equivalent of an airplane full of more than $100,000 worth of prizes, including two cars (a Chevrolet Meriva and a Ford Ecosport), bars of gold, everything needed to fully outfit an entire home (including an iPod shuffle and an HP netbook, Disney puzzles and Sesame Street stuffed animals) and of course multiple P&G products. The website for the promotion features a plane on a runway surrounded by cars, motorcycles, every imaginable household appliance — and a big wooden crate emblazoned with pictures of P&G products like Head & Shoulders, Ariel detergent, Oral-B toothpaste and Gillette deodorant and razors. The wooden crates became a symbol for marketing the promotion, and the idea of placing them in unexpected spots around Rio and other cities was intended to show that Faustão’s Airplane is so full of prizes that some are even falling from the sky. Rio’s bomb squad closed off surrounding streets in Ipanema, opened the two crates and found them to be empty. The police put out a statement saying no explosives had been found. Funnily enough P&G quickly canceled plans to distribute more mystery wooden crates but still continued with the promotion. Presumably the brand partners including all American brands Ford, Disney and Sesame Street were fine with the bomb association! It appears to be a stunt for the sake of doing a stunt without any thought or strategy in mind as to why they should be doing it.

This article first appeared on  http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/chrisreed/archive/2010/12/08/partnership-marketing-from-around-the-world-part-7.aspx

PARTNERSHIP MARKETING from around the world part 6

Royal Caribbean have invested in brand partnerships this year with the liner’s newest ship, Allure of the Seas, working with DreamWorks and Starbucks. Adding “brand experiences” is one more way for brands like Royal Caribbean to capture the imagination of customers. When passengers sail with Allure, they will see Megamind in 3D—in the first movie theater of its kind on a ship—and How to Train Your Dragon on ice, among other DreamWorks productions. DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said the brands plan to expand the “DreamWorks experience” to other Royal Caribbean ships. To take characters off screen and to bring them life is key to Dreamworks. Perfect for the family market of cruise ships too which will keep the kids quiet while mom and dad go orange or get food poisoning on deck! Starbucks has also created a brand partnership with Royal Caribbean. After posing questions on MyStarbucksIdea.com, the coffee chain decided to give consumers what they wanted. “Our customers have been asking for a Starbucks at sea, so we delivered,” said Kerry Busheikin, vp of licensed store operations, East. Really? Starbucks customers wanted Starbucks at Sea? Which customers wanted that? Captain Nemo and crew?! In addition to DreamWorks and Starbucks, the company has brought other brands onboard, including the Guess Accessory store and the Britto Art Gallery. Clearly they believe that brand partnerships are the way to go and anything that enhances a cruise experience and stops boredom has to be a good thing…now if only there was a partnership which would get rid of fat and noisy Americans on these cruises then normal people might go on them!

This article first appeared on  http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/chrisreed/archive/2010/12/08/partneship-marketing-from-around-the-world-part-6.aspx

Newcastle United: damned again

Just when you think things are picking up Newcastle United shoot themselves in the foot again! Oh for a foreign owner, even an American one…..ok maybe not. Anyone would be better than the clown Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, synonymous for cheap fast moving branded tat to dress the youth of the UK in tracksuits. The Newcastle brand had just recovered from the beating it received from Ashley sacking Geordie idol Kevin Keegan and being relegated. Now after previous manager Hughton gave us some pride back by beating our deadliest neighbours Sunderland 5-1 and Arsenal away 1-0 he is sacked with us in a respectable 11th . The reason? Not enough experience or trophies won. This despite having a better win record that much more experienced Sam Allardyce, Graeme Souness and Alan Shearer. The replacement? One of Mike Ashley’s Casino buddies, another of the cockney mafia loathed by Geordies, a monkey to Ashley’s organ grinder, a puppet to be controlled, unknown outside of east London, renowned for doing nothing of note at any club and having been sacked three times in three divisions, Alan Pardew. Who you may ask? Well precisely. His track record doesn’t speak for itself because there is nothing there. He has won nothing. He has minimal premier league experience and he hasn’t managed a premiership outfit for several years. Yet he has been given a 5.5 year contract. He knows none of the dressing room, he has no affinity with Newcastle. The fans are completely underwhelmed by him and plan protests to show their disgust. Possibly the first manager to be appointed without a honeymoon. Welcome to Hell Mr Pardew. Did Ashley enjoy taking us down so much the first time he wants to do it again?! How not to manage a sports brand.

 This article first appeared on  http://community.brandrepublic.com/blogs/chrisreed/archive/2010/12/10/newcastle-united-damned-again.aspx

Partnership Marketing from around the world part 5

Back by popular demand! More weird, wacky and cool partnership marketing from around the world starting with this one which could only happen in America and possibly Iraq! If you live near Sanford, Florida, and in need of a truck, then you may wish to consider taking up this breathtaking (literally) promotion currently being offered by Nations Trucks on South Orlando Drive. Anybody who buys a used truck gets a Free AK-47! Yes that’s right, FREE GUN when you buy a truck! Presumably the truck is in place of a horse so that you can pretend you’re in the Magnificent 7 riding to the rescue in a gun-toting kinda way! According to Nick Ginetta, the general sales manager, sales of trucks have doubled since the promotion was introduced on Veterans Day. “I don’t think it sends the wrong message,” he said, drawing both hand guns from his holster in record time. “You don’t need to buy a truck to go and buy an AK-47. You have the right to do that as long as you meet all state and federal laws. So it’s all just a promotion.” That’s alright then! Not encouraging people to take up arms and shoot more people then! Clearly America’s violent crime crime rate isn’t high enough so he thought he’d combine the two deadliest weapons in one go and go for the full double whammy! On a saner note Ocean Spray and the Disney parks and resorts unit of the Walt Disney Company have announced a multiyear promotional and marketing partnership. Ocean Spray is calling the deal one of the largest of its kind in its 80-year history. It is indicative of the growing interest by brands to make themselves more tangible to consumers by venturing outside stores. As part of the agreement, Ocean Spray will build cranberry bog displays at Disney attractions like Epcot. They echo displays that Ocean Spray has built in high-visibility public spaces like Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. Other elements of the partnership will include the sale of Craisins — Ocean Spray’s brand of dried cranberries — at Disney’s theme parks, cruise ships and hotels. There will also be special packages of Craisins bearing the Disney characters Chip and Dale. Adding the Ocean Spray products to the Disney food offerings is part of efforts by Disney to sell products to child visitors that are deemed healthier. This is a very interesting and pretty creative brand partnership that is a real win win. Disney get to appear more healthy by offering cranberries and healthy juices and Ocean Spray reach kids and families and gain brand endorsement from a key influencing brand in this target group. They haven’t just put it on pack they have actually looked at an integrated marketing partnership. Part 6 coming soon….