How Smart Partnering Sustains
Business and Communities

by Kare Anderson

World's largest pink ribbon

An ongoing 3M campaign to build the World's Largest Pink Ribbon captured the fastest growing Website at-work and the second fastest growing site at-home during the week ending August 29th, 2004.

This successful alliance brought far more visibility and other value to both partners than they could have accomplished on their own.

Their goal?

To build the World's Largest Pink Ribbon in Times Square constructed of 75,000 pink Post-it Super Sticky Notes, to be revealed during the first week of the recent Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Their other goal?

Together they touch the hearts and minds of more people in their mutual market of women buyers and cause supporters.

The site drew 1.1 million home users during the week ending August 29, rising 105 percent from the previous week. There were 950,000 office workers who visited the site, growing 98 percent from the week prior.

This is not a random event.

In fact it is part of a fast-growing trend: Partnering with others who serve the same kind of customers to stand out in an over-advertised world.It happens everywhere, especially during emergencies.

People even-it-up in time of need - quickly

Even as many Floridians were fleeing their homes to avoid Ivan, as they did Hurricane Frances, their "neighbors" in Florida and Georgia innovated a small way to support them, just as they did previously after Hurricane Charley and tropical storm Bonnie hit.

When people visit a Winn-Dixie grocery store they helped towards storm relief by "evening it up" at the checkout counter. That is, they could have the teller round up their food bill to the next dollar, with the extra change going to the local Red Cross chapter for relief efforts.

In each of these stories, the right kind of alliances have attracted more customers and support than solo promotional efforts could have accomplished.

People are partnering in unexpected ways - and winning the hearts of customers and communities

• That’s how Oprah Winfrey and General Motors could "make dreams come true" for 276 specially picked audience members recntly.– and reap millions of dollars of free media coverage for this heart-warming story.
  
  Women were escorted out to the parking lot where they saw rows of fully-loaded, beribboned Pontiac 6Gs to drive away. What a way to kick off the 19th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show and be top-of-mind for entertainment and car buying
  
  
• That’s how pillow-maker, Leo Hollander, built his new brand visibility when he moved away from private labeling. He recruited a feng shui expert, chiropractor, and color specialist to offer articles on his new web site - thus boosting all the partners' visibility and credibility.
  
  
• That’s how Applebee’s attracted more customers – many first-time visitors - to their family restaurants this summer, without advertising more.
  
  When Weight Watchers designed and branded several low-cal menu items for Applebee’s, followers of the Weight Watchers program (and those who were thinking of dieting) had a new reason to eat at Applebee’s. Applebee’s customers opened up their menus and saw how appetizing a Weight Watchers entree could be. Consumers got introduced to products by organizations they already knew and trusted.
  
  
• That’s how T-shirt designer Tami Minatelli was able to exhibit at nine street fairs this summer without paying for her booth space. A new manufacturer of a unique, no-stain suntan lotion paid for Tami’s booth.
  
  Why? Because she wore their lotion and her T-shirts, with a sign above her head, describing her original painting-on-cotton method and the lotion’s "do no harm" guarantee. Next to burn protection, that’s the biggest concern of people who use suntan lotions.
  
  
• In fact firefighters in Toluma used the same approach to buy a badly-needed but expensive piece of equipment, a deluge gun, without asking their cash-strapped city council for a single dime.
  
  Here’s how it happened. Business was slow all over their town. The firefighters were getting nowhere when they asked for donations from business owners experiencing a weak economy.
  
  When they approached the manager of a Pizza Hut he said he didn't have the authority to donate money, but he had a better idea:
  
  "Here's what I can do. We can pick a Wednesday, say four weeks from today for Our Community Cares day here. Typically I make $500 or so on Wednesdays. On that day, after we sell $500 worth, every dollar that comes in the front door I'll split with you. So if you inspire enough people to get a mouth-watering pizza to help the community on that day, you can raise more money than you just asked me for."
  
  The firefighters loved the challenge. They hand painted banners which they asked the locally-owned supermarket and gas stations to put up on their outside walls. They had signs and announcements printed for free by the local copy shop – with a bright red "donated by" credit line to the copy shop on them.
  
  The headline on the signs and flyers read, Eat at Pizza Hut. Save a local life. They visited offices complexes, even those with signs that read "No soliciting." Who's going to kick out the volunteer fire department, right? They went to apartment complexes, video rental outlets, grade and high schools. They put flyers and signs everywhere.
  
  And they attracted crowds wherever they went. Once people heard about their cause, handing out flyers was like giving away candy.
  
  They got the signs in the windows of the downtown businesses, including a McDonald's two blocks away from Pizza Hut. They got free radio time and free newspaper coverage of their inspiring community story.
  
  When Wednesday came around, the place was packed, with an animated line of people out the door. They made enough money to get the deluge gun.
  
  Pizza Hut did not give cash donation but, instead, donated their best resource – pizza. They expanded their capacity to help a cause, got tremendous exposure and also got people to try their food.
  
  Most importantly – it was a fair partnership because everyone contributed, so participants are likely to want to work together again.

Far more than just a partnership

In each story you just read, organizations that serve the same kind of consumers created new opportunities for and with each other, and so could you.

They didn’t just forge a partnership.

They crafted what I call a smart partnership. Together, they they attracted and delighted more people in their mutual market of people while spending less.

As you can tell, any kind or size of organization can adopt this trend towards joining forces to generate more value and visibility together.

Perhaps that’s why partnering is the fastest growing and most controversial marketing approach used today.

Warning: with the wrong partners or methods, your efforts can backfire You may irritate or even alienate prospective customers and supporters.

For example, New York Mayor Bloomberg’s attempt to override other public officials with a unilateral deal to put Snapple – exclusively - in vending machines in city offices and schools – backfired. He got a barrage of bad publicity from angry local leaders.

Another example of a not-so-smart alliance: American Airlines partnered with companies to plaster their advertisements on the plane’s pull-down trays. Talk about in-your-face invasive promotion.

Pick your partners with care!

One must pick partners with great care. Notice how one "sweet" cause campaign recently got lambasted while another attracted praise.

"Maybe Krispy Kreme should offer free coupons for insulin and syringes to the kids who end up with diabetes," said Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert.

Krispy Kreme had been lambasted by this watchdog group for its longtime program of rewarding students in kindergarten through sixth grade with a free doughnut for every A on their report card in communities across the country.

Yet there was nary a peep of protest when M&M teamed up with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation to raise funds†through the sale of new "pink & white" M&M candies. In fact, on behalf of a cause to keep women healthy, groups are jumping on the bandwagon to encourage people to buy a candy that is certainly no more nutritious than a donut.

In light of the alarming leap in obesity in the U.S. some long time partners may attract controversy today, as Krispy Kreme is learning the hard way.

Two critical lessons

The lesson? Stay clear of controversy. Even if the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation isn’t criticized this time for what could be described as an unhealthy partner, it could be soon.

But recognize that partnering is a fast-growing trend because of its power. You can use it to stand out from your competition or provide a fresh reason for people to support your cause or buy your product. You, too, can become a bigger customer magnet.

The second lesson for you?

Don’t waste any time.

Start a SmartPartnership soon.

Recruit your “A Team” of most popular, credible partners before your competitors do.

Just choose partners that can stand up to public scrutiny and a method that will delight rather than annoy your kind of consumers.

Remember, the bottom line benefit of this trend is that at the very least, with a partner, you get introduced to each other's customers.

Kare Anderson of SayItBetter.com is an Emmy-winner and former Wall Street Journal reporter. Her new book SmartPartnering has received rave reviews. Visit here to order or for further information.

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