Co-branding research: where we are and where we could go from here

Abstract

Purpose The motivations behind co-branding alliances, the differences in performance between the paired brands and the emergence of “spillover effects” have been pillars of the marketing research agenda for almost three decades. We observe an extensive number of studies on co-branding alliances, combined with multiple theoretical perspectives and empirical approaches informing extant literature. The purpose of this paper is to summarize of the state of the art of this research. Design/methodology/approach The authors offer a systematic literature review of 190 papers on co-branding alliances. The authors portray a picture of the theories informing co-branding research and build a conceptual framework that summarizes the concepts and variables used in this literature. Finally, 11 interviews with managers and consultants of European firms help to reveal potential problems in practice and needs that are not captured by previous studies. Findings The authors develop a map of theories used to investigate co-branding alliances and build a conceptual framework linking motivations, co-branding alliance implementation and outputs. Finally, the authors propose a structured research agenda. Research limitations/implications The main implication relies on the structured research agenda. Practical implications Practical implications include the identification of the variables and dimensions involved in a brand alliance to exploit the strengths and moderate the weaknesses of a brand. Originality/value This paper highlights how co-branding is embedded in different contexts and dimensions regarding both firms and consumers. The two maps presented in this study underscore the interdependence among such dimensions. The authors interview marketing experts to validate the conceptual framework and to help us extract the managerial implications that stem from it.

Social media engagement and real‐time marketing: Using net‐effects and set‐theoretic approaches to understand audience and content‐related effects

“…The similarity in attributes among the brand and the event/ moment influences the storage and retrieval of information in memory, whereby the greater the congruency, the better the linkage and retrieval (Lafferty, 2007). Although very limited research exists regarding fit in the real-time marketing context, in the brand alliance field it has been argued that alliances between two brands with similar images elicit more positive responses from consumers (Pinello et al, 2022). On the contrary, partner image dissimilarity in relation to industry scope, firm size, and country-of-origin negatively affects the perception of brand fit (Decker & Baade, 2016).…”

Co-branding drivers between professional sport organizations and on-field sports apparel sponsors

“…Bouten et al (2011) define co-branding as a strategy that allows a brand to innovate with the support of a partner brand (Bouten et al, 2011;Abdolmaleki and Babaei, 2021). Co-branding has also been labeled as double branding (Grebosz and Otto, 2014), or "joint branding," "dual branding," "a co-marketing alliance," "ingredient branding" and "multiple branding" (Pinello et al, 2022).…”

“…Despite its ubiquity, co-branding is not without challenges. For example, the co-branding strategy is influenced by the product category and the perceived fit between the team and corporate brand (Pinello et al ., 2022; Prince and Davies, 2002). Identifying drivers is an important first step in developing this strategy (Tag-Eldeen, 2018).…”

Better together? How evolution of co-branding alliance affects performance

“…Role theory facilitates the examination of the interaction among the factors that influence role stress and effectiveness in co-branded franchise systems (Pinello, Picone, & Mocciaro Li Destri, 2022, Kahn & Byosiere, 1992. We incorporate role theory into a model that addresses two perspectives on the antecedents and consequences of stress.…”

“…Role stress research examines the conditions that evoke adverse reactions, notably role ambiguity, and the consequences of these reactions in the enactment of a role (Biddle, 1986). Role theory facilitates the examination of the interaction among the factors that influence role stress and effectiveness in co-branded franchise systems (Pinello et al , 2022; Kahn and Byosiere, 1992). We incorporate role theory into a model that addresses two perspectives on the antecedents and consequences of stress.…”