Brand collaboration examples
Two brands (or a brand and a band, place or community) making one thing together. Grouped into 3 formats, with a one-line version for your brand and a budget guide on each.
Doable with a small team, gifting or a simple partner swap.
Needs a paid creator, some production or a co-branded product run.
Celebrity fees, TV airtime or a large custom build.
Budget is our estimate of what it would take to run the same idea yourself, not what the brand spent.
The mash-up product
9 examples
Partner: [BRAND] that shares your [TONE / AUDIENCE / SHAPE / NAME] Product: [YOUR PRODUCT] + [THEIR ICON], e.g. [SHAPE / FLAVOUR / PACKAGING] Run: limited, [NUMBER] units or [DATES] Launch: both brands post the same day
Budget: Small to big. A one-off pack swap with a partner is cheap; co-developing a product is a real project.
The Brick Clog
Crocs and LEGO launched a $149.99 clog shaped like a LEGO brick, the start of a multi-year partnership.
Why it spread
Two instantly recognisable shapes combined into one product that photographs well. Source
Lip Embalm
e.l.f. and Liquid Death's second collab: lip balms in mini tallboy cans based on Liquid Death flavours.
Why it spread
Both brands share an irreverent tone, so fans of each are primed for the joke. Source
The meatball lollipop
An April Fools' joke about a meatball-flavoured lollipop got such a good reaction that IKEA made it for real with Chupa Chups.
Why it spread
The joke tested demand for free. Turning it real gave the press a second story. Source
Five lagers and a sub
A Heineken six-pack with the sixth bottle swapped for a Heinz ketchup.
Why it spread
Two big brands with the same first letters, sold as "the match we've all been waiting for". Source
The Pac-Man Telecaster
A limited-edition Telecaster guitar covered in Pac-Man arcade graphics.
Why it spread
Two nostalgic icons in one object appeal to two sets of collectors. Source
World Cup stickers under labels
Official World Cup stickers hidden under the labels of Coca-Cola bottles in the US and Canada.
Why it spread
Sticker collecting is a ritual, and this makes every bottle a small lottery. Source
The Ketchup Smoothie
Heinz and Smoothie King launched a tomato ketchup smoothie, asking if tomatoes are a fruit, is ketchup a smoothie?
Why it spread
A food debate turned into a real product people dare each other to try. Source
UTme! SG60 collection
Six Singapore-themed T-shirt designs with Ya Kun, plus UNIQLO Singapore's first in-store customisation option.
Why it spread
A beloved local breakfast brand on a global retailer's shelves makes both feel local. Source
The Casket Cooler
A limited-edition, life-size cooler shaped like a coffin, launched ahead of spooky season.
Why it spread
Both brands' fans expect the absurd, and a coffin cooler is impossible not to share. Source
The shared experience
7 examples
Partner: [BRAND / PLACE / GAME] that shares your audience Experience: a [BAR / ROOM / SERVICE / IN-GAME ITEM] only the two of you could make Window: [48 HOURS / ONE MONTH] Launch: both brands post the same day
Budget: Small to big. A 48-hour service is cheap; a hotel room or livery is not.
Chicken Wine bar
Fans nicknamed La Vieille Ferme "Chicken Wine" because of the bird on its label. KFC and the wine brand opened a fried-chicken-and-wine bar in Shoreditch.
Why it spread
The idea came from fans, so it felt earned rather than forced. Source
The Poké Ball hotel
A human-sized Poké Ball sleeping pod you can stay in, set to land in Hokkaido.
Why it spread
It turns a sleep-tracking app into a place fans want to go and photograph. Source
The battery livery
Duracell's F1 partnership showed up as a simple, clever integration on the new Williams car.
Why it spread
A sponsorship that makes sense at a glance gets talked about instead of ignored. Source
KALLAX Storageborn
IKEA released a free Skyrim companion, voiced by Matt Berry, that solves the game's age-old problem of carrying too much.
Why it spread
It solves a real annoyance for gamers, in their world, with the brand's actual promise: storage. Source
The Phonetic Collection
At New York Fashion Week, Duolingo and designer Megan O'Cain showed a seven-piece collection that spells out how to pronounce names like Hermès and Givenchy.
Why it spread
It ties the app's core job to a place where people mispronounce things constantly. Source
Gingerbread S.O.S.
An emergency cookie delivery service on 23 and 24 December for parents who'd forgotten Santa's treats.
Why it spread
Built on a survey stat about forgetful parents, it gave the press a number and a funny service to write about. Source
A night at the Louvre
Airbnb and the Louvre ran a contest for one couple to spend the night in the museum, with dinner by the Venus de Milo and a bed under the glass pyramid.
Why it spread
A once-in-a-lifetime stay makes people enter, share and talk about the brand even if they don't win. Source
The cause partnership
5 examples
Partner: [CREATOR / BAND / COMMUNITY GROUP] your audience trusts Ask: one action, [DONATE / CHECK / SIGN / LEARN] Reward: [SOMETHING THE AUDIENCE LOVES], unlocked by the action Timing: their [TOUR / LAUNCH / MOMENT], not yours
Budget: Mostly small to mid. Community partners often work for the cause; creators and gigs need a fee.
Not Just a Cadbury Ad
For Diwali, Cadbury used AI to generate versions of a Shah Rukh Khan ad that named small local shops, which the shop owners could use as their own ads.
Result Won India's first Titanium Lion at Cannes.
Why it spread
A celebrity endorsement that small businesses could personalise, released when those shops needed sales most. Source
Tour dates for blood
Metallica's final UK tour dates were turned into a blood donation drive across all three UK nations.
Why it spread
Fans act on a request from a band they love faster than from a health service. Source
The Testlist
Specsavers and Groove Armada ran club nights for over-50s, with entry unlocked by taking a free online hearing screener.
Why it spread
The reward (a night out) is tied directly to the action the brand wants (a hearing check). Source
Matrescence
A full-page New York Times ad campaigning to get "matrescence", the transition to motherhood, into the dictionary.
Why it spread
Giving a shared experience a name gives people a reason to talk about it. Source
Signs to Mecca
At the start of Ramadan, adidas and the walking group Muslim Hikers placed signs pointing to Mecca along a Peak District route.
Why it spread
A small, useful gesture made with the community rather than about it. Source
How to set up a brand collab
- Start with the overlap: what joke, habit, shape or audience do the two of you already share? If you can't say it in one line, it's not a collab yet.
- Make the product or action do the talking. The best collabs are something people can buy, use or do, not two logos on one poster.
- Keep it limited. A short run or a fixed date gives people a reason to act now.
- Agree who posts what, and when. Both audiences should hear about it on the same day.
- Decide how you'll measure it before launch: a code, an app flow or a landing page.
Want a brand collab like these?odim.co helps brands find partners and creators, and runs the brief.
Talk to odimBrand collaboration examples: FAQ
What is a brand collaboration?
A brand collaboration is when two brands make something together, usually a product, an experience or a campaign, so each gets in front of the other's audience.
What are some successful brand collaboration examples?
Well-known examples include LEGO x Crocs' Brick Clog, e.l.f. x Liquid Death's Lip Embalm, OREO x Deliveroo's Gingerbread S.O.S. and IKEA x Chupa Chups' meatball lollipop.
How do small brands do collaborations?
Start with a one-off pack swap or a short shared service with a similar-sized brand. The small-budget examples on this page cost little more than product and time.
What's the difference between a brand collaboration and influencer marketing?
A brand collaboration pairs two brands. Influencer marketing works with a creator or celebrity. Creator campaigns like The Travis Scott Meal are on our influencer marketing examples page.
More viral marketing examples
By industry and season
Spot a mistake or know a campaign we should add? Email team@odim.co.