Top Ten Retail Brand Mashups of 2010 - Preview of 2011
Online, December 6, 2010 (Newswire.com) - BrandMashup.co announces the TOP 10 RETAIL BRAND MASHUPS of 2010 as voted on by brand management experts at BrandMashup.co (http://www.brandmashup.co). BrandMashup.co is a leading user-curated social news website that allows users to submit and vote on the best brand collaborations, co-brands, brand extensions and partnerships.
Retail exclusives are nothing new. But when the flailing economy threatened the bottom line, retailers pulled out all the stops and launched blockbuster exclusive partnerships to bring disgruntled shoppers back to their stores.
Store-within-a-store concepts popped up everywhere in 2010, primarily because they enabled retailers to capitalize on underutilized space and produce incremental revenue, all while creating cross-promotional opportunities.
Retailers also looked to launch creative partnerships with leading social media companies in an attempt to leverage consumers' fascination with social networking and convert online traffic into foot traffic at retail locations.
The following is a look at the top 10 Retail Brand Mashups, as voted on by brand management experts at BrandMashup.co.
1. Material Girl by Madonna for Macy's
The world's biggest pop star launched her new fashion line, Material Girl, in an exclusive partnership with Macy's. Leading up to the launch, Madonna participated in a marketing blitz that rivals the introduction of a new album. The Material Girl line at Macy's is part of MG Icon LLC - a fashion venture between Madonna; her manager, Guy Oseary, and Iconix Brand Group Inc. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Iconix paid $20 million, plus potential earn-outs, for 50 percent interest in MG Icon.
2. Sears Attracts Younger Crowd With Forever 21
This move will give Sears rental revenue and also supply some much-needed fashion pizzazz for the retailer, which has been trying for years to make its apparel business more appealing to young women Shoppers will now be able to enter Forever 21 directly from Sears or through a separate entrance. A prime goal is to generate foot traffic at the Sears. According to Sears officials, success will be measured by how many Forever 21 shoppers subsequently patronize Sears.
3. 7-Eleven Partners with Zynga
7-Eleven partnered with Zynga to co-brand products and cups and provide customers with access codes for use with Zynga's most popular games, Farmville, Mafia Wars and YoVille. The campaign involved about 200 million redemption codes on 35 7-Eleven products, and is one of the biggest product promotions the chain has ever implemented - and the first retail partnership Zynga has ever signed.
4. Walmart Launches Wireless Communications Service with T-Mobile
Walmart forayed intothe wireless telecommunications industry when it launched Walmart Family Mobile powered by T-Mobile, a line of post-paid cell-phone service that offers unlimited talk and text. The service is to be provided by T-Mobile, and sold exclusively by Walmart.
5. The Beatles - Now Exclusively On iTunes
The iconic band's entire catalog can now be purchased in Apple's iTunes Store. Each album comes with iTunes LP, which features additional content including lyrics, photos, and album art. Within one week of the announcement, over 450,000 albums and 2 million tracks had been purchased by fans eager to introduce the Beatles into their iTunes library.
6. Kohl's Announces Partnership with Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
Kohl's Department Stores announced its plans to launch two multi-department contemporary lifestyle brands with power couple Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony. Lopez and Anthony represent a high-profile couple that offers Kohl's another portal into the important Hispanic (Latino? Be careful with this) market.
7. Von's Launches Geo-location Promotion Partnership with Foursquare
Vons partnered with Foursquare and PepsiCo to launch a pilot program that enables users to link their Vons loyalty accounts to Foursquare, and earn rewards from check-ins. A primary goal of the promotion is to increase redemptions of coupons for PepsiCo products at Vons, and to help the companies better understand how they can leverage consumer geo-location behavior.
8. Banana Republic is Mad for Mad Men
Retail chain Banana Republic and cable television network AMC teamed up for the second year on an integrated marketing campaign that leveraged social media marketing efforts to promote the fourth season of Mad Men and a line of Mad Men inspired clothes found exclusively at Banana Republic. The partnership capitalized on e-mail marketing, a sweepstakes, social media elements and TV ads to promote the partnership.
9. Walmart breathes fire into 'How to Train Your Dragon'
Walmart designated substantial space in its stores for a 40' Viking Ship display and more than 100 licensed products. The deal was the first of its kind in that collaborations concerning toys and other products, package design and parallel marketing have been ongoing for over a year. About 95% of merchandise tied to the movie was available only at Wal-Mart, with the exclusivity agreement lasting through 2011.
10. HSN Stages 72 Hour Marketing Event with "Eat Pray Love"
HSN staged the largest event marketing campaign in its history. The partnership with Sony for the film "Eat Pray Love" spans products exclusive to the story line of the film. The partnership also includes exclusive film clips and interviews, which will be aired during 72 hours of original programming on HSN.
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BrandMashup.co is a leading user-curated social news website that allows users to submit and vote on the best brand collaborations, co-brands, brand extensions and partnerships.