Cross-Promoting without Diluting Your Identity

The idea of collaborating with a large brand to promote your own brand and generate referral revenue seems like a no-lose proposition.

The large brand gets exposure to your niche audience and you earn additional revenue and gain exposure to the big brand’s massive audience.

The problem as I see it is when the identity you worked so hard to establish for your brand is overwhelmed by the identity of the big brand.

An exception is Dwell Magazine’s promotion of Ralph Lauren paint.

The Ralph Lauren brand is on just about every “life style” product for sale these days. You could decorate every room in your home with Ralph Lauren fabrics, paints, and accessories.

Dwell magazine appeals to a small but influential audience that loves modern, sustainable design. I’ve been a Dwell subscriber for years because I have a passion for beautiful, simple product which made from high quality, sustainable materials.

In this video, Dwell founder, Laura Deam, explains how she was inspired by Le Corbusier’s 1931 classic, Polychromie Architecturale to create a cool, muted look using Ralph Lauren paints.

The video is low key and focuses on using color to create a mood. There’s no high pitched sales talk or exhortations to get to your local dealer to buy Ralph Lauren paint. And Dwell readers will appreciate her references to modern design pioneer, Le Corbusier, who was one of the founders of International Style.

The Point

You can promote a big brand to a niche audience by keeping the focus of your promotion on what your audience values and considers relevant. Most Dwell readers probably don’t care much for the Ralph Laurent lifestyle but they do appreciate how Ralph Lauren paint can be used to create an aesthetic they appreciate.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 9:37 am and is filed under Promotions Worth Mentioning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.