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Executive Summary

Onboard Singapore-Airlines, you will notice a special smell. The smell called Stefan Floridan Waters is a branded Singapore-Airlines smell patented by the airline and sprayed on all the hot towels given to passengers. Microsoft has for years used a start-up sound. There are obvious reasons for the obsession to occupy a secure place in the consumers' mind. Brand Coke is currently valued at $ 69.5 billion against Coke's worldwide revenues of $ 21.9 billion in 2004! ^*

Companies invest enormous amounts of time and money in building brands. But today's media-bombarded consumers hardly have enough attention to spare. Even if they do have, they are armed with the means to skip all advertisements. And then, there is the problem of diminishing customer loyalty due to a proliferation of brands.

Co-branding evolved as one possible solution to the above problems. It is a smart way for companies to come together and offer consumers a new product with the blend of their respective expertise. Enhanced product features, quality satisfaction and the pride of being associated with multiple brands at the same time, have done the job of attracting more consumers. Other advantages like increased brand visibility, cost-cutting and easy diversification have prompted companies the world over to get into this game.

In this paper, I first present co-branding as it exists in the Indian context. Examples from various sectors have been discussed to illustrate the diverse nature and advantages of co-branding. The discussion also highlights some precautions to be taken while a co-branding exercise is being undertaken.

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* http://www2.coca-cola.com/investors/annualandotherreports/2004/pdf/Coca-Cola_10-K_Item_06.pdf
"The world's best Brands" Business week online,
www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_31/b3945098.htm

* Contributed by -
Santosh Kumar Vuppala,
Batch of 2007, PG Program in Communications Management,
Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.