The Unexpected is Expected: What’s Next for Brand Collabs

Teamwork makes the dream work, right? Collaboration is the culture’s way to create something fresh and exciting. In most instances, collaborations take place within the same industry. We have seen this in music, where duets and features have always been plentiful. Recently, however, collabs in the same field are increasingly uncommon. Pop duets are no longer the golden rule – so are audiences craving the unexpected? This shift has paved the way for a new and intriguing movement we’ve seen bubbling up into the mainstream: cross-industry brand partnerships. In this new world of fusion, the wackier the better: think Crocs and KFC or DHL and Vetements, both making us go ‘huh?’ Several other major players have championed the move in this direction, from Playstation and Deliveroo, to Lego and Turkish Airlines. They’re all proving that a brand doesn’t need to solely exist in their industry – they can experiment elsewhere.

Playstation has been a pioneering force in the world of collaboration. Gaming brings aspects of reality into digital spheres, making it a great space for brands to flex their collaborative muscles. In the early noughties, Playstation’s games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater and Thrasher: Search and Destroy partnered with fashion brands Zoo York and Supreme, featuring their brand posters in the game alongside branded outfits and accessories. This combination on a single platform was one of the first instances of seeing cross-industry partnerships in action. Fast forward to 2021, and Playstation announced that they would be launching Playstation to Plate in collaboration with Deliveroo. The initiative offers players the opportunity to order and eat meals inspired by Playstation’s most popular games.

It’s no stretch to say that in the last 20 years, gaming has become an international phenomenon. Today, games are more immersive than ever. New technologies, such as VR, work to completely engage your audiovisual senses while you play; Playstation is taking this one step further, allowing users to taste and smell the game universe – while at the same time, cementing themselves as forward-thinkers in the realm of brand collaborations.

Now, content houses are going beyond one-off brand partnerships and towards new models of collaboration, with brands tapping into content houses’ built-in fan bases and doting communities. Lexus recently partnered with collective 100 Thieves to build an exclusive content house to “delight the 100 Thieves community with innovative content and elevated experiences developed uniquely for them.” The luxury car dealer and gaming organization also built out a physical Lexus Lounge where they shoot content for 100 Thieves’ numerous online channels. The successful partnership between the two illustrates the endless potential brands can tap into with these new types of content houses.

Even more ‘left-of-field’ is Turkish Airlines’ (THY) recent collaboration with Lego.

THY flew 44.8 million passengers to over 200 destinations in 2021, making them a unique and valuable partner in achieving global reach. Lego saw this and identified a collaboration with THY as a great strategy to speak to a global audience. Coinciding with the release of Lego Movie 2 in 2019, Turkish Airlines premiered a new in-flight safety video that featured the cast of Lego’s film among other recognizable characters including Batman and Wonderwoman (in Lego form that is!). The video followed the format of a typical airline safety video… seatbelts, lifejackets, et cetera, with a more comedic and upbeat energy. Chairman of the board and executive committee at THY, M. İlker Aycı, spoke on the presentation, calling it a way that both brands can further bring together generations and cultures everywhere – a nod to inter-generational marketing strategies that speak to the whole family. This unlikely collaboration with Lego creates an in-flight experience that is fun and lighthearted, building Turkish Airlines’ status as an attractive airline to fly with. The mutual benefits of this collaboration prove the value of offbeat partnerships.

Collaboration is changing – what we’re seeing today is the weird, the wacky, and the unanticipated. In our digital world, brand reach is as wide as ever and speaking to unexpected audiences is so important for brand growth. Barriers surrounding industries are beginning to dissipate, thanks to partnerships that are breaking these boundaries in the most organic ways. New Moon sees this; we’re equipped with the tools to further strategize cross-industry collaborations. These unlikely pairings will be even more abundant in the future, and we’re ready for it.

Love from London,

Max