Does the United States and Pakistan Need a Co-Branding Strategy?

I have been thinking about this question for the past several years. In the past week I have been thinking about this question more. As a brand consultant I am wired to think about such things. Like partners in the business world, the United States and Pakistan are in the process of determining how they should co-exist. Like partners in the business world will they determine it makes sense to develop a co-branding strategy for the United States and Pakistan?

A periodic review of mission and core values is important for all organizations. I anticipate that is really what the United States and Pakistan are doing now. Yes, policies and outcomes are important, but an overarching brand strategy guides those processes. An audit to determine how closely aligned strategic priorities are with mission and core values helps ensure sustainability for brands. An analysis of how closely aligned internal culture and external reputation is healthy too. In this case, evaluating how the  nation brands are in sync, or not.

A critical component of any brand development process is providing opportunities for stakeholders to engage in the efforts. Giving current brand champions the chance to share their opinions is necessary. The same holds true for potential new brand champions. Yesterday a kindred-spirit and fellow brand consultant from Pakistan and I were exchanging thoughts on Facebook about the opportunity for the United States and Pakistan to develop a co-branding strategy. We believe that the events of the past week point to the need to have a dialogue on this topic.

Of course our two countries have differences of opinions as to how to achieve certain goals, as my Pakistani brand friend Ali Hadi X and I might about how to create a sustainable brand strategy. But Ali Hadi X and I share so much more, in terms of the need for effective branding and that is what keeps us connected, even in trying times like these. We share common values and mission, even though our cultures might be a world apart. I anticipate the United States and Pakistan will come to the same conclusion. What do you think? Does the United States and Pakistan need a co-branding strategy?

Rex Whisman

BrandED Consultants Group

Comments

[MBT Online]

Nice topic and post, as we were just talking about what things can happen in the medicine industry.

[Ali Hadi]

Successful co-branding must achieve equal value for all parties in any relationship; partner brands' values need to match each other; and the resulting strategy must be easily understood by consumers.

[Ali Hadi]

somebody has written on my wall today about co-branding strategy b/w two countries,"1st they need a know-each-other".

They know-each-other "since 1960">> If the potential relationship doesn't represent clear value for both parties, forget it. What's more, forget everything about trying to fashion a better deal out of the arrangement than your partner's deal. No relationship in which one of the two parties has a better deal has survived. This doesn't mean one brand can't be very well known and the other totally unknown. It means the benefit to both parties from the relationship must be equal.

[Rex Whisman]

Ali Hadi thank you for your insightful comments. I think the approach you are advocating has promise. It is an approach that might be unfamiliar to some Americans and others who live in large countries that have limited borders. Great to hear from you.

[Ali Hadi]

@Rex: I’m fully agreed with you both countries required co-branding strategy to sustain the long term relationship and peace in the region. For many years, one of the most efficient methods for creating a competitive advantage on an international scale has been through branding. Therefore, creating a strong and unique brand that appeals to consumers is vital for success. Brand identities are carefully developed in an attempt to achieve the desired brand position. A recent trend that is gaining foothold on an international scale is cross-border brand alliances. Most of the companies engage in co-branding activities across borders in order to innovate and leverage the brand and mitigate replication risks. In order to investigate how a cross border alliance affects the customer-based brand equity of the parent brand. With point of departure in ingredient co-branding - where a parent brand integrates an ingredient brand in order to add new value - aspects of brand alliances were analyzed. The two brands that engage in an alliance should match each other on parameters as brand fit, equity fit, and product fit. A fourth parameter – country of origin fit - was added to the analysis of brand alliances as the concept country of origin increasingly is used by consumers when evaluating brands quality. Brand image fit was found to be the most important dimension of fit, whereas product fits influence was less significant. Further, country of origin had a tremendous impact on the alliance, when the brand was unknown to consumers. Country of origin seems to influence the alliance more, when the country is perceived negatively and it is vital for countries to consider this dimension of fit in order to avoid a negative impact on its brands identity.