The latest version of my review and teardown of 9 marketing partnership examples from both the big brand world and startups.

1. 9 KILLER STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIP EXAMPLES
v.7
@DisruptiveDave
Startups and big brands doing it right
by leveraging shared audiences.
READ ON

3. WHAT: Date-seekers can now display their favorite artists on the
matchmaking app, and potential mates can bounce right to Spotify
to check out their songs.
WHY: In two of the most competitive markets – music streaming
and datings apps – any edge can be a difference maker in the user
acquisition game.
WHO WINS: A rare product integration that benefits both sides
almost equally, though Bumble gets a bit more here. Shared music
tastes must be a significant driver of potential mate attraction and
an easy conversation starter, giving Bumble an excellent new
product feature it didn’t have to build itself. Spotify gets more
exposure for itself and its artists beyond its platform.
WATCH FOR: There are infinite uses for displaying and sharing
music outside of streaming services, so watch for more of these API
integrations to enhance existing products and expose streaming
services to more fans.
Bumble & Spotify
source: http://bit.ly/29bdmYS

4. WHAT: Through “Uber Offers” the car request app brings
special promotions to its users from local merchants along
with discounted Uber rides.
WHY: Never satisfied with just car rides, Uber sees an
opportunity in commerce happening before/after pick-ups,
and product purveyors get access to a huge network with
tons of relevant data on its consumers.
WHO WINS: First it’ll be the local merchants who get
valuable ad space towards a captive audience. But if Uber
can make this work, it’ll represent another significant
revenue stream.
WATCH FOR: Uber is a global-but-also-hyperlocal service
and the prospect to capitalize on its physical presence to
affect local commerce is very intriguing.
Uber & Local Merchants
source: http://tcrn.ch/298I1Vp

5. WHAT: The online lending startup is now offering to finance
your trips and events through Expedia and Eventbrite.
WHY: Why not? Affirm gets presented to potential new
customers in an ideal use case environment and Expedia /
Eventbrite give their users another option to make buying
even easier.
WHO WON: Affirm gets the nod here because this is the
type of product integration every startup aims for. Exposure
plus real revenue potential.
WATCH FOR: Will this work? I’m not sure if flights and
festival tickets have ever been offered on a multi-month
payment plan. Could be a game changer or could fall flat
and fail to move the needle for Affirm.
Expedia & Affirm
source: http://bit.ly/29aNBoG

6. WHAT: Curators and brand partners who create Twitter
Moments can now build tweetable playlists through a
Soundcloud integration.
WHY: Their longstanding relationship aside (Twitter recently
invested $70mm in the streaming service), Twitter has been in a
user engagement slump and its new Moments feature hasn’t
saved the day, so why not try everything?
WHO WINS: Sure, Twitter gets a neat new feature, but most of
its users can’t create these tweetable playlists, as they are only
for Moments partners. Soundcloud, on the other hand,
expands its distribution outside the platform as it enters the
monthly subscription battle with Spotify and Apple Music.
WATCH FOR: Google does it, Facebook does it, Snapchat
does it, now music streaming sites are doing it – figuring out
how to get your embeddable content outside your own
platform is a modern day distribution gold crown.
Twitter & SoundCloud
source: http://tcrn.ch/298knsf

7. WHAT: The ad-blocking company created a new product with the
“microdonations service” to make it easier for free content creators to
get paid by viewers online.
WHY: Everybody hates interruptive online ads but nobody seems willing
to pay for what is now free content (somewhere around 25% of internet
users say they employ an ad blocker). This move gives AdBlock some
good PR with the publishers who rail against it and Flattr is all of a
sudden something we are hearing about.
WHO WINS: Beyond the positive pub, AdBlock seems to be testing
new revenue streams as it may move from just “ad blocking” to more of
a “content consuming experience” aid. Flattr gets to be associated with
a big brand and apparently received some investment money from
AdBlock as well.
WATCH FOR: Content creators and publishers are approaching
desperate times right now and the idea of a ubiquitous product like
AdBlock coming to their aid is intriguing, to say the least. But will
microdonations be enough to keep these sites afloat?
AdBlock & Flattr
source: http://bit.ly/29btQN4

8. WHAT: Pandora’s ad-free service is now available to Uber
drivers (and by extension, riders) in the Uber driver app.
WHY: I can only assume Pandora pushed for this one hard
and probably made an offer Uber couldn’t refuse. Seems a
little short-changed that this is only for drivers, not
passengers, but Uber has been adding to its driver perks
heavily the last year.
WHO WINS: Pandora gets its foot in the door with the ride
hailing king, which is important because…
WATCH FOR: …the online radio brand is set to launch an
on-demand service towards the end of 2016 and will need
all the competitive edges it can get. However, Spotify
already offers on-demand streaming inside the Uber app.
Pandora & Uber
source: http://bit.ly/296eXcd

9. WHAT: Mailchimp partnered with the media company’s new
TV vertical Viceland to produce films about its customers for
placement online and on cable.
WHY: Mailchimp gets access to storytellers and production
capabilities and Viceland gets a legit brand as an advertiser
on its journey to make TV matter again.
WHO WINS: I think they both get something out of this
without giving up too much. Mailchimp probably got a deep
discount since Viceland is so new and unproven along with
content it can use through its own channels to promote its
email service.
WATCH FOR: Viceland is trying to shake up the traditional
30-second TV spot by creating these longer pieces for
brands that could be labeled as “native content for
television.” Interested to see if they are successful.
Mailchimp & Vice
source: http://bit.ly/29bAcQ2

10. WHAT: The grocery delivery service is integrating into Food
Network’s web and TV properties to make it easier for
viewers to make its recipes at home.
WHY: Instacart may be looking to expand its service and add
new revenue streams and Food Network thrives on having a
presence in the actual kitchens of its viewers (presumably
backed by the brands who make these ingredients…).
WHO WINS: Does the Food Network demographic really
have crossover with new on-demand services like Instacart? I
know my mom isn’t likely to try this. Instacart wins for brand
exposure.
WATCH FOR: Will any significant numbers be generated out
of this partnership? I don’t know. I do, however, like the
cross-platform and online-to-real-world aspect of this deal.
Instacart & Food Network
source: http://bit.ly/29aOVrW

11. WHAT: Musicians now have free access to Landr’s digital
mastering app when posting tracks directly to SoundCloud.
WHY: For SoundCloud, higher quality songs on its platform
and a free service for its users. For Landr, solid brand
association and new customer leads.
WHO WINS: Landr could get a steady stream of its target
market trialing its product. For SoundCloud, this might be
more of an artist relations move, as it’s taken a beating as of
late for removing music from the site over licensing issues.
WATCH FOR: The challenge with these types of deals is lack
of ongoing promotion. If SoundCloud doesn’t consistently
make noise about this offer, Landr won’t get the traffic it
expects.
SoundCloud & Landr
source: http://bit.ly/29d5qlM

12. Head of Growth, Audiokite Research
Dave Marcello
startupgrowthguy.com
@DisruptiveDave