Co-branding is a marketing term that describes the associations that people create between one or more “things”. These can be anything from the smell of a sunscreen to a childhood holiday destination; for me Coppertone and Brooms Head). While co-branding is something that happens sub consciously, it is one of the fundamentals of marketing. I am currently researching the co-branding relationship between events and a location. The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships has been held in one location for 13 years, and has just moved. The adjustment required of event attendees (from anecdotal observations) has been significant. This shows that the co-branding between the event and the previous location is very strong and potentially to the detriment of the new venue. This is not any fault of the new event, which has actually gone above and beyond the previous one to promote the event.
To create a new co-brand will require a change management process. A great diagram exists on page 20 of Managing Change in the Queensland Public Service. Although the new event is well underway as I write (type), the attendees are still at the endings stage. I had felt similarly, and have realised that some of my reluctance in attending the event was for the same reason. The old event is a benchmark and comparisons are rife. How will the new location and event co-brand develop? Watch this space!
References
Queensland Government. (n.d.). Managing Change in the Queensland Public Service. Retrieved March 23, 2007, from The Office of the Public Service Commisioner website.
A Time for Thinking 