Lindsay discusses how to build results-driven brand partnerships that lead to dynamic brand performance and organic growth for both brands involved.
Bloom & Wild is the UK’s most-loved online flower delivery and gifting platform. They’re on their way to becoming Europe’s favourite florist too. In 2020, they made a record 4 million deliveries. Some of the growth they’ve unlocked over the years can be attributed to the power of their brand partnerships.
Bloom & Wild‘s Marketing and Partnership Lead at Lindsay Newell joined us in the What’s Possible Community to discuss how she creates these powerful partnerships.
To measure how powerful the partnership is, Lindsay sets clear KPIs.
“It’s about finding a brand to enhance your messaging, your marketing, and working collaboratively with them,” Lindsay said. “In my role, partnerships are anything we do with another brand that we can apply some metrics to, so it’s less about brand exposure and more about the performance side of it”.
Every decision at Bloom & Wild is data-led. To forecast how successful a brand partnership might be in future, they run a small test-and-learn campaign. From these learnings, Lindsay considers whether to pursue a more significant, more exciting project.
They then take a layered approach; some of their partnership initiatives include:
• Entry-level partnerships: sharing discounts. • Competition partnerships: to generate consumer excitement. • Cross-channel partnerships: co-branded boxes and content sharing.
One of their most successful cross-channel partnerships was their Liberty Collection, where they rolled out limited-edition, co-branded boxes with styled bouquets that spoke to the uniqueness of their brands.
Bloom & Wild put envelopes inside their boxes that have marketing materials from other brands enclosed. They’re particular about the brands they include to ensure they align with their brand values. 80% of orders are gifts, so every experience must be positive and “beautiful” rather than transactional.
“Every brand we have in there; we like to make sure it’s beautiful, in line with our values, and it is going to be interesting to that person. We do also try and fit in things for the time of year. For Mother’s Day, we try to have brands that are more suited towards the day,” Lindsay notes.
Bloom & Wild also place their own inserts in other brands’ parcel deliveries (and magazines). 8% of their customers first discovered them through inserts. Proof that there’s power in even the smallest partnerships.
Bloom & Wild are open to more partnerships in the future, but Lindsay’s looking for smaller brands that are likely to reach a niche target.
“One of the new focuses we have is trying to find new types of brands to work with; smaller ones. So, they might only be sending out 5,000 to 10,000 parcels a month, but the conversion rate we get on those is much stronger than what we see on some bigger brands. I think it is a lot more exciting; their customers may not be used to that kind of marketing,” Lindsay said.
In terms of their ethical initiatives, Bloom & Wilde have committed to ensuring that 1 in 3 partnerships they enter into are with black ownership brands, with a particular interest in female black business owners.
For smaller/startup brands looking to start a partnership programme to strengthen their presence and exposure, Lindsay offers some advice:
• Find brands that are in a similar business stage as yours. • Look for startups that have won awards; try to discover new brands with unique purposes.