How To Split Advertising Costs With Other Businesses

Did you know that you can split advertising costs with other businesses to get the same exposure for less money? This strategy is called cooperative advertising. It’s used by businesses both large and small to expand their reach without blowing their marketing budgets. Here are some examples of cooperative advertising and ways you can implement this marketing strategy in your own business. 

Collaborative Advertising Example: Dove and Walmart

One great example of cooperative advertising is Dove and Walmart’s collaboration called Project #ShowUs. Together they hired professional photographers to take photos of female Walmart shoppers and highlight the beauty of everyday women. The marketing campaign took a stance against digitally altered images of models that make women and girls feel insecure about their appearance.

The campaign was very successful and generated lots of publicity. The images were shared on Dove’s social channels and received many likes, comments, and shares. The campaign also helped Walmart draw in more customers. Women who wanted to participate in the campaign had to visit a Walmart store to get their picture taken. 

Dove and Walmart’s collaboration is a great example of how working with another company can help you pull off a large-scale marketing campaign. Two businesses collaborating and pooling their resources can make a much bigger impact together than they could individually. Here are some more cooperative advertising ideas to help you implement this powerful marketing strategy in your business. 

How to Split Advertising Costs With Other Businesses

Create a Double-Sided Business Card

One way to split advertising costs with other businesses is to create a double-sided business card. Double-sided business cards are more expensive to produce than regular business cards, but the price isn’t twice as much. So if you split the printing cost evenly with another company, you can save some money. By pooling your advertising budgets, you may even be able to place a larger order and secure a bulk discount from the printing company. 

Collaborating on a double-sided business card is also a great way to get additional exposure for your business. When the company you’ve partnered with hands out their business card, potential customers may see your contact information on the back and look you up. 

However, it’s important to collaborate with a business with the same clientele as you to get the most benefit out of this arrangement. For example, if you’re a freelance pet photographer, it would be a good idea to work with a dog grooming business because there’s a good chance their customers would be interested in your services. 

Share a Billboard

Another way to split advertising costs with other businesses is to share a billboard. Digital billboards that have rotating ads allow you to share billboard space with other companies to lower your marketing costs. Because digital billboards tend to be cheaper than static ones, you may be able to afford to place your ad in a better location with more visibility, which will give your business more exposure. 

You can also partner with another business on a static billboard and show both of your products in the same ad. This type of arrangement works well for manufacturers and their distributors. Say you run a boutique, for example. You could collaborate with one of the clothing brands you sell to create a billboard ad that features their products and directs customers to your shop to buy them. 

Split a Trade Show Booth

Attending a trade show is a great way to put your business in front of lots of potential customers. However, renting a booth at a popular show can be pretty costly. Experts say an average 20×20 display can run you upwards of $40,000. This kind of large expense is out of reach for many business owners. But if you split a booth with one or more companies and divide up that cost, you may be able to swing it. Take a look online at trade show displays for rent and find a cost that suits you.

Pros and Cons of Cooperative Advertising

Splitting marketing costs with other businesses can give your business a higher level of exposure than you could afford on your own. However, cooperative advertising has some drawbacks. When you split a billboard or trade show booth with other companies, it takes some attention away from your business. It could also be hard to decide how the billboard or booth should look if you work with a company with a very different branding style than yours. 

Cooperative advertising campaigns can also suffer from having too many cooks in the kitchen. If multiple stakeholders at both companies have to approve an ad layout or business card design, the project may take longer to complete. Still, cooperative advertising is a good option for businesses with small marketing budgets that want to make their dollars stretch further. 

What do you think of cooperative advertising? Would you try it despite the drawbacks? Let me know in the comments section below! 

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