The Art of Collaboration

In the world of social media, influencers are an everyday occurrence. Brands partner with celebrities or traditional influencers to advertise their product in the hopes that their followers will see an endorsement and end up buying the product because their favorite follow did. But is this different than a brand tapping a celebrity for a collaboration? 

In the past month alone, Bad Bunny has partnered with Crocs to create his custom pair (that sold out in hours) and McDonald’s tapped Travis Scott to create his favorite McDonald’s meal (a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon, and lettuce; fries with BBQ sauce; and a Sprite if you were wondering) that was then sold for a limited time at limited locations. You can buy those products at McDonald’s any day of the week at any  location, but yet fans clamored to restaurants after the “drop” was announced. Why? Because if you eat a Quarter Pounder with cheese, bacon and lettuce, fries with BBQ sauce and a Sprite, you might just become a little more like Travis Scott. 

Regarding the Bad Bunny x Crocs collab, you can get a pair of Crocs any day of the week online and at various retail locations. Crocs aren’t even considered cool or trendy, but yet when Bad Bunny announced his custom pair, they were out the door. The power of influence and the art of collaboration cannot be underestimated. Brands spend millions of dollars paying celebrities for these collaborations in the hopes that their reach and influence will add to the ultimate bottom line in sales. 

The difference between paying an influencer to endorse a product on their feed and working with celebrities for custom product and content is you get a touch of that celebrity in the message. Yes, this influencer may like this new face wash, but they didn’t have anything to do with the making of it. Travis Scott and Bad Bunny (and their vast teams of people) sat down with McDonald’s and Crocs to hash out what the product would be and why. This influence far outreaches an endorsement, which the celebrity collaborator knows and justifies the multi-figure deal they get paid. 

Are you more inclined to purchase a product that an influencer endorses or do you jump on the celebrity collaboration ticket?