I noticed this relationship between Disney and American Tourister on luggage at a retail store. The designation for American Tourister as the official luggage of Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland intrigued me because of the strategic thinking questions the relationship immediately suggested.
You don't typically use luggage while you are at a Disney park unless you are staying on property. There isn’t necessarily a major signage opportunity associated with it. And luggage isn’t particularly integral to the experiences people most associate with Disney.
This sponsorship, from the outside looking in, seems driven by someone (or multiple someones) identifying a loose connection between two well-known brands. They then created from thin air a non-physical asset one brand could sell to the other brand.
This particular official sponsor designation got me thinking of a multiple ways a brand that isn't vertically integrated (i.e., owning assets that come before and after it in a process) can vertically integrate "virtually" and generate revenue through sponsorships and partnerships.
Thinking about typical connections one associates with Disney, here are strategic thinking questions you can use to explore comparable possibilities for your brand.
If you have an attractive brand and are looking to grow revenues through new relationships, these strategic questions form the basis for a healthy strategic thinking exercise to generate new partner or sponsorship possibilities. – Mike Brown
