It’s always gratifying when a trend you’ve identified continues to be reinforced, isn’t it?
News in October that Mars-owned confectionery brand M&M’s has teamed up with popular fashion and accessories player Kate Spade New York is a further example of the growing number of unexpected retail marketing partnerships cropping up globally.
In our U.S. Retail Outlook 2025: The Megatrends Shaping Digital Commerce white paper, which looks ahead to what the U.S. retail industry can expect to see in the new year, we detail how unusual and unexpected bedfellows are a feature of contemporary marketing. M&M’s unveiling of a limited-edition collection of candy-themed handbags, jewelry, and accessories in time for the holiday season is a prime example.
Taking cues from M&M's packaging and colorful candy shells, the collection—as the press release announcing this compelling partnership says—“infuses the Kate Spade New York product with a playful, colorful, and bold twist.” Essentially, it’s a range of Kate Spade items—key fobs, necklaces, charms, and earrings—that have been designed with M&M’s-themed influence, and the two companies will have some cross-marketing fun as they promote it to U.S. consumers.
Our white paper talks about casual apparel retailer Tillys establishing a tie-up with NASCAR, bringing exclusive autosport-themed garment designs to market. It also assesses the Kohl’s and Babies R Us collaboration, which arrived in the US department store group’s shops in August, aiming to drive new business from consumers in what is a growth area of retail today.
Skater brand DGK is gaining a positive reputation for its collaborations—and according to fashion writer, Nadja Sayej, teaming up with creative leaders like Virgil Abloh, Bruce Lee, and brands like G-Shock “fuse together fashion and pop culture in ways that no other brand has done before.”
Its most recent coming together is with flavored drink company Kool-Aid, where the two businesses have brought out a unique range that will help them tap into new customer demographics.
Keep your eyes peeled for many more of these previously unheard-of marketing collabs in 2025. It’s not just a U.S. trend—it’s happening on a global scale.
In an article called “The 9 Best Unexpected Brand Collabs of 2024 So Far” for trade title AdWeek, brand editor Rebecca Stewart noted, in 2024, that it’s a case of “the more unlikely the collab, the better.”
“These tie-ups have the potential to spark viral moments, drive conversation, and widen brands’ customer base, as well as create excitement among existing ones,” she wrote.
Some 71% of customers say they enjoy co-branded partnerships, according to B2B platform Visual Objects, which justifies their existence and their growing prevalence.
Alexis Maule, former UK and Ireland managing director at fashion brand Reformation, told us the trend represents the zeitgeist—one of multiculturalism and a blended world.
Maule, who now advises several brands on their growth strategies, explained: “It is not enough to be just a fashion brand for example, it is really about how you mix culture with clothing, entertainment, media, and music—the nexus and intersection of these categories are the way forward.”
She added, "Marketing must always look to differentiate because of the wide range of products in existence—and brand collabs provide a unique selling point in a crowded market."
Retailers and brands looking to stand out and get in front of new audiences simply have to think differently to how they did in the past. If they want to shake up the consumer market with new products in a world where there’s lots of noise, they need to shake up how they talk about them and who they work with as they bring ideas to life.
Look out for much more of this as 2025 gets underway, especially as retailers and CPG companies find new ways to work with one another in the new retail media landscape. Much of that will be fuelled by data, but there is still room for the gimmicky and the quirky concepts built more on gut feel and creative experimentation.
The limited-edition M&M's x Kate Spade collection launched on November 1 and is now available in both brand’s shops, select department stores, and online. The two businesses look set to be introduced to new audiences as a result—such collaboration is working for other brands and the tactic will continue to be a feature of the marketing landscape in 2025.
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