7 Ways to Make Brand Partnerships Worthwhile: How to Maximise Your Impact Beyond the Checkout

Brand partnerships have become the secret weapon for UK e-commerce leaders looking to drive growth without burning through their performance marketing budgets.

If you’re considering a brand partnership strategy, it is important to know that the real value lies not just in creating these partnerships, but in promoting them strategically. When done right, brand partnerships can reduce your customer acquisition costs, boost conversion rates and build long-term customer loyalty, all whilst providing genuine value that customers actually want.

Here’s seven ideas to help you get the most out of your brand partnership campaigns:

1. Leverage your leadership on LinkedIn

Your C-suite and marketing leaders are your brand’s most powerful advocates. When they share brand partnership announcements on LinkedIn, it builds authority, extends reach, and positions your company as innovative and customer-focused.

LinkedIn’s algorithm favours personal accounts over company pages, meaning your leadership posts will likely reach more people organically than traditional brand announcements.

The leadership advantage:

• Personal posts receive 5x more engagement than company posts
• Builds thought leadership and industry credibility
• Extends reach to professional networks
  
  

Sky has recently launched a brand partnership rewards programme, powered by Tyviso, for their SKY VIP customers. Their CEO helped amplify the initiative with a LinkedIn post highlighting its value. This approach builds trust with both customers and industry peers whilst showcasing their commitment to added value.

Best practices:

• Have leaders share the “why” behind partnerships, not just the “what”
• Include behind-the-scenes insights into partnership selection
• Use native LinkedIn content rather than just sharing company posts

2. Create thought-leadership blog posts

Blog posts allow you to dive deep into the strategic thinking behind your partnerships. This content positions your brand as thoughtful and customer-centric whilst providing information about the extra value you deliver.

Sky excels again at explaining new value propositions to customers through detailed blog content. They explain the rationale, benefits, and long-term vision, building trust and understanding with their audience.

3. Tell your story through email campaigns

Your email list is pure gold for partnership promotion. These are customers who’ve already engaged with your brand, making them prime candidates for partnership offers. Email consistently delivers one of the highest ROI channels for e-commerce and partnership announcements are no exception.

Why email works for partnerships:

• Direct access to engaged customers
• Personalisation opportunities based on purchase history
• Immediate call-to-action capabilities
• Trackable metrics for partnership ROI
  
  

Actionable steps:

• Create dedicated email sequences for new partnerships
• Segment your list based on purchase history and preferences
• Use compelling subject lines that highlight exclusive access
• Include clear CTAs that drive traffic to partnership landing pages

4. Feature offers across your site banners and widgets

Your website is prime real estate for partnership promotion. High-traffic pages like your homepage, basket, and checkout offer perfect opportunities to showcase partnership value and drive immediate action.

Strategic placement opportunities:

• Homepage hero banners for new partnerships
• Basket page widgets highlighting checkout bonuses
• Product pages showing relevant partnership offers
• Post-purchase confirmation pages promoting future benefits
  
  

Optimisation tactics:

• A/B test banner positions and messaging
• Use urgency and scarcity where appropriate
• Ensure mobile optimisation for all placements
  
  

5. Make the most of social proof & case studies

Nothing builds trust like real customer experiences. Social proof and detailed case studies transform partnership announcements from marketing messages into credible value propositions.

Types of social proof that work:

• Customer testimonials about partnership benefits
• Usage statistics and adoption rates

Implementation strategy:

• Collect testimonials immediately after partnership benefit delivery
• Share success stories across multiple channels

6. Run exclusive in-app or on-site events

Creating special activations around your partnerships generates excitement and keeps customers returning. Limited-time exclusives and rotating offers maintain interest and drive repeat engagement.

EE’s rotating rewards programme maintains customer curiosity and loyalty by regularly introducing new partnership benefits. This approach prevents offer fatigue whilst encouraging frequent app usage.

Planning considerations:

• Align events with partnership launch timelines
• Create urgency through limited availability

7. Empower your customer community

Your loyal customers are your most authentic advocates. Instead of expensive PR campaigns, focus on activating your existing community to organically share their partnership experiences.

Community activation strategies:

• Encourage user-generated content featuring partnership rewards
• Create hashtag campaigns around partnership benefits
• Incentivise social sharing through bonus rewards

Facilitation tactics:

• Respond to and amplify customer posts
• Use customer stories in future partnership promotions

The bottom line: Partnership promotion drives performance

Brands that strategically promote their partnerships across multiple touchpoints see significantly higher engagement, conversion rates, and customer lifetime value than those that treat partnerships as passive add-ons.

The most successful e-commerce brands promote them strategically, consistently, and across every relevant touchpoint. This approach transforms partnerships from cost centres into growth engines, reducing customer acquisition costs whilst building genuine customer value.