Richard Bussey, vp of equipment for Fender guitars, may in all probability faux some enthusiasm for his work—however he doesn’t need to. The person loves six strings and all the pieces to do with them. Bussey spent half a decade as merchandise director at Guitar Heart previous to becoming a member of Fender. Should you head over to his Instagram web page, you’ll see Bussey strumming, singing and looking out very pleased together with his limited-edition Fender Parallel Universe.
“I eat, sleep and breathe guitar equipment—it’s my ardour,” Bussey informed Adweek. “I’m all the time fascinated by new merchandise and improvements.”
So when Bussey discovered himself in a gathering with the advertising individuals at Wrangler—the denim model that’s been placing denims on cowboys and wanna-be cowboys since 1946—he was at no loss for concepts.
Fender and Wrangler had already issued a co-branded attire assortment in 2022, an assortment of flared denims, cutoff vests and flannels “constructed across the defining black and blue lived-in denim uniform worn by guitarists for many years,” as Wrangler’s company defined it.
That line had been nicely obtained, so the manufacturers determined to do a second one. It, too, would include loads of denim jackets, vests and graphic t-shirts.
However “after we figured that we [could] get denim, we’re like, okay—let’s make a [guitar] case wrapped in denim,” Bussey mentioned.
With out fairly seeing it as such, the product groups on the two manufacturers weren’t solely about to create a limited-edition product, however in addition they raised the bar on co-branded merchandise.
New merchandise, outdated concept
Manufacturers partnering as much as launch capsule collections is a honored concept within the advertising bible. Cosmetics model Bonne Bell, as an illustration, launched a Coca-Cola flavored lip balm again in 1975. Nike’s Air Jordan line has been delivering the products since Michael Jordan signed on the dotted line in 1984. And Lego struck co-branding gold in 1999 when its first Star Wars themed constructing set hit retailer cabinets.
However partnerships like these invariably yield merchandise that keep inside predicable parameters—often one model’s signature product with a dollop of the accomplice model’s mental property: its identify, its colours or simply its identify recognition.
When Dairy Queen partnered with the Woman Scouts in 2008, as an illustration, the consequence was merely a Blizzard shake flavored with Skinny Mint cookies. And when Vans obtained along with Harry Potter in 2019, the particular assortment consisted of normal Vans sneakers adorned with the colours and crests of the 4 Hogwarts faculties (Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and so forth.)
