Co-branding tells customers how your business and Citrix are combining forces to provide them with next-gen solutions. Done correctly, it weaves your visual identity and messaging with Citrix to help customers understand how you and Citrix are working together, giving you a competitive leg up.
The secret to successful co-branding is communicating the right relationship between your brand and Citrix. To help, Nick Chow, Citrix Senior Brand Strategist, and Amy Low, Citrix Senior Lead Brand Experience Designer, discussed five co-branding best practices in their Partner Marketing Kickoff talk in March.
1) Let your brand take the lead. Your customers primarily interact with your business, not Citrix. This means your branding (logo, colors, look and feel) should be dominant on any co-branded marketing materials you create. Featuring your Citrix partner badge in a secondary position helps customers understand that you’re providing Citrix solutions as part of your service.
When you prioritize Citrix branding over your own, it takes your business out of the spotlight and can mislead customers to think they’ll deal primarily with Citrix instead of you. This results in co-branded marketing that lacks the traction you want.
2) Be clear about how your business and Citrix work together. When it comes to messaging, always emphasize your value proposition (what your business delivers to customers) first, then talk about how your partnership with Citrix supports it.
3) Jumpstart your co-branding with Partner Marketing Campaigns. Citrix Partner Marketing Campaign Kits are a collection of Citrix-branded collateral (including production-ready e-books and white papers) you can use in your marketing campaigns. These resources showcase the Citrix brand more prominently but have designated spots for your branding such as your logo, partner badge, URL, and call-to-action. This helps customers understand that while these are Citrix resources, you’re providing them.
When using Partner Marketing collateral, steer clear of two branding missteps that can create customer confusion:
- Don’t create a lock-up (a visual pairing of your logo and the Citrix logo) or present the two logos in equal emphasis. Remember, your logo should always be predominant in your marketing materials, and Citrix branding will be predominant in Citrix-created collateral.
- Don’t replace the Citrix logo with your partner badge. This will confuse customers and be difficult to clear up down the road.
4) Don’t add the Citrix logo to your collateral without permission. Instead, use your Citrix partner badge to make your partnership with Citrix crystal clear. You’re always free to use your partner badge, but using the Citrix logo requires specific and explicit permission. And again, the goal is to keep customers’ attention on you.
5) Get your branding on solid ground. Have a professional logo and clear elevator pitch, then bring them together on your website. If you need help unifying your brand voice and messaging, hire a copywriter. If you need more than just copywriting services, consider hiring an agency. (For tips on hiring and working with an agency partner, watch this.) And don’t forget to download the Citrix Co-Branding Guidelines and share with your copywriter, internal marketing team, or agency partner. These guidelines are a living document, so be sure to check in regularly for the latest version.
For more co-branding tips and tricks, watch Amy and Nick’s talk in the Citrix Partner Marketing Kickoff 2021 video library.
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