Sometimes brand partnerships come along that are truly innovative and that boost business for each partner. That is the case with an interesting collaboration between Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn and the Sharp brand of microwaves.
Best Buy, Amazon and PC Richards are finding the Sharp microwave ovens with Orville’s certified popcorn-preset button a hit, designed specifically for the iconic popcorn brand—America’s “only leading brand to use real butter”—which has been owned by ConAgra since 1990.
Get ready for a popcorn perfect experience with the @OrvillePopcorn certified Sharp Carousel Microwave: https://t.co/x9qf8fDn8o #ItsPopping
— Sharp Home (@SharpHomeUSA) July 11, 2017
The units come in customized Orville’s-branded packaging that draws the eye, and were developed at the ConAgra R&D labs in Ohio, where they were tested to meet the brand’s strict popcorn-cooking standards.
In fact, sales are so strong that the Orville unit has become Sharp’s best-selling microwave this year. Weedfald shared more about the Orville Redenbacher-Sharp partnership—and the secret to a successful co-branded partnership—in our conversation below:
Peter, why were you looking to add a brand partner to your microwaves?
Consumers, for any product and any brand, seek to fulfill their own desires and needs first and foremost. For the vast population, eating, sharing and enjoying popcorn while watching a movie or football game sparks personal fulfillment.
At Sharp, we don’t wish to simply sell microwave ovens—we aspire to sell and market products that inspire happiness and a better lifestyle for our consumers. Sharp and ConAgra came together as a partnership with a “made perfect together” value proposition and a unified mission to best deliver on consumer demand for the best popcorn.
What makes this a unique collaboration and differentiated product?
Sharp’s three all-new Countertop Microwave Ovens (CMOs) with Orville Redenbacher’s certified popcorn preset button allow for perfectly popped popcorn within minutes. Consumers can simply touch the specially tuned “Popcorn” button and select either the Orville Redenbacher’s Microwave Popcorn Classic Size or Single Serve Mini Bag.
The mid-sized 1.1 cubic feet and family-sized 1.4 cubic feet Sharp microwaves are equipped with One-Touch key presets that capture the most popular cooking times, from thirty seconds to up to six minutes, making it ready for even more than just a perfect bag of popcorn. Auto Defrost and Sharp’s innovative Carousel turntable system further enable quick and seamless microwaving. Sharp’s Countertop Microwave Ovens come in an easy-to-clean, stainless steel finish that complements any kitchen.
As agreed to, Sharp takes the lead in marketing and selling our co-branded product lines (3 CMO products) with direct support and sponsorship from Orville Redenbacher’s. We work very closely to ensure brand compliance, brand value, product excellence and smart market opportunities are fueled jointly for peak market performance. Our surety is based upon our joint product testing and development to ensure the very best popcorn results and personal experience for consumers.
Congratulations on the units being a hit. What do you attribute that to?
The early three-month results of market demand and retail sales for our partnered Orville Redenbacher’s microwave ovens are exceedingly strong. We believe our very brisk sales are due to uniting two of America’s favorite brands in microwave ovens and microwave popcorn—articulated through our packaging, marketing and advertising and most importantly through our disciplined work to test and align Sharp hardware development to ensure the best Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn experience.
What’s the secret to creating co-branded products that work for both brands?
It starts and continues with inspiration. We define inspiration as: inspiration equals creativity plus relevancy. To inspire consumers, any brand, any product must first be highly creative and relevant through each and every touch point of the brand and product experience.
As a brand is a promise, the ability to inspire must also be highly relevant—aligned and formulated through knowledge of consumer desires, of knowledge of market, brand and product dynamics.
When inspiration unites two highly desired brands found in two different sections of a store willing to unite, willing to congress their brands and products as one, then indeed those brands as well as consumers and retail partners have all “won” together.
The real secret in creating and formulating united partnership opportunities is within a deep, formidable belief and respect in each other’s brands, products, missions, company heritage and creed. It is a deep, yet modest and humble belief that together we can serve, stimulate and inspire consumers to a happier and more fulfilling life.
Are you looking for more brand partners to create pre-set buttons like this?
Sharp, as I expect all savvy and growth-minded brands to do, will continue to hunt for future brand-partnership opportunities and to best serve our consumers and retail partners.
Get more branding insights in our Q&A series. Suggest a Q&A: editor@brandchannel.com.
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