I have gotten a lot of questions and inquiries over the years about brand partnerships. I have had the great opportunity to work with some incredible brands on various projects, campaigns, and initiatives, and yet – all have been done while I have been a professor.
Here are some steps on how professors can get their own brand partnerships.
Understand you CAN have brand partnerships as a professor. A popular myth out there is that professors can’t have some of the same opportunities as others when it comes to brand partnerships.
Well, that’s not true. I am alway surprised to hear how others say various things that are not written in stone. I’ve had several friends in academia who said “Brand partnerships are for athletes, celebrities, and influencers. Or “No brand would want to partner and work with professors.” I always ask the follow up question – where is that written? Why can’t we have brand partnerships?
The only thing that needs to be done is to take action. Brand partnerships are not going to happen overnight and they do not fall from trees. You have to work and earn each one.
Identify your brand values and pillars. What makes you “you?” This is something that I have advocated a lot when I have talked about personal branding. You have to identify what characteristics, values, attributes, and areas you are interested in that make up the brand of you. These will help in the follow up points.
Here are some of the items I have listed for myself:
- Brand Pillar (Academia x Industry) – Bridging the gap between practice and education
- Brand Pillar (Strategy and Education) – tying in research and practice in social media pedagogy.
- Brand Value (Positivity) – embracing positivity through mentorship, collaboration, and giving back to the profession
Make a list of brands you would love to work with. We all have companies and brands we would love to collaborate with and have a professional relationship with. So, one of the steps you can take is write down the brands you feel you would like to work with.
Now, once you have a list of brands here, identify them based on:
- Relationship (Do you know someone there?)
- Alignment (Do they share the same values or brand pillars as you?)
- History (Have they worked with professors before?)
- Opportunity to Collaborate (Can you create a win-win situation?)
- Angle (what potential angle could be created for the brand partnership)
- Partnership (type of partnership, deliverables, promotion, timeline, etc)
Gather your evidence for your brand pitch. When it comes to evidence, this does not mean just one type of work to show a brand for a potential partnership. It is key to make sure to diversify the work you not only have done in your traditional work as a professor. Essentially, you are creating your own brand media kit. This is great to showcase on your blog of website, so this is something to consider creating for the purpose of this opportunity.
Things to include or showcase:
- Class work and activities
- Social media work and network (profiles, communities, etc)
- Research + items that discuss the strategic application of the work for the industry
- Presentations (academic and industry)
- Service in professional organizations
- Media coverage
- Professional Impact (ex. student work, consulting, etc)
Got to create a win-win situation. This is an important lesson here for professors and educators to note when it comes to brands. In order for a brand partnership to be successful, you GOT to create a win-win situation.
This means in the pitch for the brand partnership, you have to make sure everyone wins in the situation. The brand wins, you win, everyone wins! This can’t be one sided here.
Identify the deliverables for the brand partnership, and promote. One of the things to consider here as you work on brand partnerships is understand not only the deliverables that are being asked (ex. expert insights, contributions, etc) – but what else you can do on your end to help.
The best way to go beyond what is expected is 1) share your story and experience on your own channels (ex. blog, website, etc), 2) advocate the work you and the brand have done to your community, and 3) integrate some of the work into traditional class activities (ex. lessons, presentations, case studies, etc).
Remember, these relationships and opportunities take time. This is not a sprint, but rather a marathon. Take it one step at a time and reach out if you have any questions!
Have a great day!
Best Wishes,
