Co-Branding Works Best when Values Align

Image: DuckDuckGo

​Corporate Challenge: Finding the right partner to co-brand.

Ironbound Strategy: Brands that constantly create value for customers, employees, and society are expected to survive the next industrial revolution, they are the best brands to co-brand with.

Ironbound Action: Pennsylvania based DuckDuckGo recently reached out to Apple for maps integration in their search engine.  DuckDuckGo is popular among millennials as the only search engine that does not track searches.  Recently DuckDuckGo discovered that Google can track what users are searching when they click on a mini Google map during a search.  Apple is known for never selling private information, so DuckDuckGo partnered with Apple Maps to re-code their entire search algorithm to avoid Google Maps.  Brands that share values of privacy generally create immense value for their customers, employees, and society.

* DuckDuckGo processes 30M searches every day, doubling every year. They raised $13M in two early funding rounds since their founding in 2008.  DuckDuckGo became profitable in 2014 through affiliate marketing.  Estimated revenues for last FY are $7.5M.