Case studies & teardowns
Case study on a cross-promotion between subscription services that increased reach and reduced acquisition costs for both brands.
This evergreen analysis examines how two subscription brands partnered to expand audience reach, share marketing spend, and lower customer acquisition costs while delivering value to their subscribers and strengthening brand loyalty.
July 21, 2025 - 3 min Read
In a competitive landscape, two subscription services realized they shared complementary audiences and similar value propositions. Rather than competing for identical users, they designed a joint cross-promotion that leveraged each brand’s strengths: one offered premium content with exclusive early access, while the other provided curated bundles and flexible pricing. The collaboration began with a co-branded landing page, reinforced by synchronized campaigns across email, social, and content channels. The goal was not merely to advertise two products, but to demonstrate a cohesive ecosystem where subscribing to either service improved the overall experience. Early indicators showed increased site engagement and longer on-site session times, signaling curiosity and trust from potential customers.
The execution relied on a phased rollout that balanced risk and learning. In phase one, cross-acquisition ads tested messaging that highlighted mutual benefits, such as combined savings and access to exclusive features. Phase two introduced bundled offers and shared referral incentives to reward both new sign-ups and existing customers who brought in friends. Data tracking focused on cross-click-through rates, blended cost per acquisition, and the average lifetime value of customers acquired through the partnership. Importantly, both brands preserved independent pricing and value propositions, avoiding cannibalization while creating a larger shared addressable audience. The result was a smoother funnel with fewer drop-offs at decision points.
A measured approach to reach expansion and cost efficiency emerged.
The partnership’s philosophy centered on mutual amplification rather than simple overlap. By aligning content calendars, the brands released synchronized newsletters, joint webinars, and co-authored articles that positioned the collaboration as a single, enhanced user journey. Creators and product marketers crafted messages that emphasized complementary benefits: subscribers could unlock premium features on one platform by engaging with the other, creating a virtuous cycle of engagement. This approach reduced the perception of value mismatch, helping customers see the ecosystem as a single product family. The collaborative content also tapped into seasonal trends, ensuring relevance and higher organic reach over time.
A critical piece of the plan involved shared performance dashboards that translated data into actionable optimizations. Teams from both brands met weekly to review sign-up trends, retention signals, and channel mix effectiveness. They iterated on creative elements to limit fatigue, rotating visuals and copy to keep the message fresh across audiences. The process emphasized quick wins—such as time-limited bundles and early-access windows—that generated momentum while preserving long-term trust. By keeping the lines of communication open, stakeholders could adjust priorities in real time, aligning marketing spend with real customer demand and avoiding overinvestment in any single channel.
Cross-promotional strategies built enduring trust and ongoing value.
The cross-promotion opened new channels by introducing each brand to the other’s loyal base, accelerating reach beyond what either could have achieved alone. Email campaigns highlighted cross-benefits, while social posts invited followers to explore bundled experiences. Crucially, the teams designed a shared attribution model that credited both brands for the ultimate conversion, reinforcing collaboration over competition. As a result, incremental growth followed a predictable pattern: awareness rose, consideration improved, and sign-ups increased with lower incremental costs. The partnership also benefited from organic word-of-mouth, as satisfied customers recommended the ecosystem to peers, recognizing the added value from both services together.
Financially, the collaboration delivered tangible savings and enhanced ROI. Marketing spend per acquisition declined as cross-promotions leveraged existing assets—brand ambassadors, reviews, and testimonials—to reach audiences more efficiently. The bundled offers created per-user value that exceeded the sum of individual subscriptions, improving average revenue per user without imposing aggressive price cuts. Customer feedback highlighted a smoother onboarding experience, with guided tours and joint onboarding emails that clarified how to maximize benefits across platforms. The synergy extended to retention, where continued engagement was supported by cross-promotional reminders about new features and exclusive content access, reinforcing the long-term value proposition for subscribers.
Successful cross-promotion hinges on aligned values and shared goals.
Trust formation was a core objective, achieved through transparent commitments and visible governance. The brands disclosed how data would be used to improve experiences, preserving privacy while tailoring recommendations. They published joint case studies and annual impact reports that illustrated tangible outcomes for customers, including savings, exclusive access, and improved content discovery. This transparency reduced skepticism, especially among users wary of multi-brand partnerships. In addition, the collaboration avoided aggressive upselling, opting instead for informative prompts and contextual offers that felt natural within the user journey. By grounding marketing in user-centric benefits, the campaign sustained credibility over time.
A focus on discovery features reinforced long-lasting engagement. The partners invested in integrated search and recommendation engines that surfaced related content and deals across both services. This interconnected browsing experience encouraged users to explore complementary offerings without leaving the ecosystem. The teams also experimented with blended loyalty programs that rewarded interactions with both brands, not just purchases. Customer support was synchronized to handle cross-brand inquiries, ensuring a seamless experience. As users became more comfortable with the joint ecosystem, retention metrics improved, and churn rates declined, validating the strategic value of the cross-promo framework.
Long-term impact and lessons for future collaborations.
Leadership alignment proved essential to sustain momentum. Executives from both organizations participated in joint strategy sessions, agreeing on core objectives, risk tolerance, and success metrics. This governance structure prevented turf battles and fostered a culture of collaboration. The teams established clear guardrails around brand voices and user experiences, ensuring consistency while allowing local customization for regional markets. Additionally, the collaboration adopted a test-and-learn mindset, documenting hypotheses, experiments, and outcomes to feed future iterations. The disciplined approach kept teams accountable and accelerated learning, turning initial tests into a scalable, repeatable process that could be rolled out with future partners.
The customer journey was continuously optimized based on insights gleaned from analytics. A/B tests on messaging, timing of offers, and bundle configurations revealed which combinations resonated best with different segments. Personalization tactics were implemented to tailor recommendations to user preferences without compromising privacy. The partnerships also explored affiliate-style incentives that encouraged advocacy, further expanding reach at a modest marginal cost. Over time, the organization observed stronger first-week activation and higher engagement with cross-brand content, contributing to a healthier balance between acquisition efficiency and subscriber satisfaction.
The case study demonstrates that cross-promotions between subscription services can unlock cost efficiencies and broaden reach when underpinned by a shared vision. The most successful campaigns aligned product teams, marketing, and customer support around a unified customer value proposition. They avoided scoreboard chasing and instead prioritized learning loops, iterative improvements, and transparent reporting. The collaboration’s incremental innovations—co-branded experiences, bundled value, and joined communications—created compounding effects across channels. Brands seeking similar results should start with a joint value map, identify mutual assets, and establish governance mechanisms that sustain trust. The payoff is a scalable model that enriches the customer journey while delivering measurable financial benefits.
For practitioners, the takeaway is practical: begin with overlapping audiences and complementary strengths, then codify a shared narrative that resonates across touchpoints. Invest in cohesive creative that speaks to a broader ecosystem rather than a single product, and design incentives that reward joint success rather than isolated wins. Measure what matters—cross-channel reach, cost per acquisition, and lifetime value—using unified dashboards that reveal true efficiency gains. Finally, build resilience by maintaining brand autonomy and open communication so both parties feel respected, heard, and motivated to continue the collaboration. With disciplined execution, cross-promotions can become a durable engine of growth, not a one-off experiment.
