Donald Schneider: The King of Campaigns

Donald Schneider is considered the inventor of collaboration in marketing. In 2004, he launched perhaps the most important campaign in the company's history for H&M. He initiated a joint collection between H&M and Karl Lagerfeld. In doing so, he firmly established collaboration as a marketing tool. Today, brands such as Chloé, Boss, H&M, H&M Home, Highsnobiety, About You, Pandora and Zalando join his client list. He is a speaker at the Swiss Brand Congress on June 13. In advance, we met him for a short interview.   Mr. Schneider, you are considered the inventor of collaboration marketing. You invented the game. How do you play it? Donald Schneider: To remain culturally relevant as a fashion or lifestyle brand in the future, collaborations and special drops are more important than ever. And that's exactly what we specialize in with our Creative Studio, from idea to implementation.   One of your most recent campaigns includes a collaboration with Kendall Jenner for About You. Your secret to success working with such superstars? Over the years, we have built up a super network and have collaborated and campaigned with many international celebrities. Personal contacts are the be-all and end-all in our industry.   In your view, when should a company stick with influencer marketing, and when would you rather recommend collaborations? It depends on a client's expectations. After all, we specialize in big bangs to take a brand to the next level. With large global collaborations and the associated individually orchestrated 360-degree campaign activations. At the so-called "secondary level", this usually includes global and local influencer marketing.   What do the two partners need to make a collaboration a success? Clearly, first and foremost, you need a brilliant idea and concept! We see this as the starting point of our work. Only then do we look for the perfect partner. Then it is important to work closely together to develop a very special and authentic product. Plus story creation and a strong hype campaign. These are completely different mechanisms than traditional marketing.   Most collaborations today are in the fashion sector. Do you see opportunities for other industries as well? Absolutely! We do collaboration projects for a wide range of customers, including in the lifestyle sector, jewelry, home & living, and automotive. Basically, I see great potential for this in almost all industries.   What do you look for when choosing a collaboration partner? what are no-gos? The most important thing is that a collaboration partner catches fire, and of course that usually has to do with our brilliant idea. And often with a lot of personal persuasion.   What conditions must a product manufacturer create in order to be attractive to partners? Making large successful collaborations is very complex and not to be underestimated. In the process, the product manufacturer must be open to thinking differently and working differently.