The Power of Co-Branding and Limited-Edition Products

Above, a co-branded food product that just appeared today on supermarket shelves: Limited Edition Peeps Oreo cookies.

Peeps has its own loyal customer base (including 327k Facebook fans) and Oreo has its own loyal customer base (with 42 million-plus Facebook fans).

Combine two powerful brands, add the "buy now" incentive of a limited-edition product with a holiday connection, and you have an end-cap seasonal item that attracts attention from shoppers and the media.

And of course Oreo has created a hashtag for this limited-edition product, to fuel word of mouth: #OreOMG.

Peeps Celebrates 60 Years

Since its introduction in 1953, Peeps has become a year-round gift or dessert. By expanding into special colors and shapes to suit the season (Easter, Valentine's Day, Christmas, and--wait for it--Halloween), parent company JustBorn has enjoyed double-digit sales growth during the past couple of years.

Peeps is also a social brand, with more than 250,000 Facebook likes and nearly 10,000 Twitter followers. In fact, the brand's latest commercials build on social media.

JustBorn churns out 5 million marshmallow Peeps every day at its Pennsylvania plant. During this year's Easter season, it will sell 1 billion Peeps (yes, that's a "b" as in billion).

The iconic treat is so trendy that JustBorn now operates three retail stores (one in Mall of America, one in Pennsylvania, and one in Maryland) featuring its candies and other Peeps-branded accessories (plush, for example).

So happy 60th birthday to Peeps.