Macy's and Khan Academy Show What a Real Brand Partnership Looks Like
Ahead of the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Macy's and Khan Academy turned giant balloons into a physics lesson — a case study in access over reach and credibility over nostalgia.
Updated
The brief
- Macy's and Khan Academy created a free educational activity teaching elementary students buoyancy, balanced forces and engineering through the parade's giant balloons.
- Christine Olver Nealon, director of external communications at Macy's, says the partnership works because each side does what the other cannot credibly do alone.
- External comms was involved from concept creation, connecting Macy's Social Impact, Macy's Studios and marketing teams before launch to pressure-test the partnership.
Macy's could have leaned on nostalgia to mark the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Instead, it built a free educational activity with Khan Academy that teaches elementary students buoyancy, balanced forces and engineering through the parade's giant balloons.
The campaign, timed to the parade's centennial, starts from a premise Christine Olver Nealon, director of external communications at Macy's, lays out plainly: two recognizable names together do not automatically make a strong partnership. Collaborations work when each side does something for the other that it cannot credibly do alone.
"When we met with Khan Academy, it felt like a natural partnership from the start," Nealon said. "Macy's brings the creativity, cultural relevance and excitement of the parade, while Khan Academy brings the educational expertise and the ability to make learning engaging and accessible."
The division of labor is the point. Macy's owns cultural recognition. Khan Academy owns educational expertise and established relationships with teachers and students.
Find the credibility gap
Macy's started with a challenge, Nealon said: how do you make a 100-year-old tradition relevant to a generation with no connection to most of that history? The company could have relied heavily on nostalgia, which can be useful. It chose instead to find something people already loved about the parade and add a twist.
The result is an activity that asks students, "How does a giant balloon float in mid-air without moving up or down?" The balloons are among the parade's most recognizable features, and that familiarity became the teaching tool.
"The concept was a natural fit as our parade balloons are so recognizable that they provided an accessible way to introduce STEAM concepts to kids through a familiar lens," Nealon said. "Rather than telling students about the science behind the balloons, the activity allows them to investigate concepts (on their own)."
Nealon's framework for comms teams considering a partner comes down to three questions. What audience are we trying to reach? What do we already have that could be valuable to them? Where do we lack expertise, access or credibility? The third question, she said, should determine the partner.
The logic travels across industries. A tech company talking about workforce development may have the data but lack connections to educators or workers, so a collaboration with an organization that has those connections pays off.
A partner should not only expand reach, Nealon said. It should strengthen the reason the audience should pay attention in the first place.
Bring comms in before launch
External communications at Macy's helped create the idea rather than getting pulled in after the fact. Nealon's team drove the concept and connected Macy's Social Impact, Macy's Studios and marketing teams to execute it. External comms also worked directly with Khan Academy as the science and engineering behind the balloons was translated into an activity.
That early involvement let both sides pressure-test the partnership before launch.
"Can you explain why these organizations belong together in one sentence? Does each bring a distinct strength? Is the collaboration useful to the audience, or mostly useful to the brands? These are things we established before creation," Nealon said.
If those answers had been difficult, the partnership would have needed more work, she said.
Access beats reach
Khan Academy also gave Macy's a direct route to the audience it wants. The organizations planned social and newsletter support, and Khan Academy can extend the activity through its network of educators.
A partner with millions of followers may generate impressions and a spike in engagement. But a partner with established relationships inside the exact community a brand wants to reach offers access with context, Nealon said.
The same thinking applies beyond education. A community organization, trade association, nonprofit, creator or niche media outlet can be more strategically useful than a much larger partner if it already holds trust with the right people.
For Macy's, the collaboration gives its anniversary story somewhere new to go.
"For launch, we looked at this as part of the larger storytelling around the 100th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade," Nealon said. "We used the milestone to show how the parade can spark learning and stay relevant for students, families and fans across the country."
Based on macys.com
Filed under brand-partnerships, khan-academy, macys, communications-strategy
Elena Vasquez
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Senior reporter covering media and advertising at Marketing Herald.