Nando's and Pick n Pay Clothing collaborate for Heritage Month

September is the month in South Africa where we celebrate the magic that is created when our diverse, crazy nation works together.

It's a time of the year that actually has far more relevance for South African brands than say...something like Black Friday.

Leading the charge this year is a fun joint venture between Nando's and Pick n Pay Clothing.

The result of their love child?

A range of quirky Nando's t-shirts that are now all available online as well as in Pick n Pay Clothing stores and Hypermarkets for fans to snap up.

This is a good partnership and no doubt will be a big success for both Nando's and Pick n Pay Clothing.

Both brands in this case are not new to working together with others - they have a history of innovative experimentation, but should other South African brands be seriously considering collaborations as an impactful strategic move?

The first of many South African brand collaborations?

Brand collaborations globally are very popular at the moment and the momentum doesn't appear to be slowing down.

There are so many reasons as to why is makes a lot of business sense for brands to join hands and collectively create something new as a partnership.

• Collaborations are an incredibly affordable approach to innovation. New products are created that draw in a previously under served customer base without the need to pay expensive licence fees.
• Short-term partnerships of this kind literally give firms a get-out-of-jail-free-card to be creative. What's the worst that could happen with a limited-edition one-off? If it falls flat on its face - who really cares? Downside risks are significantly reduced when you slap a 'colab badge' onto a project.
• Instead of the usual, yawn-inducing promotional topics that most brands default towards, news of an exciting collaboration is incredibly valuable PR. If executed correctly, even a simple rendezvous between giants can generate significant hype and buzz far exceeding the actual direct commercial value of the project.

South Africa is the spiritual home of 'figuring out a way to work together to create something far more valuable that if we had to go it alone'.

Collaborations between brands, groups, people and ideas should be our natural comfort zone.

Let's however make it official right here and now; September is collaboration month in South Africa. Pick a buddy, have some fun, give us all something to talk about other than the other shit that we have to deal with every other day.

The challenge then is for every local brand to creatively join together with another to make some magic for the month. Yes?