Why Some Partnerships Win — and Others Collapse

From Nike and Jordan to Pepsi and Cracker Barrel, the difference between compounding value and wasted spend comes down to candor, resilience, and the ability to deliver.

This month, Cracker Barrel lost millions in market value after a seemingly minor logo redesign ignited backlash from its core customers. In 2017, Pepsi’s campaign with Kendall Jenner unraveled within days, derided as tone-deaf and inauthentic. By contrast, Nike’s bet on Michael Jordan, once seen as risky, continues to generate billions of dollars in brand equity and sales decades later.

The lesson is simple: partnerships don’t usually fail because of budgets or creativity. They fail because no one was truly honest about the end goal, or willing to do the work it takes to deliver on it.

The strongest partnerships are built on candor and commitment. Both sides understand not only what success looks like, but what they’ll risk and endure to achieve it.

Bill Yates, Director of Top Tier Sports, an international sports equity fund, has spent his career sizing up professional teams; when to buy, how to grow them, and when to sell. He knows firsthand how the right partnerships create millions in value for investors, and how the wrong ones bleed cash. In his words: “In sports, the partnerships that thrive are the ones where the team, sponsor, and fans all understand the victory they’re working toward. If one side is only in it for quick exposure, it falls flat. When all three win, it endures.”

And the research backs it up: partnerships that are actively managed; meaning they’re aligned, staffed, and resourced drive 15–20% faster growth than peers (McKinsey). Authentic sponsorships can lift brand trust by 10–20%, while nearly 40% fail to renew after year one because that alignment never existed (Nielsen). Even in influencer marketing, where credibility is currency, campaigns built on genuine use see 3x higher engagement than transactional deals (Influencer Marketing Hub). The pattern is consistent: when the goals, story, and execution connect, the returns multiply. When they don’t, the deal flatlines.

Every VP of Marketing has lived this: the partnership that looked great in the pitch deck but flopped in execution. The campaign that chewed through budget and staff time without moving the needle. The influencer deal that sparked controversy or worse, they didn’t even show up.

Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner spot failed not because of lack of budget but because it ignored cultural context. Cracker Barrel’s backlash wasn’t about a logo; it was about disconnecting from its most loyal audience. If I had to bet, somewhere along the way, no one tied the messaging back to the end goal. Things get rushed. And if a marketing team isn’t savvy enough to hold the strategy at a very high level, assets get created that are off-brand, flat; or worse, offensive to an entire sector of the market. That’s the difference between task-based execution and real storytelling. The latter takes discipline, and it’s truly how these failures happen.

It’s one thing to align in principle. It’s another to have the chops, the commitment, and the infrastructure to deliver. True partnerships require more than a handshake or a shared slogan — they demand that both sides invest beyond the spend: training their teams, integrating knowledge, and executing across multiple marketing channels.

And here’s where it gets real for executives: it is incredibly easy to drop the ball somewhere along the way. I’ve seen it countless times over the past 20 years. The client understands. The leadership team understands. The pitch deck is clear. But then someone isn’t copied on an email. Someone goes on vacation. A contractor is left unchecked. And suddenly you’re on a Zoom call with 12 people explaining why something fell through the cracks. Every marketing leader knows that moment.

And when that happens, we all know what comes next: a post-mortem full of excuses about why performance missed the mark. Wrong timing. Light budgets. Not enough support. But the truth is, the miss usually comes from lack of follow-through on the basics: aligning the message, training the team, and monitoring execution.

At Lux214, I’ve seen both sides. My partnership with Donna has lasted nearly a decade because of balance. I’ve brought grit pushing through resets, late nights, and hard conversations. Donna brings the discipline that keeps the wheels turning: organization, structure, and the ability to steady the ship when things get chaotic. And together, we bring heart, that secret sauce you can’t build into a deck but you can feel in every decision. Michael Jordan and Phil Knight had it. So do the partnerships that truly endure.

That mix is what allows us to deliver for clients. It’s not just about producing a campaign or landing media it’s about holding the partnership steady so the results compound. That’s the intangible benefit we bring to the brands we represent, and it’s the same principle that separates enduring partnerships from those that collapse under pressure.

Cracker Barrel’s backlash, Pepsi’s misfire, and Nike’s triumph all tell the same story: the most expensive or visible partnerships aren’t the ones that succeed. The ones that last are built on candor, resilience, shared commitment and backed by the systems to actually deliver.

Before you sign a partnership deal or jump into bed with another brand, take a harder look: does this deal have candor, resilience, and the infrastructure to deliver? Or is it built on wishful thinking and a mood board? That lens alone separates the partnerships that compound value from the ones that become cautionary tales.

Bad partnerships drain budgets, credibility, and time. Good ones multiply trust, accelerate growth, and like the best personal partnerships make the work lighter and the wins bigger.

At Lux214, we’ve built our business on partnerships that last. The work is serious, but the shenanigans along the way are far from it, and that’s exactly what keeps us living the Lux Life. lorib@lux214.com or 214-906-6633.