Culture and Commerce – How Rightsholders Attract New Audiences Through Strategic Collaborations

Collaborations between multinational brands and cultural rightsholders have surged globally over the past two decades, also gaining momentum in the region with flagship institutions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi and the National Museum of Qatar.

What are the benefits?

For rightsholders, these partnerships deliver increased footfall by tapping into an established consumer base, offering newly founded institutions particularly valuable credibility and visibility. Beyond financial support, brands enrich the visitor experience through complementary programming, interactive activations and specialist expertise — giving audiences fresh reasons to visit, engage and return.

For brands, cultural partnerships offer credible access to new, highly targeted audiences and a platform to showcase products, expertise and purpose through meaningful experiences. Beyond conventional visibility, they build trust, generate compelling content and forge lasting emotional connections with consumers.

Global Benchmarks in Cultural Collaboration

MoMA's partnership with Swatch — transforming iconic artworks into a globally distributed collection of special-edition watches — remains one of the most celebrated examples. Other standouts include MoMA's multi-year collaboration with Mattel spanning collection-inspired products and family learning; the Pokémon Fossil Museum at Chicago's Field Museum, linking a global franchise to real-world paleontology; and L'Oréal's partnership with the Louvre, exploring evolving ideals of beauty through the museum's collection. Together, these partnerships show brands and institutions moving beyond traditional sponsorship to co-create products, exhibitions and experiences that engage new audiences and generate value for both sides.

The Region Follows Suit

Cultural collaborations have become increasingly common across the GCC, with partnerships emerging in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the past decade.

Qatar Museums has built a long-term relationship with Volkswagen, notably through Driven by German Design during the 2017 Qatar–Germany Year of Culture, which traced six decades of German design across automobiles, architecture, fashion and technology. In 2022, Volkswagen lent Nasser Al-Attiyah's Dakar Rally-winning Race Touareg 3 to A Sneak Peek at the Qatar Auto Museum Project, using its heritage and products to enrich local cultural storytelling.

In 2024, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, with the support of the Zenith team, partnered with IKEA for the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, integrating the brand's products into three artworks — including Suzann Victor's ‘Strike,’ which turned IKEA glassware into an immersive acoustic playground. The collaboration extended into upcycling workshops centred on sustainability, and a customised FRAKTA bag gave visitors a tangible souvenir of the partnership.

In the UAE, Louvre Abu Dhabi has led the way: Montblanc's 2021 sponsorship of Abstraction and Calligraphy – Towards a Universal Language brought together 108 works from the museum and 16 partner collections. The partnership funded an ambitious international exhibition and accompanying talks, performances, digital content and resources for younger visitors, while Montblanc's writing heritage reinforced the exhibition's narrative.

LEGO Builds on a Winning Formula

LEGO's partnership with the Natural History Museum in London, running since 2018, provides free nature-focused educational activities for children. Its newly announced limited exhibition at Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi extends this model, reinforcing LEGO's 'STEM through play' positioning while engaging museum-going families in a region where the brand is rapidly expanding. For the museum, the exhibition offers a compelling platform to attract families, younger audiences and LEGO's established fanbase — transforming natural history into an interactive experience that enriches programming, drives repeat visitation and boosts the profile of a recently established institution.

The Future of Cultural Engagement

These partnerships represent the future of cultural engagement, combining the credibility and content of cultural institutions with the reach, resources and creativity of established brands. By moving beyond conventional sponsorship to create interactive, relevant and shareable experiences, they attract new audiences, encourage repeat visits and generate sustainable value for both sides.

For rightsholders in the region, carefully selected brand collaborations can accelerate audience growth, build credibility and secure the funding, expertise and reach needed to realise their vision — while enriching programming and creating lasting value.

Reach out to Zenith at info@zenithsmc.com if you’re interested to learn more about strategic collaborations that could benefit your asset.