Earlier this week, the New York Daily News and 13 other companies participated in “SwitchPitch” — a reverse pitching event, where “established companies pitch funded innovation projects to qualified startups looking for great partners.” The startups can infuse agility, creativity, innovation and a fresh, forward-thinking perspective into the big brands.

Cincinatti-based Brandery, one of the top accelerators in the US, hosted its Demo Day this week. The previous night, they organized BrandFusion, which pairs startups with big brands. Somewhat like speed dating, the concept is simple: See where brands’ needs overlap with startups’ products or services to create a mutually beneficial match.

Notice a theme?

While startups — with their focus on innovation, speed and disruption — may seem at odds with established companies’ slower pace, bureaucracy and bottom-line mentality, the truth is that collaborations can help both sides, as Fast Company details in “When Startups Pair with Big Corporations, Everyone Wins — If You Make the Right Match.”

Let’s look at a few examples of well-known, established companies partnering with startups. For example:

• Gap + TaskRabbit: “In a bid to raise awareness in some key markets, TaskRabbit has partnered with clothing retailer Gap to hand out gift vouchers this holiday season. As part of the partnership, Gap customers shopping in stores throughout San Francisco and New York City will receive $25 gift vouchers for spending $75 or more at the stores. Those vouchers will be able to be redeemed for any task through the end of the year — whether it be gift wrapping, holiday shopping, or whatever.”
• MiracleGro + Sprout it: “If you’re completely new to gardening, it can be difficult to know where to start. Sprout it, a new Web-based app supported by Miracle-Gro, is hoping to solve that problem by offering tailored advice on what vegetables you should grow, when to grow them and timely reminders for when they need to be watered and harvested.” (Sprout it is a client.)
• NFL + Uber: ” Uber is partnering with the NFL Players Association to produce a special service for NFL players to use the app to call for rides and avoid driving under the influence.”
• Etsy + Nordstrom and Etsy + West Elm:  “Mainstream, national chains like Nordstrom and West Elm have been turning to Etsy — which swelled to $895.1 million in sales in 2012, up from $525.6 million in 2011  — to inject their stores’ merchandise with a patina of one-of-a-kind-handcraft authenticity — much like many big Hollywood studios set up independent film divisions to burnish their art-house cinema bonafides.”
• P&G, General Mills + CircleUp: “CircleUp is providing trend reports to General Mills and P&G about startups in 18 categories, including pet foods, beverages, snack foods and infant products. The information provided includes which category had the most startups seeking capital each quarter and which types of companies garnered the most interest from accredited investors using CircleUp.com. For its part, Cincinnati-based P&G said it offers the founders of startups listed on CircleUp mentoring as well as help setting up licensing deals or joint ventures.”
• Starbucks + Square: “Square will begin processing all credit and debit card transactions at Starbucks stores in the United States and eventually customers will be able to order a grande vanilla latte and charge it to their credit cards simply by saying their names. Though smartphone payments have a long way to go before they replace wallets altogether, Starbucks’s adoption of Square will catapult the start-up’s technology onto street corners nationwide, and is the clearest sign yet that mobile payments could become mainstream.
• WWE + Tout: “WWE has partnered with social networking application Tout, which allows users to exchange 15-second video status updates, and will incorporate Tout into its web presence and upcoming TV broadcasts.”
• Coca-Cola + UP Global:  “Many experts believe this perfect storm of entrepreneurial stimuli is creating the next industrial revolution. Companies that adapt fast enough can revolutionize their industries and uncover new growth opportunities in other industries. Coca-Cola wants to be one of those companies. And being part of this revolution means learning from and collaborating with others. Coca-Cola is excited to support the UP Global network – which combines Startup America’s expertise with the impact and reach of Startup Weekend’s networking and hands-on collaboration programs – as its first non-technology partner.”

What are your favorite examples of major brands partnering with emerging startups?