In the words of Kenny and Dolly ‘We rely on each other a-ha’, in business we need to rely on other smart businesses to get the most out of our marketing. The partnership of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton for the hit song Islands in the Stream took these two artists to new heights, securing their number one place in the pop charts in 1983. Alone, would they of had the same impact?
Just like Kenny and Dolly, marketers today are turning to different tools to drive business forward and strategic partnership marketing does just that. Bringing together two different companies, each with their own brand equity and distribution channels partnership marketing can open up a company to a new market and take it to new heights. Marketing partnerships work the same as any other partnership, when planned well and strategised properly, they allow you to develop relationships that will effectively promote and grow your business.
So what makes a good partnership?
- You need to make sure the partnership is going to be mutually beneficial and that their goals are the same as yours, they don’t have to be exactly aligned, but it’s important that your working towards the same thing – singing from the same song book.
- You need to be clear about what each other are going to bring to the partnership and who is going to be responsible for what – you take the low notes and I’ll hit the high ones.
- Most importantly you need to carefully consider how the two businesses are going to work together; this includes the business culture and practices that may be different. Don’t realease a single before xmas if the other person is thinking about a full album launch
Once you have carefully considered all of these things, you removed another obstacle in your marketing stream, opening up new opportunities and taking you to new heights. Or you could try and count your money, sitting at the table, gambling by yourself. I know which one I would choose.
What would you add to the list of what makes a good partnership in business?