Co-marketing

Published: 2026-09-12 · Last reviewed: 2026-09-12 · Reading edit: 2026-09-12

Two companies agree to run a webinar together. Who writes the invitation, brings the example, answers questions, and follows up? A short shared brief turns that enthusiasm into an activity that is useful for the audience and manageable for both teams.

Find an activity worth combining

Choose a subject where each partner contributes something useful: expertise, evidence, a complementary demonstration, or trusted access to the right audience. Two logos on a generic webinar do not create a joint point of view.

Write the joint brief

1. Define the audience question. Agree who the activity serves and what they will learn or accomplish. Keep the topic narrow enough for both partners to contribute substantively.
2. Allocate the work. Assign research, writing, design, delivery, promotion, approvals, and customer support. Give each deliverable one accountable owner and a deadline.
3. Agree promotion precisely. Specify placements and dates rather than promising “social support.” Compare audience relevance and expected reach honestly; do not guarantee results neither party controls.
4. Set registration and data rules. Explain to participants which organizations receive which information and for what purpose. Separate event delivery from optional marketing permissions as applicable. Avoid automatic list swaps.
5. Rehearse delivery and follow-up. Test links, forms, speaker transitions, resource delivery, and the route for explicit consultation requests. Agree who answers questions that span both products.
6. Close the campaign together. Reconcile spend, contributions, participation, useful feedback, and accepted follow-up. Review what each partner received before committing to another activity.

Worked example

A fictional security consultant and access-management vendor run a workshop on offboarding. The consultant teaches process ownership; the vendor demonstrates one implementation. Registration explains the hosts and follow-up options.

Participants receive the promised checklist. Only those requesting a consultation enter that workflow under the agreed data rules. The partners compare attendance and completed exercises as educational outcomes, then review consultation progression separately.

Joint campaign contract

Item	Agreement
Audience task and session/asset promise
Each partner’s contribution
Deliverables, approvals, and dates
Promotion commitments
Participant data and follow-up ownership
Cost allocation and review meeting

Resolve imbalance early

If one partner cannot deliver an agreed promotion, change the plan before launch rather than hiding the shortfall. If the campaign attracts the wrong audience, inspect the promise and placement. A campaign can be well executed yet poorly selected; the review should distinguish those failures.

Try it with your own work

Before producing anything, agree on the audience’s question and each partner’s contribution. Assign one owner and date to every promised deliverable.

Sources and scope

• Microsoft: co-sell overview illustrates collaborative selling in one ecosystem. Its program rules are not universal partner requirements.

The example is fictional; any numbers illustrate the method rather than a benchmark. Adapt the worksheet to your own situation.

What to read next

Partner marketing · Webinar · Content distribution

Chapter guide · All playbooks

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Canonical source: github.com/weilun88313/B2B-Playbook