Execution, Execution, Execution....

You can agree on a Marketing Partnership deal, but if both parties do not do what they said they would do, then I guarantee you that it will not work. When speaking about Marketing Partnerships, I am often asked what can be done to ensure that everyone complies with the pre-agreed effort and here is what I usually say:

1. Ensure that you have communicated clear obligations for both brands.
2. Ensure that costs related to those aforementioned obligations are clearly calculated in advance, so that there are not surprises.
3. Be sure to designate the appropriate human resource staff to carry out all obligations.
4. Be aware of the expected performance when launching and monitor success levels.
5. Communicate with your partner Brand regularly to ensure compliance
6. Refer to the 'what do we do if this isn't working' section of your partner agreement, should you run in to issues...

Marketing Partnerships are strategic affiliations between brands, but still require the same level of execution that any direct campaign requires. With clear obligations and responsibilities along with the resources required to do the job ready to go....you can increase your chances 0f making it work by ten-fold....