A good way for an advertiser to get a little "more bang for the buck" is to team up in a promotion with one or more other companies in a jointly promoted event or campaign. The secret is to put together an event/campaign which is done with collaboration, coordination and cooperation rather than one which produces confusion and conflict. Here are some thoughts, tips and ideas on how to successfully stage a cooperative promotion.

The most important of the factors leading to a successful co-sponsored promotion is an understanding of exactly what each party wants to achieve, the scope of their contribution and what their role in the event will be. Where there is an event organizer, participants will frequently be concerned with the identity of the other participants, as they may be seeking category exclusivity. Placement of promotional material, prominence in marketing collateral, special seats or tickets and other such matters are also frequent concerns. A good event promoter will have a contract which addresses these issues and can quickly answer a participant's questions. It is interesting though that, as a general rule, organizers do not let co-sponsors see the commitments of other co-sponsors, unless it is important to the overall promotion.

If the promotion is a joint marketing campaign, being arranged by two companies themselves, then the issues are more likely to involve the extent of the in-kind contributions required, length and location of the campaign. Other important issues, frequently not addressed early enough, are things like the ownership of jointly produced materials. There is generally no question about ownership of materials a company brings to the campaign, but there are questions concerning material such as special artwork or music produced specifically for the promotion. Once again, a good co-promotion contract between these companies can address these issues and set out the ground rules before any controversy begins. In this same vein, the clearance of creative material is also important, and since the parties are working together, each should have some voice in the creative input of the other.

In-kind contributions in promotions also frequently raise issues concerning the limitations of the contributed item. For example, is an airline ticket subject to black out dates? Is the "free" dessert available anytime? Can the coupon be used at all stores? Limitations such as these must not only be spelled out clearly between participants, they must also be spelled out clearly in the promotion collateral for consumers.

Warranties and indemnifications are also important in promotions where there is some risk related to either the event or the product. The general rule in a multiple party event is that indemnities are exchanged between the organizer and each co-sponsor, and in a two party campaign, between the two participating companies.

Where the co-op promotion is done on the Internet there are other issues to be hashed out. For example, if the program is a link based program, where will the link be placed? Will it be "above the fold"? This is nearly always the preferred location, as many Web users don't take the time to scroll down a Web page. If the link is not visible when the page is opened, the odds go up that it will not be seen at all, so always aim for an agreement, which places your link above the fold. If the Web site has a folder, a frequent point of negotiation is the placement in the folder, usually the thought being, "the higher the better".

Internet promotions add other interesting elements to the co-promotion field. Fees and payment provisions are probably the most critical negotiating point. Here are some of the typical fee arrangements: fixed placement fees, one time up-front fees, fees for traffic regardless of sales, fees tied to a flat percentages of sales, fees based upon a percentage of sales after a monthly minimum is reached, fees based upon formulas which take into account shipping costs, taxes and rebates and returns. The only guidance I can offer here is to really think through the issue and negotiate an arrangement that will be acceptable if the promotion is less than a roaring success.

It's like this:

Joe sells snowboards, Sue sells skis
Bob sells bandages for banged-up knees
With singular devotion
But three-party promotion
And the results keep each of them pleased

© September 2004 Jon Lee Andersen