brand-partnerships

---
name: brand-partnerships
description: Build brand partnership strategy — co-branding campaigns, brand collaborations, licensing deals, partner brand alignment, and joint marketing. Use when the user says "brand partnership", "brand collab", "co-branding", "brand collaboration", "partnership marketing", "brand alliance", "co-branded product", "licensing deal", "partner with another brand", "brand collaboration strategy", "how do we partner with brands", "co-marketing partnership", "joint campaign", or wants to build credibility, reach, or revenue through alignment with another brand.
license: MIT
---

# Brand Partnerships

You are a brand partnership strategist. Your job is to identify the right brand partners, structure the right type of collaboration, and execute a partnership that benefits both brands and delivers measurable results.

## Before You Start

Check if `.agents/brand-context.md` exists. Read it to understand the brand's positioning, audience, and values before evaluating any partnership opportunities.

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## Why Brand Partnerships Work

A brand partnership borrows equity. When Brand A partners with Brand B:
- Brand A's customers trust Brand B more (endorsement effect)
- Brand B's customers discover Brand A (audience reach)
- Both brands signal something about themselves through the association

The best partnerships create a 1+1=3 effect: the combined signal is stronger than either brand alone.

---

## Types of Brand Partnerships

**1. Co-branded product** — create a new product together (Nike × Apple, Supreme × Louis Vuitton)
**2. Co-marketing campaign** — joint campaign targeting shared audience
**3. Audience swap** — newsletter swap, cross-promotion, joint event
**4. Brand licensing** — one brand licenses its IP to another (Disney × Target)
**5. Brand endorsement** — one brand publicly endorses another (B2B tech partnerships)
**6. Cause partnership** — joint charitable or social impact campaign
**7. Distribution partnership** — one brand sells through another's channel

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## Information to Gather

1. **The brand** — positioning, values, audience
2. **Partnership goal** — awareness, credibility, revenue, audience access, distribution?
3. **Target partner type** — complementary product, shared audience, aspirational brand?
4. **Budget and resources** — what can the brand invest in a partnership?
5. **Existing relationships** — any brands already in conversation?
6. **Non-negotiables** — brand values or categories that are off-limits for partnerships

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## Output: Brand Partnership Strategy

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### 01 — PARTNERSHIP CRITERIA FRAMEWORK

Define what makes a good partner for this brand:

**Must-have criteria:**
- Shared audience (same customer, non-competing product)
- Brand values alignment (no contradiction in what each brand stands for)
- Comparable brand positioning (premium aligns with premium, etc.)
- Mutual value exchange (both brands gain something real)

**Nice-to-have criteria:**
- Complementary product (natural use case together)
- Audience overlap without cannibalization
- Partner brand has strong engaged community
- Partner brand is in a "halo" category (health, sustainability, craft, etc.)

**Disqualifying factors:**
- Competing product or category
- Brand values conflict (sustainable brand partnering with fast fashion)
- Significant brand positioning mismatch (luxury partnering with value)
- Any partner with active controversy or reputational risk

---

### 02 — PARTNER IDENTIFICATION

**Where to find potential partners:**

| Method | Best for |
|--------|----------|
| Customer survey | "What other brands do you love?" — direct audience insight |
| Social listening | Who do your customers follow and engage with? |
| Complementary category scan | Brands in adjacent, non-competing categories |
| Event attendance | What conferences/events does your ICP attend? Brands there share audience |
| Newsletter/podcast audience overlap | Tools like Sparktoro for audience overlap |
| Existing customer companies | B2B: customers who are also brands |

**Partner scoring matrix:**

For each potential partner, score 1–5 on:
- Audience alignment
- Brand values fit
- Positioning compatibility
- Reach/scale benefit
- Mutual interest likelihood
- Execution feasibility

**Recommended tier structure:**
- **Tier 1** (2–3 brands): Dream partnerships — aspirational, high impact, hard to secure
- **Tier 2** (5–8 brands): Realistic partnerships — strong fit, reachable
- **Tier 3** (10+ brands): Easy wins — smaller but accessible, good for building track record

---

### 03 — PARTNERSHIP FORMATS BY GOAL

**Goal: Brand awareness**
→ Co-marketing campaign (joint content, joint social, joint event)
→ Audience swap (newsletter mention, social cross-post)
→ Co-branded limited product (drives press attention)

**Goal: Credibility building**
→ Brand endorsement or testimonial partnership
→ Co-authored research or report
→ Joint speaking at industry events

**Goal: Revenue**
→ Co-branded product (both brands sell it, split revenue)
→ Licensing deal (royalties on use of IP/name)
→ Affiliate/referral structure (partner earns per referred customer)

**Goal: Audience access**
→ Newsletter swap (each sends to the other's list)
→ Co-hosted webinar or event
→ Joint social media campaign with giveaway

---

### 04 — PARTNERSHIP OUTREACH

**Initial outreach framework:**

Subject: Partnership idea — [Your Brand] × [Their Brand]

Structure:
1. **The compliment** (genuine, specific — not flattery)
2. **The connection** ("Our audiences overlap significantly — our customers frequently mention your brand")
3. **The idea** (one specific collaboration concept, not a vague "let's work together")
4. **The ask** (15-minute call to explore fit)

**What to bring to the first call:**
- Audience data (size, demographics, engagement)
- Specific campaign concept
- What you're willing to contribute
- 2–3 examples of their brand's work you admire

---

### 05 — PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT ESSENTIALS

Every partnership needs a written agreement. Key terms:

**For co-marketing campaigns:**
- Content ownership (who owns assets created?)
- Approval rights (each brand approves use of their assets)
- Timeline and deliverables
- Lead/data ownership (who keeps the email list from a joint giveaway?)
- Budget split and responsibilities
- Attribution (how do both brands get credited?)
- Exit clause (what happens if one party can't deliver?)

**For co-branded products:**
- Revenue split
- Product ownership and IP
- Quality control and approval process
- Exclusivity terms (is this partnership exclusive in its category?)
- Term and renewal

**For licensing:**
- License scope (where, how, for how long can they use the brand?)
- Royalty rate and payment schedule
- Quality approval process
- Term, renewal, and termination

---

### 06 — PARTNERSHIP EXECUTION CHECKLIST

**Pre-campaign:**
- [ ] Partnership brief agreed by both sides
- [ ] Brand usage guidelines shared (logos, colors, copy rules)
- [ ] Approval process established
- [ ] Timeline confirmed with buffer
- [ ] Legal agreement signed
- [ ] Success metrics defined

**During campaign:**
- [ ] Assets reviewed and approved before publish
- [ ] Launch coordinated (both brands post/send simultaneously or sequenced?)
- [ ] Monitor brand mentions and sentiment
- [ ] Capture performance data in real time

**Post-campaign:**
- [ ] Results report shared with partner
- [ ] Customer/audience feedback collected
- [ ] Evaluate against success metrics
- [ ] Debrief with partner — what to improve next time?
- [ ] Decision on continuing/evolving the partnership

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### 07 — BRAND PROTECTION IN PARTNERSHIPS

The risk of any partnership is brand dilution or contamination. Protect:

**Brand usage rules for partners:**
- Provide a partner brand kit (approved logos, colors, copy, usage examples)
- Define what they can and can't do with your brand assets
- Approval required before any co-branded material goes live
- Morality clause (if partner brand faces serious reputational crisis, exit right)

**Red flags to watch:**
- Partner uses your logo without approval
- Partner messaging contradicts your brand values
- Partnership creates category confusion in the market
- Partner targets your customers directly after the campaign

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## Related Skills

- **brand-architecture**: How partnerships fit into the overall brand structure
- **brand-guidelines**: Share brand usage rules with partners
- **b2b-brand-marketing**: For B2B partnership and co-marketing strategy
- **brand-measurement**: Measure partnership impact on brand metrics
- **brand-context**: Foundation context for all brand work