19 B2B Co-Marketing Campaign Ideas & Examples (I've used)

First off, What is a Co-Marketing Campaign?

Co-marketing occurs when two or more brands work together on a collaborative campaign to benefit each other. When resources and audiences are combined, collaborations can achieve a greater impact than working alone.

While co-marketing can take various forms, it doesn't always mean a formal partnership.

Joint campaigns can be a first step to assess long-term collaboration and learn about customers and reputation.

Who Can Run a Co-Marketing Campaign?

When it comes to running co-marketing campaigns, I’ve found that all kinds of companies can run them.

From your small, local coffee shop to massive B2B technology companies.

It doesn’t matter – they work across company size and industries.

They’re an amazing way to launch a new product, generate incremental revenue, provide additional value to your audience, and most importantly, build your brand.

Companies I’ve found that do well with co-marketing campaigns:

• Brands with complementary offerings.
• Brands targeting similar audience demographics.
• Emerging brands and established players.
• Brands with shared values or causes.

3 Co-Marketing Campaign Examples (I’ve Used):

The examples below are based on my experience in B2B partner marketing, but of course, these examples can be applied to various industries.

Create a copy of our partner marketing webinar campaign brief.

1. Co-Marketing Webinars.

Over my career in B2B marketing, I’ve hosted roughly 300 co-marketing webinars.

Were they all a massive success?

No.

But the ones that were?

A major revenue stream for the organizations I’ve both worked at, and partnered with.

The ones that were most successful led with the following 4 components:

1. Pick a compelling topic

The topics I chose for webinars were based on one thing, and one thing only:

Data.

Not off a hunch or what “I” thought would make a great topic.

It was always based on content that would be most helpful to the audience we were targeting.

Some of the data sources I’d use:

• CRM data, based on our most downloaded content from the past.
• Google analytics data, based on our most visited pages.
• Sales data, based on deals that were marked “closed-won”
• Sales conversation data, based on what prospects were talking about.

2. Tell a story.

The fun part – storytelling.

You can have the most amazing topic, based on all of the data collected, but if you can’t tell a good story about the topic…

You won’t have people’s attention.

You need to craft a story in a way it resonates well with your target audience.

Here’s an example:

In a former role our team was working to attract consumer packaged goods brands that were interested in launching on Amazon.

First, we needed to identify our audience and get in the mind of these individuals.

Then, we needed to relate to them and tell a story that resonated.

Based on sales conversation data and other sources, we crafted a story based on “Amazon’s endless aisle”.

Why:

• The audience is used to having their products on physical store shelves.
• Amazon was disrupting this with their “endless aisle” of product shopping.
• This was changing consumer buying habits, with more and more buying happening online.
• Executives at these CPG brands wanted to get their products found and purchased on Amazon.

3. Work with the “right” partner.

I understand working with the “right” partner can be a challenge.

You’re likely juggling multiple active partnerships and kickstarting new relationships..

I’m not going to lie–this can be a challenge.

But here’s how I always have looked at it when choosing a partner to work with:

• Work with a partner that can help tell this story.
• Has an audience we’re targeting for the campaign.
• Can help amplify the message (if a new company, think how they can strategically help)

4. Adhere to a strict promotion schedule.

Without an audience, do you really even have a webinar?

🤷

That’s why, when working together on a co-marketing webinar, it’s essential to adhere to an agreed upon promotion schedule with your partners.

This will set expectations with each partner, and hold them accountable.

Pro tip: With some of your partners, especially those with a small audience, it may make sense to allocate market development funds towards paid media promotions for the event.

5. Provide an offer and follow-up!

This is a step a lot of people forget about when hosting a webinar, but it’s arguably the most important step.

Provide some form of offer and follow-up!

I’m not saying every person who raises their hand will turn into a paying customer tomorrow (although, I always hope for that)

But if you don’t give them a chance when you have their attention, you’re missing out on potential revenue for your organization.

Below is an example offered by one of our partners provided attendees.

2. New Product Launches.

Teaming up with a partner for a new product introduction can help to elevate your message.

In this case, by harnessing the power of your partner network, you’re opening up beyond your current customer base.

For many, this could be the exact incentive they needed to collaborate with you.

Such collaborations open doors to multiple avenues of revenue generation:

• Upsell & co-sell opportunities
• Accelerated sales cycles (turning potential deals into solid sales)
• Brand new leads (sourced via partners)

Here's a case in point:

Reflect on this campaign I was a part of at my former company, ShipBob.

ShipBob was among the pioneers to establish their very first fulfillment hub in Canada.

With the intent to maximize this venture, they tapped into their tech alliances to:

• Spot potential customers within the partner network who'd gain from this move. Specifically, those keen on Canadian shipping solutions.
• Engage in a combined promotional campaign.
• Design tailored email communications for precise audience targeting. Work in tandem with the partner's client relationship unit to interact directly with their customer base.

3. Small scale partner events.

Based on the in-person events I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of, I’ve found that smaller co-marketing events tend to drive more impact.

Of course, this isn’t the case for every organization.

And I’m not saying larger trade shows and conferences don’t have their place–because they definitely do still work well for networking and lead generation.

But based on my experience, this is what I’ve seen to be the most successful when it comes to co-marketing.

Example:

At one of my former companies, we decided to host an event for customers and prospects.

If I recall, it was roughly ~150 attendees.

We had the goal to educate, provide value, create deeper connections, and elevate the agency brand by partnering with Google.

It was a massive success.

Small-scale events, such as: 

• Workshops
• Seminars
• Product unveilings
• Exclusive VIP dinners
• Roundtable chats
• Customer thank-you gatherings

These often create the most impactful connections and work especially well with a few co-marketing partners.

With these events you can work with various partner types, agree on a mutual objective, and curate an environment that's tailored to both your audiences.

Unlike larger events, where the message can sometimes get diluted among a sea of booths and presentations, these intimate gatherings allow for a more personalized approach.

16 Other Co-Marketing Campaign Ideas:

Now, the above list is not all of the co-marketing ideas out there.

There are a heck of a lot more, but those were the ones I wanted to write about in-depth.

Below I’m sharing a list of plenty of other co-marketing campaign examples:

• Joint Content Creation
• Social Media Takeovers
• Co-Branded Contests & Giveaways
• Podcasts & Video Series
• Bundled Offers
• Joint Email Campaigns
• Shared Resource Hubs
• Affiliate Programs
• Joint Surveys & Research
• Collaborative Tool Integrations
• Physical Co-Branded Merchandise
• Shared Loyalty Programs
• Themed Campaigns

Wrapping up our Co-Marketing Campaign Examples:

So there you have it.

A massive list of co-marketing campaign examples to help get the ideas going for your organization.

I hope this has been helpful.

A lot of these examples provided have worked well for me over the years, and I'm optimistic they can support your channel growth as well.

If you have any questions or would like to bounce ideas off of one another, I’m just an email away: nick@growann.com

Until next time.