---
name: co_marketing
description: Plans and runs joint marketing campaigns with a partner brand: scores partner fit, drafts the joint campaign brief, designs co-branded offers with split attribution, and pre-launch checks compliance. Triggers when someone asks to co-market, partner up on a campaign, find a brand to collaborate with, split a campaign with a partner, or measure a joint promotion.
---

# Co-Marketing

## Purpose
Run a joint campaign with a partner brand without the usual mess: picked partners that actually fit, one shared brief both sides sign, an offer neither side could run alone, attribution each side trusts, and disclosure handled so nobody gets an FTC headache.

## Workflow

1. **Define your side first.** Write down: target customer, campaign goal (one number, e.g. 500 qualified leads), what you bring (audience size, channels, budget), what you need from a partner. No partner talk until this exists.
2. **Score candidate partners.** Run `bin/co_marketing_score.py` against a `partners.json` file (schema in `references/scorecard.md`). It scores each candidate 0-100 on audience overlap, product complementarity, brand fit, reach balance, and reputation risk. Shortlist anyone above 70; investigate red flags below that, do not auto-reject.
3. **Pitch with the one-pager.** Fill `assets/campaign-brief-template.md`. Lead with what the partner gets, not what you want. Include the goal number, the split of costs and work, and the offer concept.
4. **Design the joint offer.** Use `references/joint-offer-design.md`: bundle, cross-discount, shared experience, or content collab. The offer must be unavailable from either brand alone, otherwise there is no reason to partner.
5. **Lock the agreement before creative.** Roles, budget split, lead-sharing process (who owns what data, how fast it is shared), promotion commitments per channel, attribution method, disclosure obligations, and an exit clause. Written, signed, boring on purpose.
6. **Attribute cleanly.** Pick one method per channel from `references/attribution.md`: unique promo codes, dedicated landing pages + UTMs, affiliate links, or CRM/lead-source matching. Agree on it in the brief; arguing about credit after launch poisons partnerships.
7. **Pre-launch check.** Run `bin/co_marketing_check.py --brief brief.md --offer offer.md` (checks the brief and offer copy against the launch checklist: goal is a number, disclosure present, attribution coded, data rules defined). Fix failures before launch.
8. **Launch, then review together.** Bi-weekly check-ins during the run. Share raw numbers, not summaries. After: one joint retro documenting what worked, who brought what, and whether you would partner again.

## Output Contract
A complete co-marketing pack contains:
- `partners.json` + scored shortlist (who and why)
- Filled campaign brief (goal number, splits, commitments)
- Joint offer description with dual branding rules
- Attribution map (channel -> method -> code/URL)
- Signed agreement checklist (all items initialed by both sides)
- Post-campaign retro with verified numbers

## Operating Rules
1. Audience fit beats audience size. A small partner whose customers match yours converts better than a giant with a loose overlap.
2. Complementary, never identical. If you both sell the same thing, it is a competition, not a partnership.
3. Disclosure is non-negotiable: any material connection (payment, free product, revenue share) must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed where the promotion appears, per the FTC Endorsement Guides. Put disclosure terms in the agreement.
4. Split attribution is agreed before launch, not after.
5. Share aggregated or anonymized data first; raw customer data moves only under a written data-sharing agreement.
6. If a partner will not put commitments in writing, walk away. Verbal co-marketing deals fail in predictable ways.
7. Never invent campaign performance numbers for past partner campaigns. If you cannot verify a result, say so.