I love weddings and the concept of partnership. One is the loneliest number, after all. So just like real life marriages, how come some brand partnerships go bad? Here’s a great article about just that:

Danger arises, though, when partners have very different products, client lists, marketing approaches or reputations. To protect your business, put each cross-promotion proposal through a five-question test:

• Do the partner businesses complement and not compete with each other?
• Do they appeal to similar but not identical customers?
• Will the partnership enhance the reputation of all partners?
• Are the reputations, marketing styles and promotion goals of all partners a good match?
• Do all partners agree to a promotion plan, a budget, a timeline and responsibilities?

Then answer one final, all-important question: Can you explain the promotion in a single sentence, and do all partners describe it in exactly the same way? If not, it’s too complicated to succeed.
via Co-Marketing: Twice as Nice or Double the Trouble?.

The whole idea of sharing the spotlight with another business is to enhance success for both of you equally. So remember to keep your brand character, your target group and your values in line with each other, then the rest will hopefully be a match made in heaven.
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