Co-Marketing Agreements
Co-marketing agreements and responsibilities
Set clear co-marketing terms for production, costs, claims, approvals, distribution and shared assets before a joint campaign begins.
A co-marketing agreement should set what the partners will produce, what each contributes, who can approve publication and what happens when the plan changes. Record those decisions before production starts.
A campaign brief can describe the idea but may leave payment, asset-use and sign-off rights unclear.
Define the activity and its limits
Name the audience, the customer question, the materials to be produced, each partner’s channels and the campaign period. State what is outside scope. An agreement for one webinar and its follow-up material should not imply an ongoing partnership program.
Identify the organisations involved and the people authorised to make decisions for them. A working contact may coordinate drafts without authority to approve spending or brand use. Record those authorities separately.
Attach a current schedule of deliverables. When an output changes, update the schedule and record who accepted the change.
Allocate responsibility by decision
| Decision | What to record |
|---|---|
| Production | Owner of each draft and final file; inputs the other party must provide |
| Spending | Who orders work, the approved amount, each party’s share and who can approve an overrun |
| Claims | Who verifies statements about each offer and its conditions |
| Approval | Who is authorised to approve publication for each organisation |
| Distribution | Who publishes or sends material through each channel |
| Enquiries | Where questions about each offer or both offers go |
| Changes | Who can pause, correct, replace or withdraw material |
Decision responsibility checklist
- ProductionOwner of each draft and final file; inputs the other party must provide
- SpendingWho orders work, approved amount, each party's share and who can approve an overrun
- ClaimsWho verifies statements about each offer and its conditions
- ApprovalWho is authorised to approve publication for each organisation
- DistributionWho publishes or sends material through each channel
- EnquiriesWhere questions about each offer or both offers go
- ChangesWho can pause, correct, replace or withdraw material
Set boundaries for claims and distribution
Each business should verify claims about its own offer. Review the complete customer-facing message, including headlines, visuals and qualifications. A later layout change can make previously agreed wording misleading.
Record who will send any marketing email or message and to which audience.
If the campaign involves personal information moving between organisations, assess the proposed use or disclosure under the rules that apply to each organisation and purpose.
If the parties compete, keep discussions within the campaign’s legitimate purpose. The ACCC takes reports about possible anti-competitive communication and co-operation among businesses. It investigates possible anti-competitive contracts, arrangements, understandings and concerted practices, and takes enforcement action against businesses that break competition law. Record which decision-maker must confirm competition-law clearance before any coordination between competitors begins.
The ACCC can require a business to back up claims about its products or services. Record who holds the supporting material for each partner’s claims and who will respond if that evidence is requested.
For personal information handled by an APP entity, APP 6 generally permits use or disclosure for the primary purpose for which it was collected. A secondary purpose needs an applicable exception, such as the individual’s consent or a reasonable expectation of a related purpose.
For sensitive information, that purpose must be directly related to the primary purpose. Other exceptions include authorisation under Australian law and certain permitted general or health situations.
Decide who may use the work
List each partner’s existing logos, templates and other material separately from newly created assets. Specify permitted users, channels, period, edits and agency access.
IP Australia distinguishes background IP (created before or outside the collaboration), project IP (created during the collaboration) and third-party IP (owned by someone outside the collaboration), and advises parties to settle ownership and use. Paying for production alone does not settle every usage right.
Agree how partners may access or use background IP, and who will own, manage and use any project IP or other new material created.
Record which decision-makers must approve joint ownership and licensing terms before they take effect.
For third-party IP, obtain the owner’s agreement to its use. Record the permitted circumstances and timeframe, and whether sub-licensing is proposed.
A non-disclosure agreement may also help protect sensitive information shared during the collaboration. Decide whether a partner may keep an approved page live, reuse an illustration, edit a recording or publish an extract after the campaign.
IP categories in a co-marketing collaboration
- Background IP
- Created before or outside the collaboration
- Project IP
- Created during the collaboration
- Third-party IP
- Owned by someone outside the collaboration
Plan for change and close-out
For a new asset or changed offer, record the affected material, revised cost and date, and who authorises the change.
At close-out, check completed work, outstanding supplier invoices and live material. Identify who can correct an inaccurate page or pause scheduled distribution after the campaign team moves on. Ending production does not itself settle ongoing use of shared assets.
Record who confirms that live campaign material has been removed or updated at close-out.
Change and close-out process
- Record the changeAffected material, revised cost and date, and who authorises the change
- Check close-out itemsCompleted work, outstanding supplier invoices and live material
- Assign after-campaign caretakerWho can correct an inaccurate page or pause scheduled distribution after the campaign team moves on
- Confirm removal or updateWho confirms that live campaign material has been removed or updated at close-out
In this guide
- Agreeing on deliverables in a joint campaignDefine joint-campaign deliverables with clear outputs, owners, inputs, acceptance checks and a route for scope changes.
- Dividing production costs between partnersAgree which production costs are shared, who pays suppliers, how contributions count and who approves overruns.
- Setting approval rights for shared marketing materialsAssign claim, brand, whole-asset and release approvals for shared marketing materials, with clear version and channel limits.
