Joint Campaigns
Joint campaign planning
Plan a joint B2B campaign with a shared brief, useful offer, release schedule, review points and a clear route for customer enquiries.
Plan a joint campaign by agreeing the customer problem, a useful offer, each partner’s contribution and the decision after launch. Record these choices in a shared brief before booking channels or setting a release date.
Write the campaign brief together
Name the intended audience narrowly enough that both teams recognise it. Describe what a customer should be able to do after engaging with the campaign. “Raise awareness” may be a business aim, but it does not explain what the customer will receive.
A working brief can fit on one page. Record the customer problem, proposed offer, audience, objective, channels, main message, material conditions and a decision-maker on each side. Add each partner’s contribution and what falls outside this activity. If the partners mean different things by “joint launch”, settle that before production.
Keep the brief distinct from the partnership agreement. The agreement governs commitments and rights; the brief guides this campaign. If an asset or expense exceeds what was agreed, obtain the appropriate decision before adding it to the plan.
Agree the offer for the campaign
At campaign level, agree what the offer is, which audience it is for and what each partner contributes. Record the agreed offer and its limits in the shared brief so production and distribution start from the same understanding.
Turn the brief into a release plan
Work backwards from a proposed release window. List the customer-facing assets, the inputs they need, who prepares them, review points and who can authorise release. Include distribution preparation and a route for customer questions. Treat the date as provisional until owners and reviewers can meet it.
| Planning decision | Question to settle |
|---|---|
| Offer | What will the audience receive, and what is excluded? |
| Production | Who supplies each input and prepares each asset? |
| Review | Who verifies claims, conditions and brand use in the final version? |
| Distribution | Which organisation controls each channel and its audience? |
| Enquiries | Where does a question go when it concerns one or both partners? |
| Learning | What signal will prompt a change, continuation or stop decision? |
Use a shared calendar for dependencies and dates. Keep detailed deliverable acceptance, costs and asset rights in their agreed records; the calendar can show when those decisions are due.
Check the customer-facing message
Before release, have each partner verify statements about its own offer. Review the complete page, email or other asset that customers will see.
For claims about products or services, the ACCC can require businesses to back up claims they make, and may investigate misleading claims and take compliance or enforcement action. If a partner cannot support a statement, remove or revise it before release. Check that any qualifications are visible alongside the offer.
Check distribution separately. For electronic marketing, the ACMA publishes guidance on avoiding spam; check it before you send. If partners will exchange personal information, assess the proposed disclosure under the rules that apply to the organisations, information and purpose.
For an organisation covered by the Australian Privacy Principles, check the purpose for which personal information was collected before using or disclosing it for a joint campaign. APP 6 generally limits use or disclosure to that primary purpose unless an exception applies.
A secondary purpose may be permitted if the individual consented, or would reasonably expect the use or disclosure and it is related to the primary purpose. For sensitive information, the secondary purpose must be directly related to the primary purpose for that reasonable-expectation exception.
Compliance Requirements for Joint Campaigns
- ACCC – Misleading ClaimsClaims must be substantiated; businesses may face enforcement action if false or misleading.
- ACMA – Spam PreventionElectronic marketing must comply with anti-spam laws; avoid unsolicited messages.
- OAIC – Privacy (APP 6)Personal information use/disclosure must align with primary purpose unless consented or reasonably expected.
Prepare for claim challenges
Keep the approved wording and the material that supports it with the campaign record. Note who will reassess the claim if the offer or supporting evidence changes before release.
If a concern arises after publication, route it to someone able to review the claim and decide whether the campaign material needs attention. The ACCC accepts reports and uses them to inform its education, compliance and enforcement work, but does not resolve individual disputes or provide legal advice.
Agree campaign approvals and pauses
Agree who can approve the final campaign material for release and who can pause or correct it if a material issue arises. Keep the campaign-level decision in the shared brief so both partners know the route before release.
Decide what the campaign taught you
Choose a few signals before launch, such as whether the intended audience reached the offer, what questions people asked and whether enquiries fit the defined need. State what each signal can show. A registration does not establish use of an offer; an enquiry does not establish a sale.
At an agreed review date, decide whether to repeat, narrow, revise or stop the activity. Record the reason so the next campaign starts with a better brief.
Key Compliance & Operational Metrics
- Audience reach
- Target percentage of defined audience reached
- Enquiry relevance
- Proportion of enquiries matching campaign intent
- Claim substantiation rate
- Percentage of claims backed by documented evidence
In this guide
- Building a shared campaign calendarBuild a shared campaign calendar that shows dependencies, owners, review dates, approved versions and realistic release points.
- Choosing a co-marketing offer both audiences needTest a proposed co-marketing offer against both audiences’ needs, each partner’s contribution and the limits of its promise.
- Planning the handoff between partner teamsDefine what moves between partner teams, who receives it, which decision is needed and how blocked work reaches the right owner.
