Understanding Co-marketing Offerings

Want to maximize co-marketing opportunities? Start with these key questions.

Co-marketing, also called partnership marketing, is often pitched to product issuers as an incentive by service providers like index providers, listings venues, or data providers. The offerings can vary dramatically from provider to provider and may be customized based on the size of the overall relationship or the specific product being launched or transferred. 

Why do providers offer co-marketing?

For regulated businesses in particular, co-marketing offers a point of negotiation when pricing is fixed.

It also capitalizes on the aligned interests of the product issuer and the service provider. The index provider earns revenue based on the AUM tracking their index. Listing venues earns revenue based on trading volumes. In both cases when the product gains AUM, trading volume, or flows, it a with for both the issuer and the service provider. Co-marketing becomes a logical way to support mutual growth.

Despite this, co-marketing is often underutilized. either because issuers are not aware of what’s available, or they struggle to integrate the offerings into their ownmarketing initiatives

So how can product issuers get the most value from co-marketing?

Key questions to ask:

What’s on the menu?

The offerings available for your specific firm or the specific product on the table may vary, so getting clarity up front is key. If you have a particular item in mind, don’t hesitate to ask. 

How can we mix, match, and maximize?

Higher-value offerings may require choosing between options - for example, a webinar or a custom video. Or you may be able to forgo one large activation for several smaller ones. While this is rarely an exact equation, understanding the general “rules of engagement” helps you optimize selections. 

Which audiences can we target?

Different tactics reach different segments. RIA-focused offerings may differ significantly from those targeting individual investors. Particularly when targeting financial professionals, data on firm types, AUM, licensing, or and other factors may help you select the highest impact offering. 

What’s the lift and lead time?

Even the best co-marketing offerings require resources on your end - subject matter experts, compliance reviews, marketing assets, spokespeople, design support, etc. In addition, some offerings need to be locked in months in advance. Others may only be available on short notice and will require quick decision making and turn around. Capture these specifications so you can set clear expectations internally.

What do we get post-activation?

Clarify the data and assets you’ll receive and when. For example:

- Will a webinar include a complete list of registrants with contact info? 

- Can you access the MP4 file? Are you able to create shorter cuts of the webinar to use on social? 

- If content is posted on the service provider’s website or socials, what level of data will be shared?

Knowing these details can help you plan to extend the life span and reach of the activation,

What’s the process to stay on track?

Once you’ve laid out your plans, establish a cadence to ensure follow through. If your marketing team doesn’t already have regular check ins their counterparts at the service providers, now is a great time to get them set up. 

As the ETF landscape becomes more competitive, issuers who fully activate their partner ecosystem will have a distinct advantage. Co-marketing isn’t just a perk; it’s an underutilized lever for accelerating growth. With the right structure and questions in hand, issuers can turn these opportunities into a scalable part of their distribution strategy.

Connect with each of your service providers to inquire what’s included in the co-marketing offerings and what you’re eligible for. Ideally, this is a combined effort with the marketing and business teams. Business for a deep understanding of the financials and potential for future growth of the relationship. Marketing to evaluate specifications  around target audience, reach, lead times, and level of detail available for results. For example, if you do a webinar do you just get registrant and attendee numbers, or do you get the actual leads to follow up on? 

If this is done on a call, ensure there’s a written follow up to document the offerings and your ability to take advantage of them, including and contingencies or restrictions on which products you can use the offerings for.

Step one know what’s available depending on the product issue or size and structure. They may have a marketing team that’s able to engage with the service provider. It’s critical to have a transparent conversation with the providers of what their co-marketing offerings could be the level of discretion, how far in advanced things need to be scheduled and then as a product issue or take that information back what marketing efforts are being offered by your index provider if applicable, what’s being offered by your listing venue? What are your greatest marketing strengths in house then where are you already working with third-party ventures to promote your product then it’s time to look at how to optimize. Where can you use? Co-marketing offerings to test and learn new strategies rather than putting your own budget at risk where might they have a competitive pricing offering that will get you more bang for the buck that if you go it alone.

The other thing to keep in mind, particularly with events, like webinars is the live event is only one component of the offering replay are available, particularly if you’re able to offer the continuing education credits for the replay webinar can also be turned into blob posts, e-books, Q&A, and other content formats to help get more mileage for the effort that was put in.