Mr. Freeman

Social Media & PR

Partnership Marketing: Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends...

By Andrew Freeman, President, Andrew Freeman & Company

As business becomes increasingly competitive and aggressive, and consumers become more sophisticated and informed, finding ways to extend your brand with unique and creative solutions becomes increasingly necessary. Partnership marketing, a valuable and often underutilized tool, offers a powerful solution, providing a means to gain significant exposure to potential new guests and new markets, as well as increase the benefit of what you provide your current guests.

What is partnership marketing? Traditionally known as "cooperative advertising," partnership marketing is a grass-roots approach to making marketing dollars last, and extending your brand to people and market segments you didn't have direct access to before. Partnership marketing is aligning yourself with other like-minded organizations and businesses to reciprocally expose your brand to one another's customers and provide added value to your own existing customers.

Who are your partners? Partners may include local civic organizations, such as your local convention and visitors bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, hotel and restaurant councils, and other key city groups you can be involved in as a supporter. Also look at industry organizations, such as Meeting Planners International (MPI), Hotels Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) or American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHMA), which have similar messages and objectives. Every key manager on property ought to be actively involved in a civic group. If you're not already participating in the civic and industry organizations, you're way behind. These are the most direct sources for partnership marketing.

More creative and strategic possibilities for partnership marketing are close behind. Most fully realized opportunities come from partnering with a key cause. Cause-related partnership marketing begins by identifying what your brand stands for and determining where you can make an impact, then aligning yourself with a community or charity organization that has a mission consistent with your own as well as one that can refer potential business to your hotel.

Be sure that no matter the cause - protecting the environment, improving education, fighting disease, eliminating poverty - the reason you choose to partner with this cause is to extend the reach of your marketing dollars as well as to match the sensibilities of your customers by utilizing the level of reach this particular organization can offer. Giving back to the community and supporting worthy causes are justifiable reasons in their own right, but you also need to incorporate the social and financial return on investment in what is ultimately a business decision.

Other creative opportunities for potential partners can be found by looking at your vendors. Not just your existing vendors, but vendors who are creating products that could complement and enhance your brand. As you look around, you'll see possibilities with all sorts of potential partners who can take elements of your brand and extend it or add a level of excitement and press-worthiness:

These are just some of the examples available to you. Continue by looking at the products you use in your hotel: Who provides the art? Who creates the bedding? Where do you get your bath amenities? What programs do you have in place for your guests? Do you have a spa or a fitness center? Who provides your honor bar items?

For example, talk with the company that supplies the bottled water in your mini bar: Can the company underwrite an event you're hosting for your guests (where the company's bottled water will be served)? Can the liquor company provide the beverages for an anniversary event you're hosting? Is someone creating a special amenity you're your guests would love? Just as you have a marketing budget and a goal for the kind of customer you want to attract, so do all the vendors and supplies from which you buy items needed in your hotel.

How do you make it work? For every partnership, there should be a return on investment on both the actual dollars invested as well as your expectations. Key elements for any partnership:

How do you make it succeed? As the leader of your hotel, you must support the partnership. If encouragement and support does not come from the top, the partnership will fail. Like any relationship, the alliances you create for partnership marketing efforts take work. Don't be a one-night stand. These partnerships are meant to be long-term and should be treated as a kind of marriage. If relationships are souring because you don't feel mutually satisfied, get an amicable divorce and don't take it personally (or to Judge Judy).

In addition to the obvious exchange of a complimentary product for guaranteed exposure - guaranteed exposure to both companies' customers - take advantage of the additional marketing opportunities now available to you. Share ideas for potential advertising, direct mail and press coverage (be sure to look at online and offline opportunities) as well as steps necessary to build your relationship into something long-term, stable and successful.

Not only will you be contributing to those organizations and businesses that help support your industry and thus your business, more importantly, you will be seen as a partner and a leader by the others involved in these groups' boards and committees. The results can be anything from long-term partnerships to immediate referrals. From a strategic perspective, the more involved you are in your community and your industry, the more you are viewed as a leading force. From a tactical perspective, people are much more comfortable referring friends and family to businesses where they have connections, a friend, a relationship.

Other benefits to partnership marketing include an opportunity for your employees to get involved in the community-related partnerships (always give them the chance to participate in something they can fully support), which builds morale internally and increases the visibility of your hotel externally. You also provide a greater focus and continuity to your marketing plan, which means you can just say no to all the random requests for time and money donations and contributions.

In this top-level outline of partnership marketing, it is easy to see the power this tool can provide. Align yourself with like-minded partners, agree on what both sides contribute, actively work to make the partnership long-term, and evaluate your results. The outcome will be a successful extension of your marketing resources and greater visibility for your brand, ultimately contributing to your occupancy and revenue.

Andrew Freeman is founder of Andrew Freeman & Co., a consulting agency. Mr. Freeman has worked for Kimpton as VP, Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships. At Kimpton, he developed all public and media relations, including the launching of new properties for the global brand, the group of 40 hotels and restaurants, and for corporate headquarters. He was also responsible for strategic planning, outreach, fund raising, relationship development and execution with industry and community partners. Mr. Freeman can be contacted at 415-781-5700 or andrew@andrewfreemanandco.com Extended Bio...

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