Many vendors have put in place some sort of marketing portal or infrastructure for partners.  When I was at EMC we called it the Campaign Builder, Cisco has Partner Velocity, and this week Symantec announced the launch of Campaign Creator.  Like others that came before, Campaign Creator enables partners to choose campaigns, customize them, upload a logo, and launch them through the infrastructure.  But wait...there's more.

Even with end-to-end marketing campaigns including emails, event checklists, event invites/reminders, banner ads, and landing pages partners still need help.  They are feet on the street or uber technical and trying to get in front of as many prospects as possible so editing HTMLs, developing marketing content, and producing events may not be a priority or even a capability.

Part II of Symantec's announcement this week is about their Partner Support Center for Marketing.  Available to their solution providers 7:00 am MST - 6:00 pm MST or via email (see below).  Partners can call or email and receive assistance with uploading their logo, choosing their list, or just general marketing and program questions.  Is this the missing link?  Might be.  In my experience even if we built it, partners didn't necessary take advantage of the tools.  A resource for partners to tap into a human to help with the execution is invaluable. The Partner Support Center will also be doing some outbound calling to partners to alert them of new campaigns or a webcast series.

Tricia Atchison, Director of Channel Marketing for Symantec adds, "Marketing is a big opportunity and statistics from IPED show that when you’re trying to broaden your customer base you can drive more revenue and more demand when you invest in your partner base. Our partners are stretched thin and this is something we can do to help them exponentially."  Symantec isn't restricting the Campaign Creator or the Partner Support Center to their elite partners either.  "We just ask that they are in our program, not a specific tier. We feel strongly that this is something they can use to distinguish themselves without having to spend a ton of money." says Atchison.

I applaud Symantec and the other vendors that step up and realize their partners need the help and they, as vendors, are best equipped to provide it.  That next step, which I wrote about in The Shift in Your Co-Marketing Programs is to incorporate social media tactics and better enable your partners to use them.

How are you vendors helping you?  Are you a Symantec partner who has used Campaign Creator or a partner who has used another vendor's resources?  I'd love to hear feedback!