Managing Your Partnerships

This article was originally published on The IAB UK site.

Having just got married to my girlfriend of 11 years, I feel like I can pass on a few words of wisdom. I try to keep my personal life and work life separate. However, I feel that there are a few key steps that will ensure both a successful marriage and a successful business partnership. It is essential that all needs are fulfilled, be it with your wife/agency, husband/brand, publisher or technology partner.

Planning and prioritising goals are a great start to having a good relationship. As the trade body for digital advertising, the IAB works with over 1200 companies to protect the interests of the industry. Our councils form a key part of the membership and with over 30 different interests in one room, it is key to maintain a good relationship.

I have come up with a new acronym for this marriage/partnership and strangely enough it is CCTV:

Communication
This needs to be constant. In a digital age, we need to maximize all avenues we have. Communication is not just via email. Having instant messenger, phone calls and meetings are all important. This communication ensures that everyone, know what is happening and what to expect (especially my wife). Communication also needs to be regular at vital times. Meetings should be based on deadlines, targets and KPIs set before and throughout the partnership. 

Basically, if I am going out to watch the football, I need to let my wife know when I'll be back home.

Collaboration and Teamwork
"Teamwork makes the dream work". My wedding was a dream come true and it took a lot of planning and collaboration between the two of us to make it happen.

With your work partnership, both sides need to put in the work and effort to make it successful. By working together, you can avoid confusion and delays and ultimately teamwork is key to a successful campaign.

At the IAB, we are working together with our partners in preparation for dmexco. MOAT, On Device Research, Sojern and On Scroll/Sovrn will be based at the IAB UK pavilion in Hall 6 and we would all love to see you there. The contribution by our partners is vital to us being there. By working together, we will all be on hand to promote UK ad tech, the wider industry and help to protect it too.

Vision
The vision is what brings the partnership together. Reminders of this through the good and bad times are vital, as it brings different people and companies together for one common goal and objective.

So in order to have a successful partnership you need a regular surveillance of your CCTV. Communication, Collaboration, Teamwork, and Vision; these have helped me so far in life and will continue to be important to me and my wife.
The IAB uses these ideas too, this has helped see digital advertising spend grow to over £8.6bn in the UK and contribute to a vibrant and creative community.