The Partnership Economy

CHAPTER 15What Is Partnerships Program Maturity and How Do I Get It?

If you have ever purchased an official jersey, hat, or other memorabilia of a favorite collegiate or professional team, it probably came from Fanatics, the largest online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise. Partnerships are vital to Fanatics' growth. The company works with a portfolio of nearly 1,000 modern partners to sell over 500,000 products from over 500 different teams, and this number is growing.

Fanatics began its partnerships program 15 years ago. Coupon and cashback sites originally comprised the majority of Fanatics' partnerships, as they did at the time for most companies. Today, Fanatics' partners include influencers, bloggers, and affinity-based communities, as well as sports content aggregators like SB Nation, news publishers such as the Chicago Tribune that are located in towns with beloved sports teams, and large media companies such as CBS Sports. Together these partners comprise a profound customer acquisition and retention engine for Fanatics.

Diversifying its partnerships portfolio. Fanatics became intentional about diversifying its partnerships portfolio several years ago, following a senior management change at the company. “Our new leadership was more data-driven in their decision making,” explains Wade Tonkin, director of global affiliate partnerships at Fanatics. “When we got deep into the numbers, we realized many of our affiliates were not bringing in incremental ...