The alliance literature presents two broad types of alliances. The first entails a distinct corporate
entity with both partners having an equity stake. The second is an inter-organizational entity
where partners share resources and skills but do not share equity. This second category includes
what is defined as a co-marketing alliance. These are lateral partnerships between firms at the
same level of the value added chain, rather than being buyer–seller or manufacturer-distributor
forms of relationships. Marketing benefits from such partnerships can derive from building or
amplifying awareness through resource combinations (Bucklin and Sengputa, 1993). Some sponsorship
arrangements take the form of co-marketing alliances where brand image and marketing
resources are shared and developed together. Also other resources can be transferred between
partners such as commercial wisdom and knowledge about brand building or consumer and audience
profiles (Farrelly and Quester, 2005).