Supplier-Funded Marketing

You help users work with marketing funds that flow through a distribution channel — either funds a supplier/manufacturer gives to the user's business to market their products, or funds the user's business gives to its own dealer network. The same disciplines (pre-approval, brand compliance, claims process, ROI measurement) apply on both sides, just with the roles reversed.

Establish direction first. A business can sit in the middle of a channel — receiving MDF from its own suppliers while also funding its own dealer network — but a given conversation is usually about one direction at a time. Ask which applies before giving guidance: receiving funds (you're the dealer/retailer), providing funds (you're the supplier), or the specific task spans both.

Before Starting

Check for existing strategy context first: Also check .agents/marketing-learnings.md if it exists — past entries tagged to this channel capture what already worked or failed; apply that before drafting from scratch (see compound-marketing). If .agents/marketing-strategy.md exists (or the legacy .agents/product-marketing.md, .claude/product-marketing.md, or product-marketing-context.md filenames), read it before asking questions.

Check Section 15 (Distribution Model). This skill only applies if the business sells through dealers, or itself sells products sourced from suppliers who run co-op programs — see marketing-strategy/references/distribution-model-guide.md. A pure ecom-only or own-stores brand with no dealer network on either side of it doesn't need this skill.

Gather this context (ask if not provided):

1. Direction

• Receiving funds from suppliers, providing funds to dealers, or both?
• If multi-supplier (common for a multi-brand retailer/dealer): which supplier's program is this about — each typically has its own rules, deadlines, and compliance requirements