In a move that looks mutually beneficial, at least on paper, TiVo announced today that it would form a marketing alliance with electronics retailer Best Buy. Although the financial details of the deal have not yet been released, the deal would involve TiVo providing its recording technology to Best Buy’s own brand of televisions and other electronics.
 
TiVo stands to benefit greatly from partnering up with Best Buy, the top specialty consumer electronics retailer in the country. Putting TiVo recording technology in Best Buy’s electronics would boost TiVo’s sales. In return, Best Buy would benefit from consistent advertising on TiVo’s on-screen …read more

While Yahoo Inc. CEO Carol Bartz recently flirted with the idea of a partnership, stating that a potential partner would need lots of money and compatible technology, Bartz has revealed that she and her company are under no pressure to partner with Microsoft. Although Bartz confirmed that there had been talks, she denies that such a partnership is at all necessary.
Reuters reported Bartz as saying that “Yahoo doesn’t have to do anything with Microsoft about anything,” during the Bank of America U.S Technology Conference in San Francisco. Rather, Bartz seemed confident in the significance of Yahoo in the Internet industry, …read more

Did you realize that there are at least partners who should be running your business? Did you also know that if one of these partners is not included that it could affect your business? Let me introduce you to the three partners: (1) You, (2) Your business, and (3) Your strategy plan.
Now that you have met all three, let me share with you the importance of having all three doing their part. Let’s start with Strategy. According to Webster.com, the definition of the word “strategy” is “a careful plan or method”. This can be applied to the partnership as the …read more

Reports say that search engine giant Google is currently talking to Twitter, a recent micro-blogging phenomenon, not about a buy-out, but about a partnership. Though nothing has been announced, experts say that they’re likely talking about running AdSense ads on Twitter.
This will allow the company to make some money, but this could be a good move for Google as well, as it will lessen the chance that Twitter will be bought by a rival company. It also lessens the chance that Twitter will become a Google competitor. Early this week, the company unveiled a new search engine function, which …read more

Today, two prominent olive oil families from the Mediterranean announced that they’d be joining forces to bring higher-quality oil to the United States and other parts of the world. That’s good news for Pompeian, Inc. of Baltimore, one of the best selling olive oil brands in America.
Pompeian is owned by the Moreno family, who bought the company in 1975. In Spain, the Morenos are known for their Musa brand of mayonnaise and other condiments. They’ll be partnering with the Devico family, owners of the Aicha brand.
Together, the companies will be expanding in the United States. They hope to open an …read more

“There’s a flag on the field.”  You know them when you see them – or hear them.  Those red flags that tell you something about this business deal just isn’t right.  And you know that, no matter how much you want this customer – this partner – this vendor – this business – this office — the relationship is doomed to failure.
Business “red flags” can come from anywhere.  For example:
An Offhand Comment. “We need a cute blond around here to attract male customers.”  A business owner told me about this one.  She was talking to a professional about a partnership.  …read more