Use this partnership press release template to announce a collaboration: agree a shared news angle, name both companies in the headline, open with when, what and benefit, add a quote from each side, and get joint sign-off before sending.
The same building blocks sit inside the wider tech press release format. A joint release adds a second company, so most of the extra work is agreeing wording, speaking order and approvals between the two teams.
What you need before drafting
A joint release stalls most often because one side lacks something the other assumed was ready. Collect these items from both companies before anyone writes a headline.
- The agreed news. Know whether you are announcing a strategic partnership, a technology integration, a joint product, combined services or the start of a long-term business relationship. IssueWire lists these as the typical triggers for a partnership release.
- Named speakers. Each company needs a quotable person whose seniority matches the size of the deal.
- Reviewers on both sides. Decide who signs off the draft at each company, including anyone who handles legal or investor-disclosure questions.
- Each company’s boilerplate and media contact. A release should carry the contact details of a company spokesperson, so both partners need to supply one.
- A target media list. Pick outlets that cover your industry or geographic area, not a generic blast list.
Writing the joint release
Work through the steps in order. Each one produces a piece of the finished release, and the first decides whether the rest is worth sending.
Step 1: Agree the shared news angle
Write the angle as a single statement that both companies would put their names to. According to IssueWire’s guidance, a partnership release should explain the purpose of the partnership, its goals and its potential impact. The same source says to explain how the partnership improves the customer experience or adds value for customers, and to cover industry impact such as new standards or trends.
Those points separate a newsworthy partnership from a routine one. A launch of a joint product, a combination of services or a long-term relationship gives a journalist something concrete to report. A vague promise to “collaborate” does not. Unlike a funding announcement press release, where the news is one company’s raise, a partnership story only works if each side gains something a reader can see.
Step 2: Write a headline that names both companies
AllBusiness advises that the title should contain the names of both companies involved. It gives a simple order rule: list the larger company first when the sizes differ. For small firms, the creator or distributor goes first.
Keep the headline tight. Marketers Media suggests aiming for 80 characters or less, so use a short verb and one concrete benefit rather than a string of adjectives. If the two companies have similar standing, pick the order by who owns the product being announced and keep that order everywhere in the release.
Step 3: Open with when, what and benefit
The first sentence should carry the availability, the integration or partnership itself, and the benefit. The AllBusiness guide describes the opening for an integration this way. A reader who stops after one sentence still gets the news, and a journalist can see why it matters to an audience.
Step 4: Explain who is involved and why now
Use the body to identify the parties and their roles, as IssueWire advises. AllBusiness also notes that a couple of paragraphs summarising industry trends can make the case for an integration. Place that context after the opening, and keep it to what supports the announcement.
Step 5: Pair the quotes
A strategic release should contain two quotes, one from each company. According to AllBusiness, these come from the CEOs if the companies are small, from vice presidents or managers if they are larger, and from CEOs when the partnership is strategic. Quotes from key players add credibility and a human touch, Marketers Media notes, and IssueWire says they should speak to the value of the collaboration.
Give the quotes different jobs. One speaker can describe the customer problem the pairing solves, and the other can describe what the combination makes possible. Quote the company named first in the headline first, so the order reads consistently. If the news coincides with a leadership change, treat that in its own release using an executive appointment press release template rather than crowding the partnership story.
Step 6: Add boilerplate and contacts
The standard components are a headline, dateline, introduction, body paragraphs, quotes, boilerplate and media contact information, per AnnounceChain. In a joint release, include a boilerplate paragraph for each company and the contact details of a media spokesperson, as WordLayouts says a release must always do. Name one contact per company so journalists know who to approach for each side.
Announcing a technology integration
A technology integration release has a narrower job than a general partnership: it tells readers which products now work together and from when. Anchor the announcement to a specific product version or release. AllBusiness’s example ties an integration to version 1.3 of TSV-Solutions and the 2006 release of CoCreate OneSpace Modeling, so a reader can tell exactly which releases are covered.
Follow the opening with the benefit to the customer, then a short market-context passage. Keep the technical detail in one or two sentences and let the quotes carry the rationale. Journalists covering software usually need the product names, the versions and the customer outcome, not an architecture tour.
Approval and distribution
Step 7: Run a joint review
Circulate one shared draft to both companies and collect comments in the same document so contradictory edits surface early. AllBusiness warns that quotes must be sensitive to existing partners, liability issues and public-company disclosure concerns. That is the practical reason to include legal or investor-relations reviewers in the approval chain for any release that names a customer, competitor-adjacent partner or listed company.
A sensible sequence is for the drafting company to circulate the text, for each partner to approve its own quote and boilerplate, and then for both sides to confirm the headline, the opening sentence and the release time together. No release goes out until every named reviewer has confirmed.
Step 8: Choose the distribution route and release time
Decide in advance which company sends the release, or whether both post it on their own newsrooms and the newswire at the same moment. Whoever sends should use the agreed media list. AllBusiness lists as a common mistake sending a release to journalists or outlets that do not cover your industry or geographic area. Targeting matters more than volume.
Final checkpoints before sending
Use this table as a last pass. Each row is a point where joint releases most often go wrong.
| Checkpoint | What to confirm | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | Names both companies, larger or creator first, and stays at 80 characters or less | Settle the order before drafting so neither side reopens it at review |
| Opening sentence | Covers when, what and benefit | Rewrite until it works as a standalone summary |
| Quotes | Two quotes, matched to company size, cleared for partner, liability and disclosure sensitivity | Send each quote to its speaker and to legal for approval |
| Distribution list | Outlets cover your industry or geographic area | Cut any outlet that does not fit before sending |
The headline, opening and quote guidance above comes from AllBusiness, and the 80-character limit from Marketers Media.
Frequently asked questions
What is a partnership press release?
It is an announcement or celebration of a collaboration between two or more companies, or between a company and an individual, according to IssueWire.
Can I quote customers as well as executives?
Yes. Standard releases carry quotes from key company leaders or satisfied customers, as AllBusiness notes. For a strategic partnership, keep the two paired executive quotes first and add a customer voice only if it supports the shared angle.
Where can I distribute a partnership release for free?
AnnounceChain lists PRLog and IssueWire as platforms that distribute news at no cost, and Business Wire as a source of free writing templates. Free platforms suit a first announcement, but they do not replace a targeted media list.
