Around half of Microsoft Partners supported on Co-Op and incentives are unaware of funding available to them, according to Bright Star’s new strategic partner Pargentic.
Founder Rob Smith said that across Partners his company has worked with, approximately 50% had unclaimed Co-Op funding, averaging around $6,000 per Partner. In one case, a Partner had nearly $40,000 available that had not been identified internally.
While figures vary by partner type and maturity, Smith said the issue reflects a broader visibility gap within the ecosystem.
“The complexity sits in eligibility rules, evidence requirements and how activity is judged months later at claim stage,” he said. “Partners are often cautious because the consequences of getting it wrong sit downstream.”
Underused Co-Op funding emerging as a commercial risk
Microsoft Co-Op funding remains a significant investment into the partner ecosystem. However, increasing emphasis on governance and documentation has altered how partners approach funded marketing activity.
Common friction points include:
- Delayed marketing decisions due to uncertainty around claim eligibility
- Activity scaled back to minimise rejection risk
- Funding left unused
- Claims challenged at audit stage
According to Smith, the greater commercial risk in many cases is not overspend, but underuse.
“Funding is being earned but not always deployed,” he said. “Partners may technically have budget available but lack the confidence to commit it.”
Microsoft governance expectations reshaping behaviour
The findings come as governance, audit scrutiny and evidence standards continue to tighten across vendor ecosystems.
Within Microsoft’s partner environment, Co-Op funding has increasingly shifted from discretionary marketing support to a more formalised, accountable funding mechanism requiring clear alignment to guidance and documented outcomes.
This has led some partners to take a more conservative stance on marketing activity, particularly where claim interpretation is unclear.
Aligning execution with funding guidance
In response to the issue, Pargentic has partnered with Bright Star to align funding interpretation with marketing execution earlier in the process.
Smith said the partnership was informed by his prior experience working alongside Bright Star within Advania Group’s Microsoft-focused brands, including Fresh Intranet and Mirus-IT.
“What stood out was their understanding of how Microsoft Partners operate,” he said. “Their work translates Microsoft priorities into commercially useful original content that still stands up operationally. That reduces risk rather than introducing it.”
Having worked in the Microsoft ecosystem for seven years, Bright Star provides executed, published and evidencable demand generation content for Microsoft Partners. Founder Juliet Stott said uncertainty around future claim scrutiny often affects behaviour at the planning stage.
“We see partners hesitate with content because they’re unsure how decisions made today will be assessed later,” she said. “The objective is to design demand generation campaigns that are commercially useful and aligned to Microsoft guidance from the outset.”
Standardised claimable structures
As part of the collaboration, Bright Star has introduced four standardised Co-Op claimable demand generation content packages for Microsoft Partners, starting from $2,500.
The packages are structured to align with Microsoft Co-Op Demand Generation guidance, including:
- Executed activity rather than advisory services
- Published and evidencable assets
- Agency fees clearly tied to delivery
- Explicit representation of Microsoft solutions or workloads
Both companies emphasised that the partnership does not guarantee claim outcomes, but aims to reduce ambiguity and friction before activity begins.
Want to find out more? Reach out to [email protected]
