AWS marketing programs you can use, and how to claim them

There are 11 AWS paths for marketing: five for running campaigns, two for funding, two event sponsorships, and two for being found and showing your brand beside AWS. Which you can use depends on your Partner Path, your tier, and whether you resell, deliver services, sell software, or hold more than one of these roles.

For AWS partners that resell, deliver services or sell software. AWS’s marketing pages tie access to the Partner Paths you’re enrolled in and list no separate terms by role.As of Nov 1, 2026

Which AWS marketing programs can you use?

Every path below is a program AWS runs, under AWS’s own name, including the ones that rarely pay off. Program names appear because people search for them.

Run campaigns with AWS content

Path	What it gives you	Role it needs	Works with others?
Partner Ready Campaigns	What it gives youReady-to-use campaign content you customize and launch: emails, landing pages, solution briefs, case studies, social copy and banner ads	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Sequence: needs Marketing Central, which AWS opens once you meet its minimum validation criteria
Agency Connect	What it gives youPre-negotiated service offers for joint marketing, such as content development, paid media and online events	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Sequence: needs Marketing Central, which AWS opens once you meet its minimum validation criteria
Marketing Concierge	What it gives youAccess to a virtual Partner Marketing Manager	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Sequence: needs Marketing Central, which AWS opens once you meet its minimum validation criteria
Marketing Academy	What it gives youCourses and educational resources on marketing with AWS	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Sequence: needs Marketing Central, which AWS opens once you meet its minimum validation criteria
Co-branded campaigns	What it gives youShare marketing investment with AWS and jointly manage campaign execution	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Sequence: the AWS Co-Branding Guide applies only to approved co-branded activities

Which of these fit depends on the Partner Paths you are enrolled in, whether you already have campaign content of your own, and whether you want an agency to run it.

Fund the campaign

Path	What it gives you	Role it needs	Works with others?
Marketing Development Funds (MDF)	What it gives youCash or AWS Promotional Credits to offset marketing costs; AWS’s startup guide says up to 50 percent co-funding for completed eligible activities; needs an Amazon Payee Central account; services partners are listed for Advanced and Premier tiers	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Sequence: AWS allocates it on Partner Path progression, Specialization achievements and program participation
AWS-led campaigns by invitation	What it gives youInvitations to join AWS campaigns, which often come with full or partial funding from AWS	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Check with AWS: AWS’s pages don’t state who is invited

Which of these fit depends on your Partner Path progress, the activities you have planned, and whether you can set up Amazon Payee Central.

Show up at AWS events

Path	What it gives you	Role it needs	Works with others?
AWS re:Invent sponsorship	What it gives youExpo presence, plus add-ons such as lightning talks, breakout sessions, meeting spaces and networking receptions; re:Invent runs Nov 30 to Dec 4, 2026 in Las Vegas	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Check with AWS: the page states no eligibility or deadline
AWS Summit sponsorship	What it gives youBrand and thought leadership presence at regional AWS Summits, with packages and add-ons by region; reserved for AWS Partners and select customers; no discounts	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Check with AWS: the page states no tier requirement

Which of these fit depends on where your buyers attend, your event budget, and whether you want a booth, a session or meetings.

Be found by buyers

Path	What it gives you	Role it needs	Works with others?
AWS Partner Solutions Finder	What it gives youThe directory buyers use to find and engage with AWS Partners in their region	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Check with AWS: the listing terms weren’t readable on AWS’s public pages
AWS Co-Branding Guide	What it gives youBest practices for showing your brand beside AWS, including how to qualify for an AWS logo lockup; the guide is for members and needs a sign-in	Role it needsAny	Works with others?Check with AWS: the AWS page announcing it dates from 2019 and names the Select tier and above

Which of these fit depends on how buyers search for partners like you, your Specializations, and whether you run co-branded activities.

How do these programs combine?

Marketing Central gates the most. Partner Ready Campaigns, Agency Connect, Marketing Concierge and Marketing Academy all sit inside it, and AWS says you gain access once you meet its minimum validation criteria. Inside your company, your Alliance Lead assigns the Marketing Staff role in AWS Partner Central.

MDF sits on a different chain. AWS allocates it based on your Partner Path progression, Specialization achievements and program participation, and an Amazon Payee Central account is required. ACE, covered on the AWS sales page, is one of the ways AWS lists MDF as reachable.

Event sponsorships and the Solutions Finder are separate: AWS’s sponsorship pages state no requirement to hold another program first.

AWS’s marketing pages state no exclusions between these paths. AWS’s own guide says co-branded work is covered only for approved co-branded activities.

How do you claim or earn each one?

Marketing Central tools

01
Join the APN
Join the AWS Partner Network at no cost.
02
Meet validation criteria
Meet AWS’s minimum validation criteria for your Partner Path.
03
Get the Marketing Staff role
Ask your Alliance Lead to assign you the Marketing Staff role in AWS Partner Central.
04
Open the tools
Open Partner Ready Campaigns, Agency Connect, Marketing Concierge or Marketing Academy from Marketing Central.

MDF

01
Set up Payee Central
Set up an Amazon Payee Central account, which AWS requires for MDF requests.
02
Check your progress
Check how far you have progressed on your Partner Path, which Specializations you hold and which programs you take part in, because AWS allocates MDF on those.
03
Check your tier
If you are a services partner, check your tier: AWS lists MDF for Advanced and Premier.
04
Run and claim
Run the eligible activity and ask for co-funding on the completed work. AWS sets the exact amounts and claim steps in AWS Partner Central.

Event sponsorships

01
For a Summit
Submit the contract request form. AWS says it sends a sponsorship agreement within 5 business days.
02
For re:Invent
Review the sponsorship prospectus and start your sponsorship.

AWS’s public pages don’t list common reasons marketing requests are turned down, or sponsorship deadlines.

Why do two similar companies choose differently?

Illustrative

Company A — sells its own software, listed on AWS Marketplace, no services arm

The paths that fit it include Partner Ready Campaigns for launch content, MDF for a webinar series once its Partner Path progress allows, a re:Invent sponsorship, and a Solutions Finder listing so buyers can find it.

Neither set is a recommendation for you.

Illustrative

Company B — delivers managed services on AWS, Select tier partner

The paths that fit it include Agency Connect for a joint campaign, Marketing Academy for its marketing team, and a regional Summit sponsorship. MDF is listed only for Advanced and Premier services tiers, so it waits for a tier change.

The same AWS programs, and two different sets of paths.

AWS has the paths. Playmaker finds yours.

You’ve just seen how much AWS offers: programs, funding, listings, specialists and the many ways they combine. All of it is real, and much of it can run at the same time. Which of it fits your company depends on your tier, your roles and your deals.

Playmaker does that work for you:

Ranked by revenue. It looks at your company and orders the AWS plays by revenue expectancy, so you spend your time on the plays that matter most.
A recipe for each play. Every play comes with the steps to run it. You know what to do next, not just what exists.
Built for your mix. Reseller and services, a Marketplace listing and ISV Accelerate, several funding programs at once. Playmaker works out how they fit together for your company, not for a generic partner.
Ready in 3 minutes. Generate your playbook in 3 minutes, then refresh it as your deals change.

What does your playbook show?

Playmaker by WorkSpanSearch your playbooksDK

YOUR PLAYS

Northwind x AWS · Put the partner advantage to work on your deals

Your partner plays, ranked by revenue, each with a recipe to run it.

Your plays (26)

Ranked for Northwind. Each play shows what AWS makes available and the first step to take.

Competition (6)Sales (5)Marketing (3)Funding & Incentives (4)Marketplace (5)Services (3)

1Register live deals as ACE co-sell opportunitiesAWSCO-SELL
2Verify ISV Accelerate MDF eligibility and file the first funding requestAWSFUNDING INCENTIVE
3Package deployment services as a multi-product Marketplace solutionAWSBUNDLED SERVICES
4Complete the streamlined Foundational Technical ReviewAWSTECHNICAL VALIDATION
5Launch a joint AWS co-marketing campaignAWSCO-MARKETING

1Register live deals as ACE co-sell opportunities

WHY THIS PLAY

Shared opportunities pull AWS sellers into your deals and build the pipeline history co-sell programs measure.

⚡ WHAT IT’S WORTH

Puts an AWS account team on your 3 largest open deals, and counts toward ISV Accelerate.

YOUR RECIPE

1Create the opportunity in ACE Pipeline Manager and request AWS co-sell support.
2Add the AWS contact and customer details so it can be reviewed.
3Find your AWS counterparts in Partner Connections.

Start this play

What changed recently in marketing?

AWS re:Invent 2026 runs Nov 30 to Dec 4 in Las Vegas, with a Partner Keynote on Wednesday, Dec 2. No Playmaker change page covers AWS marketing programs yet.

Frequently
asked questions

The short answers for AWS marketing. Playmaker shows you the rest in 3 minutes.

Through Marketing Development Funds, which AWS describes as cash and credit to offset your marketing costs. You need an Amazon Payee Central account, and AWS allocates the funds on your Partner Path progression, Specializations and program participation.

A self-service marketing automation platform with Partner Ready Campaigns, Agency Connect, Marketing Concierge and Marketing Academy. AWS opens it once you meet its minimum validation criteria.

Both run through AWS’s sponsorship programs: re:Invent starts from a prospectus, and a Summit starts from a contract request form, with an agreement sent within 5 business days. AWS offers no Summit discounts.

AWS’s marketing pages don’t make either a requirement. Marketing Central needs you to meet its validation criteria, and MDF depends on your Partner Path, Specializations and program participation. Check with AWS for any rule specific to your Partner Path.

AWS ties Marketing Central access to the Partner Paths your organization is enrolled in, and doesn’t say these programs exclude each other. A company on more than one path should check with AWS how each path’s criteria apply.

Sources

The AWS pages this page reads, all accessed Nov 1, 2026. Program names and terms belong to AWS.

AWS, AWS Marketplace, AWS Partner Central, AWS Partner Network, AWS re:Invent, AWS Summit and Amazon Payee Central are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. WorkSpan is not affiliated with or endorsed by AWS.

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