Going to market through someone else can be both very lucrative and very complex at the same time.  As you are shifting responsibility for your market success to a 3rd party, marketing must focus on enabling the partner to sell the solution which includes both educating the partner sales force as well as conditioning the market to receive the offering through market awareness efforts.

I believe channel marketing requires a "services orientation" and has a heavy emphasis on enabling a partner, their partners, and the respective sales teams.  Here are some considerations:

Marketing Programs Guiding Principles

• Easy to execute
• Focus on differentiation
• Make repeatable across partners
• Drive awareness, create leads, yield revenue

Focus on delivery and executing

• Use a standard Bill of Materials (BOM) for channel sales enablement that is email distributed, a physical versioned CD, and/or web hosted (partner internal and company partner portal)

Marketing Services

• Telemarketing/prospecting
• Web presence
• Newsletter & nurture programs
• On-line/print promotion
• Case studies
• Research & thought leadership

Marketing Training/Education

• Workshop (partner site)
• Webcast (virtual)
• Certification program

Marketing Communications

• Monthly/Qtrly Channel newsletter (partner specific) which includes news, upcoming events, promotions, case studies, product updates to their sales, mkting, ops, support, client services – anyone on the contact list for that partner
• A web-based partner portal that includes sales tools, marketing collateral, partner handbook