I’ve been running my agency for about five years now, and honestly, the hardest part of scaling into cross-border work hasn’t been the campaigns themselves—it’s been finding partners I can actually trust. We work with Russian-rooted brands looking to expand into the US market, but vetting US-based creators and agencies for joint campaigns has been a nightmare. I’ve had partners ghost mid-project, misunderstand briefs, or just deliver work that wasn’t anywhere close to what we agreed on.
Lately, I’ve been experimenting with using a structured approach through a bilingual hub specifically designed for this. Instead of cold emails and hoping for the best, we’ve been able to connect with US-based creators and agencies who actually understand cross-border dynamics. The process has been surprisingly smoother—from initial brief through launch—because the vetting happens upfront, and communication is clearer when both sides speak the same language (literally and figuratively).
But I’m curious: how do you actually vet partners before committing to a joint campaign? What red flags do you watch for, and how much due diligence is too much?
I think what sometimes gets overlooked is just having genuine conversations with potential partners before jumping into contracts. I’ve made some of my best partnership connections by asking questions in a friendly way—not investigative, but genuinely curious about how they work.
I ask things like: “Tell me about a campaign that didn’t go as planned. How did you handle it?” Their answer tells you so much about their problem-solving style and whether they’re honest about challenges. I also love asking: “What kind of partnerships work best for you?” If they’re thoughtful about their answer, that’s a green light for me.
And honestly, a quick call with someone is worth a hundred emails. You can feel whether there’s actual chemistry and whether communication will be smooth.
As someone going through international expansion myself, I’d add that you should check how adaptive they are. Markets are different, right? What works in the US might not work in Russia and vice versa. I always ask potential partners: “Tell me about a campaign where you had to adjust your playbook for a different market.”
If they say they follow the same playbook everywhere, that’s concerning. If they talk about learning from failures and adapting, that’s the person I want.
Also—and this is maybe the hardest part—don’t move too fast. I used to get excited about partnerships and jump in, but I’ve learned that taking time for due diligence actually accelerates things in the long run because you avoid disasters.