Marketing leaders are facing a perfect storm between tighter budgets, more content demands, and the pressure to drive better results with fewer resources. This is changing the dynamic of what marketing teams look like, particularly their size. 

We recently welcomed Harrison Iuliano (cofounder of Moving You to BCC) to our Best Story Wins podcast for a little insight into this shift and how companies should function going forward. As someone who connects brands with marketing agencies, Harrison has a unique vantage point on how marketing teams are evolving. And he says the smartest move is toward a hybrid approach, specifically using smaller teams with more supplemental resources and experts. 

The New Marketing Team Blueprint

Traditionally, marketing teams have tried to house all capabilities under one roof. But different types of marketing work require different types of resources. Maintaining full-time staff for every specialized marketing function simply isn’t cost-effective for most organizations.

Thus, there’s an emerging model, which Harrison says he’s seeing across companies of all sizes, where companies are using a small internal team of people in strategic positions, whether that’s marketing team members, a fractional leader, or external agency partners who can handle both strategy and execution.

At its core, this model separates strategic direction (which often stays in-house) from specialized expertise and execution (which is distributed across external or agency partners). This helps companies retain strategic control, increase flexibility, and maintain quality. 

The Key Ingredient: Fractional Expertise

One of the most interesting aspects of this new model is the increasing role of fractional expertise (aka experienced professionals who work with multiple brands on a part-time basis).

Harrison says these are people with years and years of experience who maybe don’t want to work full-time in-house, but they provide the most value for the hours you get from them.

This fractional approach allows brands to access CMO-level strategic thinking or specialized expertise in areas like SEO, content strategy, or creative direction without paying for full-time executives. It also creates a win-win situation where experienced professionals get the variety and flexibility they want, while brands get access to talent they otherwise couldn’t afford.

The key to making fractional roles work is to focus them on strategic direction and specialized expertise rather than day-to-day execution. For example, a fractional CMO might spend 10-20 hours a month setting strategy and reviewing results, while agencies and junior internal staff handle the implementation. 

But that’s not to say that fractional roles are the be all, end all. Marketing teams also need access to the resources and experts that can bring a fractional leader’s ideas to life in an effective way. This may require you to reassess the way you work with outsiders, particularly agencies. 

Rethinking the Role of Agencies 

To be successful, you need to build not just a team but a marketing ecosystem that works symbiotically. Every part needs to understand what it brings to the table (and be invested in what other parts are doing). For that reason, agencies will need to become stronger partners.

Traditionally, marketing teams have used agencies as hired guns to do a one-off project or campaign. But that transactional relationship limits their efficacy. 

In this new model, agencies play a critical but evolved role. Instead of doing a single project, they become ongoing execution partners integrated into the marketing ecosystem. This may significantly affect the way teams find and hire agencies. For example, the traditional RFP process is hyper-focused on deliverables and case studies, but it should also consider things like culture fit and communication styles.

Harrison likens a marketing team to seats at a table. You’re using different people to fill different seats, and you’re all focused on the same goal. If an agency is going to be at that table, it had better be the right one. 

During the vetting process, Harrison recommends asking these key questions:

• Do I want to be on a weekly call with this team? 
• Do I want to be in the trenches with these people? 
• Do I believe they’re gonna show up?

This helps you vet and cultivate deeper partnerships where the agency functions more like an extension of your team than a hired vendor.

The Right Team, The Right Structure

Although it’s important to source the right experts and agency, the internal team needs to be appropriately structured for this distributed model to work.

Harrison tends to see more junior internal people function as marketing coordinators, supporting and managing the executional partners (usually the agency).  

Although they may be more junior, these coordinator roles are critical to the success of the model. They handle project management, asset coordination, reporting, and day-to-day communication with external partners, essentially serving as the connective tissue. For that reason, these individuals need strong communication skills, good judgment, and the ability to coordinate multiple workstreams simultaneously. 

Remember: Without a strong core team, the larger structure will break apart, so it’s important to prioritize hiring the right people in those roles for long-term success. 

The Key to Future Success: Flexibility 

Of course, not every team dynamic is going to work for every company. You need to consider your strengths and weaknesses, as well as market changes, and compose your team accordingly. That is the best way to set your team up for success.

For more insights on building effective marketing teams and partnerships, check out our full conversation with Harrison on the Best Story Wins podcast. (And if you’re looking for a new agency partner, see our tips to find an agency with the right expertise.)