Why the Old Marketing Team Model No Longer Works
18 Aug 2025
Traditional marketing teams are failing, because the world they used to succeed in no longer exists. On the outside, economic uncertainty and technological disruption has transformed the playing field. Companies have limited marketing spend, and Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) are under relentless pressure to demonstrate ROI. Workforce expectations are evolving with new and collaborative ways of working. The result – a perfect storm requiring CMOs to rethink everything from talent acquisition to operating models.
The challenge – how to do more, with less
Geopolitical turbulence has created unrelenting pressure for marketers – particularly in B2B – to communicate their relevance and value proposition. Resource constraints have resulted in all executive functions looking at their operating models and resource costs. CMOs are under the microscope, along with the return, value and growth their teams deliver. The challenge extends far beyond simple cost-cutting. CMOs are simultaneously dealing with what amounts to a convergence of multiple disruptions hitting marketing organizations at once:
At one FTSE 250 facilities management company, a CMO was suddenly told by the CFO to “start making 30% cuts into the team. At the time the team was 270 people globally… which was pretty brutal.” The cuts disproportionately affected centralized functions like brand, creative, and digital teams—precisely the capabilities needed to drive strategic differentiation.
Meanwhile, a technology company CMO described the constant restructuring that has become the norm: “We actually built… we are 52 people in the marketing team right now. But with the restructure we’re actually not going to have our creative in-house anymore. So we’re going to lose about seven full-time heads through that change.” This reflects a broader trend of organizations oscillating between in-house and outsourced models without clear strategic rationale.
There is a prevailing pressure to deliver more value with less investment. This requires alternative operating and resource models. CMOs are required to perform varying levels of recalibration depending on where they are in the planning and execution cycle, which varies from full-scale rethinking the targeted operating model to a more tactical fix, for example, to find a better solution for creative delivery.
This is easier said than done. Many B2B marketers have found themselves trapped in resourcing patterns that favor heavily resourced and overly rigid teams. This traditional approach to building marketing teams—hiring full-time employees in major metropolitan centers with deep specializations—is no longer sustainable or effective. The agency retainer model also has its flaws, as it perpetuates the same lengthy cycle of hiring, upsizing, and downsizing on a micro level. Organizations are being forced to explore radically different models for accessing talent and capabilities, while simultaneously trying to maintain quality, culture, and strategic alignment. There is a shift taking place – from reactive, slow-moving models to agile talent solutions.
The factors behind this shift
There are a number of factors converging at once to necessitate a new approach to how CMOs lead and resource projects. These include:
The end of the traditional employment model: The shift away from full-time, office-based teams is accelerating, driven by both cost pressures and changing talent preferences. Recent research by Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist and one of the foremost researchers on work-from-home policies, presents compelling evidence that hybrid schedules benefit both employees and their bosses. As job titles and functions evolve, organizations can no longer rely on the assumption that every capability needs a dedicated full-time employee.
Skills Polarization: Teams are developing a concerning “barbell” distribution of talent. This middle layer crisis positions highly specialized experts at one end of the spectrum and entry-level generalists at the other. This leaves a dangerous gap in the middle where strategic business-oriented marketers should be developing and adding value.
Technology as a double-edged sword: Artificial Intelligence is both an opportunity and a challenge for CMOs. While AI and Martech promise efficiency gains, they’re also creating new skill requirements and potentially widening the gap between experienced practitioners who can leverage these tools effectively and junior staff who lack the foundational knowledge to use them strategically. There is a need to realize AI’s potential through strategic implementation and skills development.
The culture challenge: Hybrid working has fundamentally altered how teams learn, collaborate, and develop, disrupting traditional methods of knowledge transfer and talent development. It does, however, broaden the talent pool, allowing marketers to source creative talent from near and offshore.
Looking to the future – what happens next
CMOs need to rethink talent density in their organizations, investing in high quality skills within their constrained budgets. This often calls for a shift from the traditional Full Time Equivalent (FTE) approach. This leads them to strategically assess what work needs to be done and where it can best be accomplished, with careful attention to required skills, cost considerations, and organizational culture.
Some leaders see the challenge of designing new operating models as a complex puzzle. A more flexible approach involves balancing multiple factors: onshore versus nearshore resources, in-house versus outsourced capabilities, and full-time versus flexible arrangements.
At HelloKindred, we are noticing that forward-thinking clients are now approaching their target operating models not just from a functional perspective, but also by considering value propositions and desired outcomes. From there, they can hire the precise skills needed for the job. Talent is being accessed in atypical ways. A CMO’s campaign design and execution team can be spread across countries, with fractional talent collaborating across time zones. While this new frontier requires intention and strategic thinking, it introduces new ways of using time and resources for maximum ROI. Those that embrace this change will flourish, while CMOs that remain in expensive, slow-moving approaches to marketing are at risk of being left behind.
