The Agency Breakup: Why You Can’t Get What You Need From Your Marketing Agencies
If you're struggling to get what you need from your creative or marketing agency—you’re not alone.
The agency model is feeling the pressure. Burnout isn't just a problem for in-house marketing teams anymore. According to Ad Age, 53% of agency employees are reporting symptoms of burnout, and turnover is rising fast. That kind of instability affects your campaigns, your timelines, and ultimately, your results.
At the same time, your expectations haven’t changed. You still need to launch campaigns, hit growth targets, and deliver a cohesive brand experience — all with limited resources. But when you're relying on a traditional agency, there are a few challenges that keep coming up.
What’s not working with agencies anymore?
Too much overhead, too many handoffs. Working with an agency often means dealing with multiple layers… project managers, account leads, creative directors. The marketing strategy gets lost in translation, and the creative execution loses its edge.
They’re not built for end-to-end marketing. Most agencies are typically focused on one thing. You’re left managing strategy in-house while also coordinating execution across multiple vendors. It’s not efficient, and it’s not scalable.
Misaligned incentives. Many agencies are focused on producing award-worthy creative. But flashy campaigns don’t always translate to performance. What you actually need is a team that understands your business goals and builds marketing strategies to support them.
Limited flexibility. Need brand and content this quarter, but lifecycle and product marketing next? That’s two scopes, two timelines, and two teams. Agencies aren’t set up to flex across multiple marketing functions quickly.
Why more companies are turning to fractional marketing teams
Instead of relying on traditional agencies, more companies are switching to fractional marketing models— building lean internal teams and surrounding them with embedded, expert marketers who can flex across strategy and execution.
That’s where Zage comes in. Zage was built for the new marketing era: lean teams, high standards, and fast-moving priorities. If your agency model is falling short, it might be time to break up and try something that actually works.
The break-up conversation is never easy, but it’s often necessary. Outsourcing help shouldn’t stress you out more. It should be a sigh of relief.
You got this.
