In today’s dynamic marketing landscape, chief marketing officers in midsize organizations are charged with complex endeavors. These include crafting strategy, building brands, launching omni-channel campaigns and driving immediate business with performance marketing. To deliver this magic, they must balance their teams’ bandwidth with agency partnerships.

But which agency? I can confirm it’s tough to find the right partner. The crux of this challenge is balancing the high-wire act of innovative marketing with the reality of constrained budgets and resources.

For CMOs steering the ship of a midsize company (my definition is one with revenues between $100 million and $800 million), the stakes are clear. Every dollar spent needs to be justified not just in terms of creative output but also in tangible business outcomes.

The conundrum for CMOs lies in finding an agency that doesn't solely serve as a provider of ideas but as a true partner in the marketing journey. 

When creating content and building campaigns, midsize brands need agency partners that provide feasible solutions for the total budget, encompassing strategy, production and media. For a brand, there is no upside in investing in a big idea if they don’t have the means to produce the creative assets or fund the campaign with sufficient media to reach the customer.

What a CMO in a midsize firm wants from an agency is a partner in great marketing.

If I had to describe that marketing in a few words, it would be smart, creative and pragmatic. The partnership with a midsize firm requires a synergy that navigates go-to-market strategy, powerful creative and reality-based budgeting. This requires open dialogue at the pre-RFP stage to ensure all parties are being set up for a win-win.

In many cases, a CMO may have one agency delivering strategy and creative, and others managing digital media and influencers. All parties need to understand the brand goals and total investment to design solutions that break through and stay on budget. These ideal partnerships transcend traditional boundaries, offering not just creative solutions, but also collaboration and strategic insights that align with the brand’s core objectives.

So, how does the CMO find agency partners that successfully work with midsize firms?

It’s not as straightforward as engaging only small shops. Some larger agencies have successful practices serving midsize firms and smaller pieces of business. But honestly, it is just tougher for marketing leadership to learn about the small and midsize agencies. The most visibility goes to the big kahunas with the press-worthy creative.

It’s also not as easy as just hiring agencies you have hired before. In this age of agency consolidation, many of us have experienced a “perfect partner” that was acquired and then was no longer a good match. Or an agency partner went from being the best small or midsize agency to the best mega agency, and then too big for you.

Many marketing leaders learn about midsize “good fit” agencies through their own networks and tapping into CMO groups. That’s where marketers find honest discussions about an agency’s strengths, creativity, service and pricing.

Every CMO dreams of having top-tier innovative creative work from the world’s most renowned advertising agencies. It’s not that these agencies’ exceptional services aren’t worth their premium price tags—they certainly are. However, the reality is that most midsize companies’ marketing budgets simply cannot absorb such a high level of expenditure. I refer to creative and advertising agencies in this article, but the same principle holds true with publicity, influencer, CRM, media and other specialty partners.

What could make the matchmaking process easier for midsize brands and agencies? Here are three ideas:

For CMOs: Commit to radical candor with potential agency partners

Tell them how much work the in-house team can handle, what needs to be in the agency’s scope and the unvarnished complete budget picture.

For agencies: Share past experience and “secret sauce” with midsize companies

Everyone loves conversations about the creative, but take time to understand marketing teams’ execution needs, and tell the CMO how you meet their resource requirements.

For the industry: Take advantage of this opportunity

There seems to be white space to create digital and in-person venues for “midsize perfect” agencies to connect with CMOs and marketing teams. Let’s lean into making that a reality.