A clear marketing operating model tells everyone how marketing works: who owns which decision, who is accountable for what, and how performance is measured. When the model is explicit, teams stop re-negotiating the same questions on every project and start executing against agreed rules.
Most marketing functions run on an implicit model — roles that overlap, decisions that escalate by default, and marketing governance that lives in people’s heads rather than on paper. As agencies, markets and channels multiply, the gaps surface: duplicated ownership, slow decisions, accountability no one can locate, and KPIs that measure activity instead of value.
We design the model as it should be — strategic, operational and execution levels defined, decision rights and RACI set, KPIs and scorecards that govern the ecosystem end to end. And we do it independently: we take fees only from you, never commissions from the partners your governance will hold to account. The model serves your marketing, not anyone’s book of business.
We separate marketing into its strategic, operational and execution levels and set what each is responsible for, so decisions sit where the capability is.
We map who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for every core marketing decision, removing overlaps and closing gaps in ownership.
We define the forums, cadences and escalation paths that run the ecosystem: how work is commissioned, approved and reviewed across teams, agencies and markets. We ground the design in AURA, our evidence base of 5,000+ classified suppliers, so governance reflects how partners actually operate — not how an org chart assumes they do.
We set the metrics and scorecards that hold the model to account — tied to the cost baseline agreed at the start and to the distinction between cost saving and cost avoidance, so marketing is measured on value delivered, not activity performed.
One documented model of how marketing runs across its strategic, operational and execution levels — ready to hand straight to a transformation roadmap and execution, not left on a shelf.
A RACI everyone recognises and uses — who decides, who is accountable, and where each decision sits — so projects stop re-litigating ownership and decisions move at the speed the business needs.
A governance that runs without you in the room: forums, cadences and escalation paths that keep teams, agencies and markets coordinated after we hand over.
Measures tied to value, not activity, so every review starts from the same numbers and marketing governance rests on evidence.
See how brands like yours turned a defined operating model into a governed, measurable operation.
A marketing operating model is the documented definition of how a marketing function works across its strategic, operational and execution levels: the roles, decision rights, RACI, KPIs and scorecards that determine who decides what and how the ecosystem is governed. It turns an implicit way of working into an explicit, accountable system your teams, agencies and markets can run against. VA designs it as an advisor that takes fees only from you, never commissions from the partners the model will govern.
A focused marketing operating model design is scoped to run in weeks rather than months. We agree the exact timeline and deliverables up front, so there are no surprises, and your teams keep operating while we design the new model.
Yes — and not as a slogan: we take fees only from you, and no commissions from the partners your governance will hold to account. The model we design answers to your marketing, not to anyone we assess.
See the system your operating model has to govern — partners, scopes, spend and processes, mapped and verified.
Turn the operating model into a sequenced plan for change, with priorities, milestones and owners.
