We design the ecosystem you actually need — informed by AURA, our classified base of 5,000+ agencies and vendors, so the structure reflects how the market is actually built, not guesswork. We design it; we don’t run it and we don’t sit inside it — we advise, you own the structure. And we do it independently: we take fees only from you, and no commissions, no kickbacks and no stake in the agencies and vendors we help you configure. You set the structure deliberately — then decide which partners fit it.
We start from what your marketing has to deliver — brands, markets, channels and volumes — so the ecosystem is sized to the work, not to history.
We define the roles the ecosystem needs and draw the lines between them, so every partner has a distinct remit and no two overlap.
We decide how many partners each role requires and how they connect — lead, specialist, local, production — into one coherent configuration.
We define the operating model that runs the ecosystem day to day: who briefs whom, how work moves between partners, and how the structure holds — and stays measurable — as your needs change.
A deliberate configuration of agencies and vendors: the right number of partners, each with a defined role and a clear boundary.
Every partner with a distinct remit, so scope stops duplicating and accountability sits in one place — cost you avoid before it enters the roster, not cost you claw back later.
A structure matched to your brands, markets and volumes, not to how the roster happened to grow.
The blueprint that tells you which incumbents to challenge and where to bring new partners in, ready to take into Roster rationalisation & incumbent challenge and Vendor scouting & shortlisting.
See how brands like yours turned a designed partner ecosystem into a governed, measurable operation.
Partner ecosystem design is the deliberate structuring of the agencies and vendors that serve your marketing — how many partners you work with, in which roles, and within which boundaries. It sets the target shape of your ecosystem: the roles it needs, the remits that keep them distinct, and the governance that runs them, before you decide which partners fill it. VA does it as an advisor that takes fees only from you, never commissions from the partners we help you appoint.
A focused partner ecosystem design typically runs in weeks, not months. We scope it up front, so you know the timeline and deliverables before we start, and your teams and current partners keep working while we design.
Yes — and not as a slogan: we take fees only from you, no commissions from the partners we help you appoint, and no stake in any of them. We advise on the structure; we don’t run it and we have nothing to sell you inside it.
Test the ecosystem against your current roster: which incumbents to keep, which to challenge, which to stand down.
Fill the gaps your design reveals with the right new agencies and vendors, shortlisted on evidence.
