How to get off the marketing operating model merry-go-round

I’ve spent most of my career in large global B2B organisations. And it’s a running joke amongst my friends who haven’t, about whether I’m currently occupied with transitioning to a centralised global operating model, or to a regional one, or back again.

It might be funny if it wasn’t true. Because every few years, that’s exactly what happened. The cycle repeats.

Firms rarely seem happy they’ve got it right

I see the same thing time and time again with other large organisations I come across. Global firms rarely seem happy that they’ve got it right with their operating model for marketing and change is never far from the horizon. This is of course, all very unsettling for marketers working in this environment.

But why the constant flip flopping? Well, in my experience it’s because of an over-rotation one way or another. Firms all too easily end up being too centralised or too siloed in their approach.

Marketing is under more pressure than ever to deliver more for less. But without a well-designed operating model, you have little chance of delivering impact in a large organisation. The strategic framework that underpins how an organisation manages its marketing resources to achieve its objectives - encompassing structure, processes, technology, talent and governance - is critically important in ensuring marketing activity aligns with broader business goals, and drives operational efficiency, consistency and adaptability.

Understanding the different operating models

Centralised

In this model, decision-making and control are concentrated at the top of an organization. A single, central team manages all global marketing efforts.

Pros – Ensures strong brand consistency and offers cost efficiency through economies of scale.

Cons – Can be disconnected and slow to adapt to unique local market needs, limiting flexibility and relevance.

Decentralised

Marketing autonomy is distributed among regional marketing teams or business units, who have significant authority over marketing efforts.

Pros – Allows for high local relevance, agility and responsiveness to market nuances, making it easier to run targeted, tailored campaigns.

Cons – Risk of inconsistent brand application, mixed customer experiences and potential duplication of efforts, increasing costs.

Hybrid or “Hub and Spoke”

This approach blends centralised strategy with decentralised execution. A central team (hub) defines the overarching strategy, brand guidelines, provides key functions and best practice guidance, whilst local teams (spokes) have some autonomy on how best to execute.

Pros - Balances global consistency with local flexibility and relevance and supports efficient resource allocation.

Cons – Relies heavily on collaboration and effective communication and it can be challenging to get the balance right.

Getting the balance right

With the global financial and professional services firms that I have most experience of, I believe the hybrid model offers the best solution, providing balance between consistent brand identity with local market relevance. Applied at its best, long-term brand marketing, infrastructure and best practice becomes the responsibility of global marketing, and short-term performance marketing becomes the responsibility of a regional or country marketing team, adapting campaigns to their specific needs and customers to deliver against local growth targets. Both global and local efforts are interdependent and need each other to be successful, hence the need for strong collaboration.

In theory, the hybrid approach would appear the answer to getting off the operating model merry-go-round. So why are so many organisations regularly adjusting their operating models for marketing? I think its down to a lack of balance. Too global, and you lose the buy-in of the regions who don’t feel that marketing is effectively supporting them in meeting their revenue goals. Whilst if you over-rotate too far in empowering the regions, the brand will eventually start to weaken, the focus will become too short-term, and you risk losing control of the quality of execution.

So, my advice is, when it feels like things aren’t working, to consider the hybrid approach. And if hybrid isn’t working how you’d like it to, rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater and making wholesale changes, focus on communication and improving collaboration to make the adjustments needed to readdress the balance.