Why work with multiple marketing agencies? The case for consolidation
Consolidation reduces friction, sharpens accountability, and gives your brand one connected brain.
TL;DR
- Spend smarter. One agency reduces overhead, coordination, and duplicated effort.
- Work faster. A single team aligns strategy, creative, media, and measurement.
- Own the results. Clear accountability improves performance and learning across campaigns.
What is marketing agency consolidation?
Agency consolidation means selecting one lead agency to plan, create, activate, and measure your marketing, instead of splitting the work across multiple firms. The goal is simpler operations, stronger brand consistency, and better performance, all managed through one accountable partner and one integrated roadmap.
The everyday case for one team
Getting all your needs in one place makes a lot of sense. Southwest Airlines buys one type of airplane from a single supplier, and the resulting efficiency in purchasing, maintenance, and repairs helps them compete with much larger organizations. If your grandparents were DIYers, they probably bought lumber at one store, tools at a second, and electrical gear at a third. You, on the other hand, probably save time and money by getting it all at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or Menards.
So, since consolidation reduces costs, improves focus, and gets better results, why work with so many different B2B marketing agencies?
Consolidate to optimize efficiency
The first reason to get all your B2B marketing needs from one agency is simple: you save money.
As HubSpot notes, “The financial overheads of working with multiple agencies can be staggering.” They cite the costs of managing different contracts with different teams, and add, “It’s not just about the money; it’s about the time and effort spent in coordination. This fragmented approach reduces operational efficiency and shifts your focus away from the essential goals.”
B2B companies move heaven and earth to optimize efficiency in procurement, operations, and supply chains. Why not in marketing, too?
More reasons B2B marketers should consolidate their agencies
Saving money isn’t the only reason it’s better to work with one agency than with several. Here are a few more:
Better communications. Working with one agency typically means you have one point person coordinating all your back‑and‑forth communications. With multiple agencies, you are the one doing the coordinating.
Streamlined workflows. Today’s B2B campaigns can be challenging to deploy when they must align with complex buyer journeys. If you work with multiple agencies, you multiply that complexity. And once again, you are the coordinator. Good luck.
Dynamic interoperability of disciplines. There may be value in hiring agencies that specialize in one discipline, but then they are essentially working in silos. When you get all your marketing from one agency, experts in different disciplines fuel an interplay that returns more than the sum of its parts.
Tighter accountability. If you experience cost overruns or disappointing results with a single agency, you know exactly who is responsible and have a direct line to making things right. With multiple agencies, you will have a harder time identifying your campaigns’ weak links.
Better brand consistency. There is a comfort level when you have worked with a single agency for a while, because they are so familiar with your brand it becomes second nature. With multiple agencies, you may feel like you are constantly correcting and retraining.
More fun. Working with the same team across multiple campaigns helps you build deeper relationships that not only produce better work but are also more companionable. You might not have “fun” in your agency KPIs, but you appreciate when it is part of the deal.
Communication without the chaos
One accountable point of contact keeps conversations tight and action‑oriented. Strategy decisions do not get lost across threads. Creative, digital, and media teams work from the same brief and the same calendar. Reviews move faster because stakeholders see the whole picture, not a pile of disconnected deliverables.
Efficiency you can measure
Working with several agencies adds hidden costs, from overlapping scopes to tool sprawl and rework. A single partner consolidates project management, asset production, and media operations, which cuts waste and speeds handoffs. Pair that with a shared KPI framework, and every tactic rolls up to the same goals with one source of truth.
Interdisciplinary work that actually intersects
Specialist shops can be great at one slice, but they often operate in silos. With one agency, adjacent disciplines fuel each other. Brand informs content. Content informs media. Media and web analytics inform optimization.
When a multi‑agency model can still work
You may still bring in a specialist for a unique skill or market. Keep your lead agency as the orchestrator. Define scopes and handoffs in the plan, and hold everyone to the same KPIs and governance.
A simple 5‑step consolidation checklist
- Name a lead agency. Give them final say on strategy, creative alignment, and measurement.
- Consolidate scopes. Roll overlapping workstreams into one plan, one budget, one calendar.
- Standardize tools. Agree on a shared brief, asset library, and analytics dashboard.
- Set one KPI framework. Define goals, thresholds for pivots, and owners before launch.
- Review quarterly. Evaluate impact and adjust the operating model with data.
Why B2B organizations trust StudioNorth with 100% of their marketing
We are structured along six major disciplines: Brand Acceleration, Marketing Strategy, AI Amplification, Digital Activation, Customer Engagement, and Performance Management.
Key takeaway
Consolidating with the right partner optimizes efficiency and effectiveness. You get one brain, one plan, and one accountable team.
FAQs
Will a single agency limit our access to specialists?
Not if you pick the right partner. Your lead agency should bring a deep bench and curate outside specialists as needed, under one strategy and KPI plan.
How does consolidation affect speed to market?
It removes handoffs and conflicting priorities. With one calendar and one workflow, decisions and delivery move faster.
What if we are midstream with multiple agencies?
Transition in phases. Keep work running, then merge scopes into one roadmap with clear owners, budgets, and metrics.
Published October 2024. Updated November 2025.
