Why the Traditional Agency Model Is Broken and What Comes Next

The traditional agency model is no longer built for today’s small businesses. In this article, Sara Nay explains the anti-agency model and how strategy-first marketing, fractional leadership, and AI can help businesses own their marketing instead of outsourcing it blindly.

For the last 15 years, I have lived inside the agency world.

I have been an intern, a community manager, an account manager, a fractional CMO, and now the CEO of Duct Tape Marketing. I have seen this industry from nearly every angle. Inside the work, inside the relationships, and inside the pressure that agencies and clients both feel.

Here is the truth I could not ignore anymore.

The traditional agency model is broken.

Not because agencies are bad.
Not because marketers do not care.
But because the model itself no longer serves small businesses or the agencies trying to support them.

That realization is what led me to write Unchained: Breaking Free from Broken Marketing Models and to articulate what I call the anti-agency model.

Let me explain what I mean and why this moment matters more than ever.

Living the Agency Reality From Every Side

Over the years, I experienced the same challenges many agency owners quietly struggle with.

• Constant scope creep
• Difficulty scaling profitably
• Burnout among team members
• High client expectations with limited clarity
• Pressure to do more faster and cheaper

At the same time, I have spent years on the sales side of our business talking with hundreds of small business owners. I heard the same frustrations over and over again.

“Marketing does not work.”
“I am paying an agency, but I do not know what I am getting.”
“I feel disconnected from my own marketing.”

Both sides were frustrated, and neither side was wrong.

The system simply was not designed for the reality we are in now.

What I Mean by the Anti-Agency Model

Let me be clear. This is not anti-agency.

We are an agency. We have been one for over 30 years. I love agencies and believe they play a critical role.

What I am against is a model where agencies:

• Hoard execution
• Operate as black boxes
• Replace ownership with dependency
• Compete on volume instead of leadership

The anti-agency model is anti that approach.

It is a strategy-first, AI-enabled approach that helps small businesses stop renting their marketing and start owning it, while agencies evolve into leadership partners instead of outsourced task machines.

AI Changed the Rules Whether We Like It or Not

Before AI, it made sense for agencies to own execution.

• Content
• Social
• SEO
• Ads
• Email

Small businesses simply did not have the resources or tools to handle that work internally.

That is no longer true.

AI has fundamentally changed what is possible for small teams. Today, small businesses can:

• Keep execution closer to home
• Operate with leaner internal teams
• Use AI systems to handle heavy lifting
• Focus human effort on thinking, judgment, and leadership

Here is the key.

AI does not replace strategy. It makes strategy more important.

Timeless Marketing Principles Still Matter

One thing has not changed, despite all the technology.

Marketing fundamentals still matter.

In Unchained, I spend a lot of time reinforcing timeless principles, including:

1. Deep Ideal Client Understanding

AI without clarity just creates noise.

If you do not deeply understand your client’s fears, motivations, and what keeps them up at night, AI will happily produce generic content that sounds like everyone else.

Strategy comes first. Then you train your tools.

2. Core Messaging and Differentiation

Your messaging, what makes you you, must be defined before automation enters the picture.

Otherwise, AI accelerates inconsistency instead of clarity.

The foundations have not changed.
The way we use them has.

The Real Danger of AI-First Thinking

The biggest mistake I see right now is businesses jumping straight into tools.

AI amplifies whatever already exists.
If you have chaos, it amplifies chaos.
If you lack clarity, it multiplies confusion.

That is why we now say:

Strategy before tactics.
Strategy before technology.

Ask these questions first.

• What is the business trying to accomplish?
• What role should marketing play?
• How should the team be structured?
• Where does AI actually help us move faster without losing direction?

Only then do tools make sense.

Why Fractional Marketing Leadership Matters More Than Ever

Most small businesses were never able to afford a traditional marketing org chart.

• A CMO
• Plus channel specialists
• Plus support staff

AI changes that equation.

Today, the most effective structure looks like this.

• Fractional marketing leadership responsible for strategy, budget, direction, and metrics
• A lean internal team
• AI systems supporting execution underneath

This allows founders to stay in their zone of genius. Selling, leading, and growing. Not becoming accidental CMOs.

And no, the title does not matter.
Call it a fractional CMO, marketing leader, strategist, or advisor.

What matters is that someone is leading marketing strategically, not just taking orders or doing tasks.

What This Means for Agencies

If you are an agency reading this, here is the hard truth.

Execution-only services are becoming a race to the bottom.

AI will continue to get better.
Small businesses will continue to bring more execution in-house.
Margins will continue to compress.

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source https://ducttapemarketing.com/why-the-traditional-agency-model-is-broken-and-what-comes-next/