As economic pressures force businesses to rethink their marketing investments, many still believe top-tier strategy and creative execution are out of reach. But is that really the case in 2025? Adam Brami explores how a new, on-demand marketing model is making world-class expertise more accessible than ever.
New Zealand has long been recognised as a powerhouse in creative advertising, consistently delivering campaigns that resonate both locally and globally. Kiwi agencies have built a global reputation for ingenuity and resourcefulness, often outperforming larger markets despite operating within a relatively small economy. At the same time, in-house marketing capabilities have surged, with reports showing that 71 percent of Kiwi brands now have some form of permanent in-house agency function. The talent pool is strong in that space, proving that complex campaigns no longer need to be exclusively outsourced to traditional agencies.
Yet, while these developments open exciting opportunities for ambitious businesses, many still perceive access to top-tier strategic and creative expertise as beyond their budget – leaving them wondering if world-class marketing is truly within their reach.
As economic conditions tighten, many businesses are re-evaluating their marketing investments – seeking maximum impact without unnecessary, long term costs. The belief has long been that accessing the best strategic and creative minds requires deep pockets, leaving many smaller businesses and cost-conscious brands feeling excluded from premium marketing expertise.
But is that still true in 2025? Or is it time to rethink what’s possible?
A changing market demands a new approach
New Zealand officially entered a technical recession in March 2024, following two consecutive quarters of GDP decline. Inflation, rising costs, and declining consumer confidence have made businesses more cautious with their marketing spend, with many prioritising retention over acquisition and measurable returns over broad awareness campaigns.
Businesses now demand maximum impact for minimal investment, prioritising efficiency, effectiveness, and measurable returns from their marketing partners. They seek high-value strategic and creative outputs, ensuring every dollar invested delivers a strong return. The belief that great marketing requires the biggest budgets is being redefined – smart investment in the right expertise drives stronger results.
Breaking the cost barrier: Making world-class marketing accessible
Rightly or wrongly, the perception of traditional agencies is that they come with high costs, inefficiencies, and a lack of transparency when it comes to pricing. This sentiment will no doubt grow as global holding companies consolidate New Zealand’s largest firms, potentially reducing competition and shifting priorities toward shareholder profits over client value. As a result, many larger businesses may begin to question whether they’re investing in true expertise or simply supporting a system that benefits the agencies more than their clients.
At the same time, many agencies continue to allocate work based on availability rather than field-specific expertise. And while their efforts often deliver results, early-stage work isn’t always led by senior thinkers with deep category experience, which can result in initial concepts missing the mark.
When early-stage work falls short, it can create a cascade of inefficiencies – leading to multiple rounds of revisions, prolonged timelines, and increased costs. Junior teams may require additional input from senior leaders later in the process, adding layers of oversight that could have been avoided if the right expertise had been involved from the outset. This not only delays progress but also inflates budgets, as businesses end up paying for rework rather than forward momentum.
Moreover, when strategic direction isn’t clear from the beginning, it can lead to misaligned creative, messaging, and execution, ultimately requiring course corrections that cost both time and money. In contrast, a model that prioritises senior, field-specific expertise from the start ensures that deliverables are on point from the outset, reducing inefficiencies and maximising the value of every marketing dollar.
This distinction can make the difference between a streamlined, cost-effective campaign and one that drains resources due to avoidable missteps.
With market conditions making some full-time experienced agency roles less sustainable, many of New Zealand’s top senior strategists, creatives, and digital specialists are now working independently or fractionally. This shift gives businesses direct access to top-tier expertise without the hefty agency markup or built-in profit margins.
This development has created a new reality for New Zealand businesses: Exceptional marketing talent is no longer reserved for those with the biggest budgets – it’s for those who know where to look.
For businesses that want access to top-tier marketing expertise but assume traditional agencies are too expensive, a new model offers a compelling alternative – the ability to assemble the aforementioned best-in-class, independent specialists only when needed. Instead of carrying the financial burden of a full-time in-house team or committing to costly group agency rate cards, businesses can tap into expert strategists, creative talent, media channel partners, and production specialists as required.
In a post-COVID world, remote collaboration has evolved into a seamless, highly efficient way of working, eliminating the need for businesses to rely solely on local talent or traditional agency structures. Advances in virtual communication, project management tools, and cloud-based workflows mean that businesses can now tap into the best and brightest minds – wherever they are in New Zealand. Whether assembling specialist teams for strategic planning, creative execution, or media optimisation, this model ensures that expertise is selected based on quality and fit, not proximity – delivering world-class marketing solutions without geographical or operational barriers.
Alongside this on-demand model, businesses may also leverage AI-driven tools to streamline upstream marketing tasks such as Discovery, audience insight analysis, and competitive research. By automating labour-intensive processes, AI helps reduce manual headhours, allowing specialists to focus on high-value strategic and creative execution – further minimising project investment requirements without compromising quality.
Beyond efficiency and flexibility, this approach also challenges an outdated assumption that marketing campaigns need constant reinvention to stay effective. Many businesses fall into the trap of frequently overhauling their marketing efforts due to perceived creative wear-out, assuming that audiences will quickly tire of seeing the same campaign. However, research from System1 and The Research Agency debunks this myth, showing that longer-running, well-executed campaigns actually build stronger brand recognition, emotional connection, and ultimately, better long-term business outcomes.
Businesses can achieve greater returns by refining, optimising, and extending the life of successful campaigns – ensuring consistency in messaging and avoiding unnecessary production costs. This means focusing investment on fewer, better-executed marketing initiatives rather than wasting resources on endless iterations that don’t necessarily improve results.
By combining an on-demand specialist model, ongoing optimisation, AI-driven efficiencies, and a smarter approach to campaign longevity, savvy businesses can significantly reduce their long-term marketing investment while still achieving optimal returns. This strategic, high-impact approach allows companies to allocate resources more effectively, reducing wasteful spending while maximising every marketing dollar for sustainable, long-term growth.
Art of the Possible
Many businesses have held back on marketing—some believing that top-tier strategy and creative execution is beyond their budget, while others have scaled back their agency spend due to economic uncertainty. But as inflation eases, interest rates plateau, and global conditions begin to recover, the businesses that move first will gain a lasting competitive edge.
History has shown that companies that act during transitional periods don’t just recover—they leap ahead of those who wait. Whether it’s launching a new campaign, refining a brand positioning, or strategically engaging customers, those who act now will shape the future of their industries.
But taking that step doesn’t mean taking on unnecessary risk it means making a smarter, high-return investment.
This is the approach that Art of the Possible has brought to the New Zealand market – high-impact, results-driven marketing that makes elite expertise more accessible than ever. By eliminating excess overheads and assembling bespoke teams only when needed, every client dollar goes directly into strategy, creativity, and execution that delivers measurable growth – nothing else.
At the core of this approach is the creation of a bespoke, high-performance ‘mini agency’ for each client – handpicking the best strategists, creatives, and media specialists for each project. Art of the Possible assembles fully customised teams to ensure every business gets the right talent with proven experience in their industry. There’s no waste – no funding lavish offices, bloated teams, or award-driven expenses. Instead, every dollar goes directly toward marketing solutions that drive real business growth for every client.
For businesses that have long desired high-end marketing but assumed it was out of reach, and for those that have worked with agencies but can no longer justify their price tag, this model changes the equation.
New Zealand has always been a country of ingenuity and resourcefulness – so why should marketing be any different?
The businesses that rethink how they access world-class expertise – investing in results, not overheads – will be the ones leading the next era of success.
