As part of a regular content series from our experienced global leadership team, Gabi Woodbridge, Business Director, Queensland, dives into the misunderstood alignment between business growth goals and marketing budgets.
This one goes out to all my Marketing peers, those looking to scale into new geos or those in field trying to build brands in markets and feeling lost or burnt out – I see you.
For most of my career, I’ve been in the thick of helping large enterprise brands scale into new markets—supporting field sales teams, bridging global marketing strategy with local execution, and navigating that awkward middle ground between budgets, bandwidth and bureaucracy.
And with all this combined, this ‘chicken or the egg’ scenario constantly played out:
“How do we spin up a local marketing presence when we can’t justify the headcount without revenue growth in the MU?”
Pair that with the challenging systems of contingent workforce procurement, MSP contracts, and the usual contractor or freelancer… and you feel like you’re getting nowhere, fast. Just to build on a few small wins to keep justifying investment, meanwhile you’re spinning your wheels just to get your day job done.
What started as a post-MBA “contracting gig” while juggling being a mum to twins and a startup of my own, turned into something refreshingly different; The Marketing Room. A business model I never knew existed. And if you want to call my bluff, I have heard of fractional marketing, but this is ever so slightly different in its DNA. It’s where experienced marketing leaders (like us) get to work inside great companies (for me it was Qteq), stay ‘on the tools’ and deliver results. No fluff, no overpromising, no turnover of agencies when the brief wasn’t hit post campaign or sacking the contractor that didn’t ever fully ‘fit in’ anyway.
What The Marketing Room Isn’t — and Why That Matters
We’re not recruiters. We source talent, but we also help our clients talent manage marketing teams or employees and ensure consistency long term.
We’re not an agency of contractors or channel specialists who ghost you when they get their next ‘real’ gig, or who can only do one thing well.
What we are is a strategic extension of your marketing function—placing senior, experienced marketers inside your business, as embedded team members who can confidently lead, plan, execute, manage agencies and scale your marketing efforts in new or growing regions.
We do this without the overheads, without the recruitment risk, and without the demand on your time of setting up a full-time headcount. And to be totally transparent, I’ve spent over 15 years in this industry… and I’ve never seen a model that works this well—especially not with the depth, reliability and cultural fit it brings to the table. In my first 90 days, I’ve been surprised that most proposals I’ve presented and won have been to other marketing managers – not companies without a marketing presence. That’s because they know we know our stuff and we also unlock a lot of other benefits across our global network.
What We Do (That Traditional Models Can’t)
Whether it’s one day a week or full-time for a fixed term, our marketing managers embed into your team either on-site or remote (or both, up to you). They’re backed by a dedicated regional Pod Leader (like me) who keeps everything on point with your global marketing strategy, syndicated campaigns, your sales team’s goals, and your local market dynamics.
This is key. Because let’s face it—most field marketing challenges aren’t just about execution. They’re about translation. Translating global strategy into action. Translating syndicated campaigns into local relevance. And translating all of that into outcomes for your field sales, quickly.
We bridge that gap.
We don’t just deliver marketing tactics—we deliver presence, strategic clarity, continuity and context. Your marketing manager becomes your team member who’s on the ground, representing your brand, who’s connected to our expansive network of vetted tactical providers to ensure the right budget and fit for any given initiative, and who provides strategic oversight to ensure you’ve got the visibility you need.
Why Leadership Teams Buy Into This Model
Honestly, the business case almost writes itself. For starters, we’re:
• Lower risk than a full-time or in-house hire
• Higher quality, more consistent execution than a freelancer
• No recruiter fees, no agency retainers
• Fully costed TMR staff—no additional tax, T&E or admin overheads to get feet under the desk
• Embedded marketers with 10+ years’ experience working client side in big brands (not just agency experience)
• Flexible—scale up, scale down, or switch markets depending on where you’re growing
This works especially well for companies expanding into Australia, interstate across markets like Queensland, or globally into regions like Singapore, the US or the UK. Because we know the turf, and we’ve built a deep network of marketing talent in these locations who love working with us this way—giving them flexibility, while maintaining experience and relevance in market.
Some of our clients come to us for event execution, field marketing, interim leadership, campaign delivery, strategy audits or owning functions like partner marketing. Some need us for three months. Others keep us on for years. Why? Because once they’ve seen how this model works, it’s hard to go back.
A Final Thought
If you’re a CMO, regional VP or founder looking to grow… ask yourself:
• Do you really need full-time headcount right now—or do you need outcomes first?
• Are you trying to hire a body, or build real momentum in your team?
• Do you want another vendor—or a strategic partner who acts like part of your team, and brings the experience and energy to back it up?
At The Marketing Room, we’re changing how marketing teams are built, supported and scaled. And we’re doing it by giving companies access to the kind of marketing talent they wanted to hire yesterday—without the traditional roadblocks that stop them.
If you’re expanding into a new market, rethinking your field marketing strategy, or just need someone who can hit the ground running while you figure out the long-term plan—let’s talk.
