Turning fragmented media operations into a scalable and governable profit engine

Following years of growth and multiple mergers, the agency’s operating model had become increasingly fragmented. Disconnected processes, redundant in-house tools, and inconsistent ways of working across service lines drove inefficiencies, unclear accountabilities, and rising personnel and IT costs. At the same time, increasing competitive pressure required scalable, integrated, and cost-efficient service delivery – while EBIT continued to decline. The core challenge was that the existing operating model no longer supported the business strategy – undermining scalability, cost control and ultimately profitability.

The engagement followed a decision‑driven Target Operating Model approach, combining value‑stream transparency, quantified impact assessment and a clear target picture across organization, capabilities and technology:

• Baselining & structure: Prioritised key business models and services, defined an overarching value‑chain process and built a quantitative baseline using FTE, IT cost, revenue and gross profit data
• Pain points & focus areas: Identified qualitative and quantitative pain points via management interviews and data, mapped them into a value‑chain heatmap and clustered them into actionable fields with optimisation hypotheses
• Target operating model & capabilities: Redesigned the operating model for prioritised services with cross‑channel end‑to‑end processes, roles and accountabilities, and derived a capability map with gap analysis and cost/benefit sizing
• Tech target picture & roadmap: Defined the tech target picture including buy‑vs‑build recommendations, key functional requirements, vendor screening and a prioritised implementation roadmap

The project created full transparency on process inefficiencies and margin drivers across service lines. The new operating model establishes a standardised, end‑to‑end process architecture with clearly defined roles and interfaces, enabling more efficient and scalable cross‑channel delivery. Identified efficiency potentials indicate double‑digit improvements in selected areas. A prioritised capability and technology roadmap provides a robust foundation for sustainable cost reduction and margin improvement. The integrated implementation plan translates the target model into concrete initiatives and internal workstreams, enabling the client to stabilise EBIT and build a future‑ready, scalable operating model. Beyond immediate efficiency gains, the target operating model provides a continuous steering framework for future growth, integration and profitability initiatives.

The client is a leading German digital media agency group offering a broad portfolio of media and performance marketing services across channels such as programmatic advertising, display, SEA, social, SEO, and affiliate marketing. Following multiple mergers, the organisation operates across several entities and service lines, serving national and international clients.