Original title: There Are No Good Marketing Agencies
Original author: Damian, Communications Manager at aori_io Original translation: Ashley, BlockBeats
Editors note: Marketing agencies in the crypto industry are often seen as a shortcut to increase brand influence, but this is not the case. This article points out that most agencies find it difficult to truly understand the core of the project and are suitable for short-term execution rather than brand building. In contrast, excellent internal marketing talents have more long-term value, can go deep into the industry, actively learn and establish real industry connections. Ultimately, the success or failure of marketing depends on the initiative of the project itself, not the commitment of the agency.
The following is the original content (for easier reading and understanding, the original content has been reorganized):
I was recently having dinner with a friend in a small town in Hungary and we talked about marketing in the crypto industry. It’s hard not to talk about crypto when you’re talking to your peers because my family and old friends don’t understand the industry at all - I’m sure many people can relate.
This friend told me about his disastrous experience working with a crypto-native marketing agency (whose name I won’t mention). I smiled bitterly but listened carefully to his troubles because he was not a marketer after all. I felt sorry for the time and money his team had wasted, so I reminded him, “I told you a long time ago, don’t hire a marketing agency because there are no ‘good’ marketing agencies.”
I went on to explain to him that it was a mistake to expect a marketing agency to proactively produce high-quality content for you. They won’t help you define your brand, understand the uniqueness of your project, or have enough creative drive — after all, their energy is spread across multiple clients.
As a startup, the harsh reality is that your projects are likely to be prioritized lower than those big clients because they are more valuable to marketing agencies, not just because of long-term cooperation agreements. In the crypto industry, logos on websites and industry influence are a universal currency, and retaining the most valuable customers is one of the core strategies of marketing agencies to keep their businesses running.
Are marketing agencies really useless?
Not really. Most marketing agencies I know work 8-10 full hours a day, delivering deliverables to multiple clients. Their clients get value because they already know their narrative direction, or at least the brand image they want to create. The role of marketing agencies should be limited to improving short-term or medium-term output capabilities when large-scale content production or specific marketing activities are needed.
McDonalds marketing dilemma
Marketing agencies are just a tool. They are a means to an end, not the X factor that can make your marketing outstanding. Marketing agencies often promote their expertise in brand building and technical concepts, giving small projects the illusion that they can help you gain a foothold. But please dont be fooled by those LOGO x LOGO cooperation cases on the marketing agencys website - how do you know if they terminated the agreement after only one month of cooperation?
A truly excellent “marketer” in the crypto industry must have at least a slightly lower technical understanding than DevRel (developer relations). However, it is difficult for employees of these marketing agencies to have the motivation to further learn on-chain technology outside of their already low-paid 8-hour work hours.
Imagine if you were paid like a McDonald’s store manager, but had to master complex concepts such as oracles, databases, zero-knowledge proofs, MEV, AI, lending, pledging, and re-pledging, would you be willing to do this job?
There may be some excellent senior managers in the hierarchical structure of marketing organizations, but most of the time they are not directly interacting with customers. Instead, they are busy managing teams and developing strategies based on customer feedback. Some managers are even responsible for 7-8 customer accounts at the same time. And what about bad managers? They may do nothing all day long and spend all day in endless conference calls.
On the other hand, low-level staff within the agency, although poorly paid, may be passionate about the industry and willing to invest energy to understand the clients project and build a truly valuable narrative. But they are often blocked by middle-level managers who care more about KPIs and value quantity over quality. If every client requires a comprehensive marketing strategy, the agency must make trade-offs in time investment, and these trade-offs are usually not based on market demand, but on the agencys own commercial interests.
This doesn’t mean the marketing agency model itself is a complete failure; the problem lies in managers’ lack of accountability and inability to set reasonable expectations for clients.
Senior management certainly does not want to lose clients or come into conflict with them, but in the long run, for the survival of the organization and for the benefit of the clients themselves, managers must learn to say no to clients. At the same time, project owners also need to realize that no marketing agency can replace an excellent internal marketer.
Internal Marketing is King
Those who are really good at marketing in the crypto industry have grown up through their own active learning, active participation, and industry connections. They eventually became excellent community managers (@thisisfin_), growth managers (@0x Mista), marketing directors (@lou 3 ee), and narrative managers (@kramnotmark). The reason why they are stronger than marketing agencies is that they are truly integrated into the industry.
My point is that you either go deep into the industry or you can only wander around the edges. If you don’t understand the field and communicate with your audience, it will be difficult to find marketing ideas. In other words - this is marketing, and market research should be your basic skills.
Marketing Extractable Value (MEV)
If your project is considering hiring marketing support, then just hire a marketer. Hiring your first good marketer is like appointing a chief general of a new army. He will be responsible for leading the entire marketing front and deciding whether to continue to expand the team or use an external marketing agency.
If you must hire a marketing agency, at least make sure your internal marketing leaders have a clear strategy. They should be able to develop clear missions and communicate them to the marketing agency to ensure that the agencys execution capabilities are maximized.
For example, your head of marketing needs to publish four blog posts per month. He can ask the marketing agency to write half or even all of the content - provided that he provides all the necessary resources and guidance. If the head of marketing can develop excellent strategies, assign tasks reasonably, and ultimately drive business growth, then he is a good marketer. If the marketing agency can effectively execute these tasks, they are considered a qualified agency.
But in essence, the value of a marketing agency depends on the quality of the client. If your project itself has no highlights and has not found the product market fit (PMF), no matter how good the marketing agency is, it cant save you. If your project has many stories worth telling, but you dont know how to express them, then the marketing agency cant help you either.
However, if your project knows what it wants to achieve and just needs people to execute it, a marketing agency may be a good choice - provided you can manage them like an in-house team, providing regular updates, guidance, and feedback. So, a rule of thumb is: never let a marketing agency be your first marketing hire.
Marketing agencies that promise to be 4x better than in-house marketers are simply bullshitting — and this can even be considered a “bad marketing case” by the marketing agencies themselves. In fact, the value they can provide is actually very simple (even a little boring): if you need additional execution staff, and they have certain industry connections, then they may be a good fit for you. But in comparison, an in-house team is better because you can give employees enough time to learn and grow, and when they are truly integrated into the industry, there is no reason why they can’t do a good job in marketing.
Failed communication
In the final analysis, marketing agencies and project parties have a common problem: their communication skills are so poor that they can even be described as shitty level.
The essence of marketing agencies’ work is communication, but they often exaggerate, causing customers’ expectations to be infinitely magnified. The project parties accept these false promises, expecting the agencies to provide value far beyond reality, but they do not take the initiative to manage the external team. This often leads to a lose-lose situation.
There are no natural winners, and there is no good marketing agency. Whether you choose a marketing agency or not, the only one who ultimately determines the success or failure of your marketing is you.
