10 Green Flags of a High Performing Marketing Partner
By Filip Ivankovic
Director, New Rebellion
Filip has led enterprise marketing functions, managed a $40M budget and delivered 30% growth on a $200M base. An ex-CMO with experience across agency, client and vendor roles he understands where marketing delivers and where it gets stuck.
New Rebellion was built to create something sharper. A model that connects strategy to delivery, fast.
Your marketing partner should help you grow with clarity and confidence.
In a market where clarity matters more than ever, the right partner can lift performance or quietly hold it back. Strategy should sharpen. Execution should flow. Results should feel natural.
Working with ambitious Australian brands, I have seen patterns that show what good looks like. These are the ten green flags I look for in a partner that drives real commercial impact.
Because when it is working, you feel it. And when it is not, this might help you see why.
#1 - Real Talent With Real Experience
You want smart, honest and engaged team that understand what's possible.
Good strategy needs credible leadership.
You want talented people on the tools but not just anyone. The people leading the work need to know how it is actually done.
It is hard to deliver sharp execution if leadership does not understand the systems they rely on. Culture starts at the top. Without expert guidance the output is unlikely to be expert.
You do not need a specialist in every room. But you do need leaders with hands on knowledge and strong judgement. That balance sets the tone and the standard.
The best marketing leaders stay curious. They have solved real problems. They stay close enough to the work to stay sharp. They know what good looks like because they have done it.
The right people raise the bar. Commercially aware. Genuinely engaged. Deeply invested. Find partners who match your ambition and listen to your perspective.
#2 - Outcome First Mindset
Results should align with business performance, not just marketing optics.
If marketing results do not match business performance, they are not results. They are distractions.
We have seen agencies claim wins while revenue drops, margins tighten and lead quality tanks. That is not progress. That is optics.
Outcome first means aligning marketing activity to real business goals. For example, if a business is preparing for sale, the priority is lifting EBITDA. That means focusing on margin, not just volume. Every campaign should be judged by how it supports that outcome.
High performance partners prove it. They treat marketing like tuning an engine. Test. Track. Refine. Levers are isolated. Results are measured. Adjustments follow.
Often, regression analysis is used to assess whether a channel or creative shift actually influenced the outcome. It is not about dashboards full of noise. It is about clarity, rigour and cause and effect.
#3 - Clear Frameworks, Not Chaos
Structure beats charm. Strong delivery needs clear ways of working.
Execution without structure is chaos. Strategy without structure is theatre.
The gap between good thinking and real results is where most agencies fall over.
A high performing framework includes:
- Clear terms of engagement
- Defined roles and responsibilities
- Agreed goals and trackable data points
- A regular rhythm (e.g. weekly check ins, sprint planning or milestone reviews)
Why do so many agencies struggle?
- Capability gaps hidden behind charm
- Metrics chosen for ease, not relevance (e.g. leads instead of revenue)
- Junior staff doing senior work
Execution starts small. Test in low risk environments. Prove it works. Then scale. Then improve.
That keeps risk low, learning high and output accountable.
#4 - Proof of Execution
Great partners deliver on promises and can talk to it.
Case studies are useful but rarely tell the full story.
Sometimes a strong result comes from timing, a sharp offer or numbers framed to look better than they are.
To assess the work properly, ask:
- How was the strategy developed and executed?
- Why did it succeed in that context?
- What drove the result?
You are not just listening for the win. You are testing whether they understand what made it work and how to do it again.
If early commitments shift without a clear reason, pause. Good partners stay aligned, own outcomes and stay focused.
That is what matters. Not the story, but the substance.
#5 - Data Led Transparency
Clear, honest data builds trust and drives better decisions.
You cannot improve what you cannot see.
Too many agencies report aesthetic numbers. Reach without engagement. Leads without conversions. Metrics that sound good but mean nothing when you face your board.
A green flag partner:
- Reports on meaningful commercial metrics
- Tells the truth when things are not working
- Helps you understand why they are
More importantly:
- You should own your data and systems (e.g. analytics, ads, platforms)
- Partners should never gate access or create dependency
Work should happen with full access and a clear scope. You own the systems. You see the levers. You understand what is working.
#6 - Strategy Matched to Business Requirements
Your marketing should meet your current requirements and move you toward the next.
One size fits all is not strategy. It is laziness.
Good marketing meets the business where it is. Great marketing moves it forward.
In businesses preparing for sale, we have seen marketing teams push for brand campaigns to build long-term equity. But the commercial need is often short-term EBITDA uplift. That means shifting focus from top-of-funnel activity to improving unit economics. Shifting focus onto reducing acquisition costs, lifting lifetime value (LTV) and streamlining process between marketing and sales.
The role of strategy is not to impress. It is to clarify. To focus on what matters now and build toward what is next.
Great partners:
- Understand the ambition
- Map clear, commercial steps
- Keep teams aligned and accountable
When marketing is tied to real business goals, results stop being random. They start becoming scalable.
#7 - Senior Attention Where It Matters
You are not buying a logo. You are buying the people behind it.
Too often, senior talent sells the vision, then disappears.
Delivery is handed to juniors, decisions stall and issues escalate too late. The work suffers because the people best equipped to guide it are no longer involved.
A green flag partner ensures senior involvement does not end at the pitch. It is there when stakes are high, when the strategy needs reshaping and when problems need solving. Not just reporting.
You do not need top-heavy resourcing. But you do need smart people at the right moments. Especially when:
- The business model shifts
- New channels or markets are launched
- Results are unclear and the next step is uncertain
This is not about hierarchy. It is about accountability. Senior talent sets the tone, keeps the work honest and ensures the intent matches the impact.
Ask who will be in the room when it counts. If it not someone you met on day one, why weren't they there?
#8 - Adaptable Without Losing Focus
A good partner adjusts. A great one adapts without drifting.
Business does not sit still.
Priorities shift. Budgets move. New products launch. A high performing partner knows how to flex without losing sight of the goal.
This is not about saying yes to everything. It is about knowing what to change and what to protect. When to pivot. When to push through. And how to keep the work anchored in the original intent.
Green flags look like:
- Reframing tactics to suit a new constraint
- Protecting core strategy when noise builds around it
- Raising risks early so changes are proactive, not reactive
A good partner keeps you agile. But they do not chase every request or trend. They help you stay focused, make deliberate choices and adjust with purpose.
If the work constantly shifts without explanation, it is not agility. It is drift. That is how strategy breaks down.
A partner should help you respond to change, not get lost in it.
#9 - Embedded, Not External
The best partners do not operate at arm’s length. They feel like part of the team.
They are not just responding to briefs.
They are helping shape them. They understand how decisions get made, where blockers sit and what internal teams need to move faster.
A green flag partner adapts to your rhythm. They show up to the right meetings. They use your tools. They communicate clearly. They understand that good ideas are not enough. They need to land with the right people, in the right way, at the right time.
You will know you have the right partner when:
- The work runs smoother, not harder
- There is less back and forth, not more
- Internal teams trust them enough to ask for help, not just hand over tasks
Embedded does not mean blurred lines. It means shared focus, clear accountability and faster decisions. A good partner understands your business. A great one moves with it.
#10 - Commercially Aligned Incentives
You want skin in the game, not just time on a clock.
A partner should care about what you care about.
If they get paid the same whether things work or not, you are not aligned.
Commercial alignment is not about commission models or bonus structures. It is about building the engagement around outcomes, not hours. It is about defining what good looks like and making sure both sides are aiming for the same thing.
Green flags look like:
- Scope and goals built around business outcomes
- Shared visibility on performance and progress
- Clear agreements on how success is measured
You should not have to chase your partner to stay accountable. They should come to you with the data. With ideas. With the next step.
A strong partner will push for performance because it is in their interest too. That is how trust builds. That is how long-term partnerships grow.
What these green flags show is alignment
When a marketing partner is aligned to your goals, your pace and your standards, the work gets easier. Results come faster. Trust builds naturally.
If you are looking to bring on a new agency or partner, these green flags can help you cut through the noise and find one that fits.
If you are leading an agency and want to sharpen your approach, consider where your delivery aligns and where it falls short.
New Rebellion was built for leaders who want better marketing outcomes without the fluff. If you want to talk through your current setup or see where things could be sharper, book an informal chat with us. No pressure. Just honest perspective.
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