Allocating Marketing Capital: A Private Equity Framework for Investing in Collaborators

Executive Summary

Private equity investors are known for their disciplined approach to capital allocation, risk management, and value creation.

At Withers & Sloane, we apply these same principles to the structuring of marketing capability. Rather than relying on fixed internal headcount, we invest in a portfolio of collaborators: freelancers, fractional marketing leaders, and specialist creatives.

This model delivers the same advantages that private equity investors seek when deploying capital into portfolio companies: allocative efficiency, diversification, aligned incentives, speed of execution, and long-term value creation.

By adopting a private equity lens, organisations can reconceptualise marketing not as an overhead cost but as an asset class designed to compound returns.

1. Allocative Efficiency: Targeted Deployment of Capital

The foundation of private equity lies in the efficient deployment of scarce capital. Modigliani and Miller (1958) suggested that in frictionless markets, capital structure is irrelevant to firm value. However, the existence of real-world frictions makes allocation critical. Private equity firms maximise returns by targeting investment into high-yielding opportunities rather than spreading resources thinly across functions that may not justify the capital deployed.

Withers & Sloane adopts this principle for marketing talent. Instead of committing to fixed costs associated with full-time hires, we allocate spend directly to collaborators whose expertise produces immediate, measurable impact. This approach eliminates drag from underutilised capacity and ensures that capital is continually deployed to its most productive use.

2. Diversification and Resilience of Capability

Markowitz’s (1952) portfolio theory demonstrated that diversification reduces unsystematic risk while maintaining or enhancing expected returns. Private equity firms mirror this principle by balancing investments across sectors and geographies to create resilient portfolios.

The same principle holds in marketing. No single individual can deliver best-in-class performance across strategy, analytics, creative production, and brand positioning. By leveraging a diversified pool of collaborators, Withers & Sloane reduces the risk of capability gaps and builds resilience into client outcomes. A portfolio approach to human capital in marketing ensures that weaknesses in one area are offset by strengths in another.

3. Agency Theory and Incentive Alignment

Jensen and Meckling (1976) highlighted the central problem of modern corporations: the misalignment of incentives between principals and agents. In marketing, this misalignment is often evident in permanent teams that are rewarded for continuity rather than value creation.

Collaborators invert this dynamic. Their contracts are contingent on performance, and their future engagements depend on the measurable value they deliver. This structure aligns incentives between client and collaborator in a way that mirrors private equity deal terms. Just as private equity structures compensation to reward managers for increasing enterprise value, the collaborative model ensures that marketing specialists are directly accountable for outcomes rather than inputs.

4. Speed to Market as a Source of Competitive Advantage

In financial markets, alpha is defined as returns generated above a benchmark. For private equity firms, alpha is often produced by accelerating operational improvements relative to public market peers.

Withers & Sloane applies the same principle to marketing delivery. Collaborators can be mobilised within days, allowing clients to respond rapidly to competitive launches, seasonal cycles, or strategic pivots. Traditional hiring cycles introduce delays that erode competitive advantage. By contrast, a collaborative network structure compresses time to market, delivering excess returns in the form of agility and responsiveness.

5. Value Creation and Exit-Oriented Thinking

Kaplan and Strömberg (2009) argue that private equity’s distinctive contribution is disciplined value creation with an eye toward exit. Even when businesses are not preparing for sale, the principle remains valid: every investment should build enduring enterprise value.

Marketing assets created by collaborators extend beyond immediate campaign output. They include positioning frameworks, content systems, design libraries, and refined brand equity. These are compounding assets that strengthen the organisation’s valuation in both financial and reputational terms. Marketing, when approached through a private equity lens, becomes a driver of long-term equity rather than a recurring cost line.

How Our Fractional Collaborators Can Support You

Erica, Fractional Head of Marketing, Brand and Strategy

Erica is a strategic and results-driven Head of Marketing and Brand with extensive experience working alongside executive leadership to shape and deliver impactful marketing strategies. She combines creative vision with data-driven decision-making, ensuring that marketing, branding, and commercial objectives are fully aligned. Erica has led full rebrands, multichannel campaigns, and cross-functional teams across Private Equity, Legal, Media, Luxury Goods, FMCG, and social mobility sectors.

Erica's expertise spans sales enablement, CRM optimisation, marketing automation, content development, and stakeholder engagement, enabling portfolio companies to accelerate growth, strengthen market positioning, and enhance investor confidence.

By building bespoke marketing teams and leading strategy execution, Erica ensures that every campaign delivers measurable business impact, supports revenue growth, and drives long-term value creation for Private Equity firms and their portfolios.

Mariam, Fractional Strategic Marketing Specialist

Mariam brings a results-driven approach to marketing that aligns perfectly with the fast-paced, performance-focused environment of private equity portfolio companies. She translates complex business objectives into campaigns that generate leads, strengthen pipelines, and enhance market presence. Mariam’s expertise in account-based marketing, sales enablement, and CRM optimisation ensures that portfolio companies can reach key decision-makers efficiently, accelerate deal flow, and maximise revenue potential.

Mariam's data-informed strategies, combined with creative storytelling, enable portfolio companies to articulate differentiated value propositions and scale their marketing impact quickly and measurably.

Mark, B2B and Professional Services Marketing Expert

Mark brings over twenty-five years of senior marketing leadership to Private Equity portfolios, combining commercial insight with world-class branding and communications expertise. He helps portfolio companies articulate their value propositions clearly, elevate brand presence, and drive measurable business development outcomes. Mark’s experience spans global rebrands, integrated marketing strategies, and high-profile campaigns for firms such as Deloitte, KPMG, Capgemini, and Bird & Bird. He also provides strategic oversight on media engagement, thought leadership, and investor communications.

For Private Equity firms, Mark ensures that marketing investments are optimised for growth, pipeline acceleration, and long-term value creation, giving portfolio companies a competitive edge while supporting measurable returns for investors. Poppy, Photographer & Creative Producer

Poppy elevates the visual identity of portfolio companies, creating compelling imagery that supports branding, investor communications, and thought leadership initiatives. Her expertise in interiors, architecture, portrait, and travel photography enables Private Equity firms to showcase assets, corporate offices, and key personnel in a polished, professional way.

Poppy’s global experience and sensitivity to cultural context make her ideal for international portfolios, while her creative direction ensures that every campaign or investor-facing presentation reflects the company’s market positioning and premium standards.​

Georgia, Social Media Manager & Content Creator

Georgia helps portfolio companies amplify their brand presence and engage target audiences through strategic social media and content marketing. Her experience spans copywriting, blog curation, email campaigns, website optimisation, and full social media management.

For Private Equity firms, Georgia ensures portfolio companies maintain consistent, professional messaging across digital channels, strengthening reputation, thought leadership, and lead generation. By creating engaging content tailored to each business’s audience, she enables rapid scaling of marketing communications that directly support growth targets and investor confidence.

Value Creation Through Efficient Capital Allocation

Aswath Damodaran has noted that “value is created when capital is allocated to its best use.” This statement captures the essence of Withers & Sloane’s approach. By treating marketing spend as investment capital, we adopt the principles of private equity to maximise returns for our clients.

Withers & Sloane is not an agency model. It is a disciplined platform for allocating marketing capital into its most productive channels: the right collaborator, at the right time, producing the right outcome. For organisations that view marketing not as overhead but as an investment class, Withers & Sloane offers a structure designed for compounding value.

Withers & Sloane: A Framework for Private Equity Value Creation Through Marketing

Private Equity firms are adept at identifying operational efficiencies, unlocking synergies, and driving financial performance across their portfolios. Yet, marketing often remains underleveraged as a value-creation lever, treated as a cost centre rather than a source of competitive advantage.

At Withers & Sloane, we approach marketing through the same disciplined lens as capital allocation, directing resources to the areas of highest return, building capabilities that endure beyond the investment cycle, and aligning every initiative with the investment thesis. The following framework illustrates how our model supports Private Equity firms in transforming marketing into a driver of measurable growth, brand equity, and exit value.

1. Portfolio Assessment & Diagnostics

• Objective: Establish a clear baseline of each portfolio company’s brand, market position, and marketing infrastructure.

• What We Do:

  • Conduct brand audits, pipeline analysis, and competitor benchmarking.

  • Evaluate CRM, digital channels, and marketing automation maturity.

  • Map customer personas and value propositions against growth objectives.

• Benefit: Identifies underutilised marketing assets and clarifies where capital should be deployed for the highest return.

2. Strategic Alignment with Investment Thesis

• Objective: Align marketing strategies with the overarching PE investment strategy (growth, market entry, consolidation, exit readiness).

• What We Do:

  • Translate financial objectives into targeted marketing plans.

  • Design brand and communications strategies that support revenue, margin, and valuation growth.

  • Ensure consistency across geographies, service lines, and acquired entities.

• Benefit: Ensures marketing is directly accountable to portfolio value creation, not siloed activity.

3. Specialist Deployment (Collaborator Model)

• Objective: Provide PE firms with agile, fractional, and highly skilled marketing specialists on demand.

• What We Do:

  • Deploy subject-matter experts (strategy, content, creative, social, brand, photography) as needed.

  • Build bespoke teams around portfolio company needs without overhead.

  • Offer flexible engagement models: fractional CMO, campaign-specific, or interim leadership.

• Benefit: Swift access to expertise without the cost of permanent hires, ensuring lean and efficient operations.

4. Operational Execution & Capability Building

• Objective: Deliver tactical execution while upskilling portfolio teams for sustained growth.

• What We Do:

  • Run multi-channel campaigns, brand launches, and sales enablement programmes.

  • Optimise CRM and data-driven marketing workflows.

  • Mentor in-house teams and provide playbooks for long-term capability.

• Benefit: Immediate uplift in performance combined with sustainable improvements in portfolio marketing maturity.

  
  

5. Performance Measurement & Value Realisation

• Objective: Demonstrate marketing ROI in terms investors care about: revenue growth, customer acquisition, retention, and exit valuation.

• What We Do:

  • Set clear KPIs linked to financial and operational goals.

  • Use dashboards and analytics to track impact across portfolio companies.

  • Produce board-ready reporting that connects marketing outcomes to portfolio value.

• Benefit: Provides measurable proof of marketing’s role in value creation and supports stronger exit multiples.

Outcome for Private Equity Firms:

• Accelerated portfolio growth.

• Enhanced brand equity and market positioning.

• Lean, flexible, high-performing marketing support.

• Measurable contribution to EBITDA and exit readiness.

Withers & Sloane offers Private Equity firms a disciplined, capital-efficient approach to marketing that mirrors the very principles driving their investment strategies. By combining rigorous diagnostics, strategic alignment, specialist deployment, and measurable performance, we transform marketing from a discretionary cost into a lever of enterprise value.

Our collaborators bring not only functional expertise but also the agility and precision that portfolio companies require to scale effectively, strengthen market position, and maximise exit multiples. For investors seeking to generate sustainable alpha, the integration of Withers & Sloane into the value-creation plan is not simply advantageous; it is essential.

To find out more, or book a consultation email us at info@witherssloane.com today.