If marketing isn’t your forte, choosing the right person for a marketing position might as well be a shot in the dark. Meanwhile, if you’re an expert, you likely have more pressing tasks than recruiting.
When you need to hire an expert marketer but don’t have the expertise or time for it, partnering with a marketing recruitment agency is your best bet. But with so many options out there, choosing an agency may feel overwhelming if you don’t know what to look for.
In this article, we’ll share guidelines to help you choose the optimal agency for your marketing hiring needs. We’ll also present the ten best marketing recruitment agencies that make it easy to hire expert marketers.
What Is a Marketing Recruitment Agency?
A marketing recruitment agency is a talent agency that specializes in hiring for marketing roles. It sources and screens candidates on your behalf, saving you time and effort. These agencies usually have in-house marketing experts on hand who can effectively evaluate candidates.
Some agencies focus exclusively on marketing roles, while others may connect you with a range of professionals that include marketing experts.
The recruiting process and the scope of services vary across agencies. While some handle all the steps, from sourcing to contracting, others may leave some tasks to you. Similarly, some agencies have candidate pools to choose from, while others tailor their search to your needs.
The Roles You Can Hire For With a Recruitment Agency
One of the greatest perks a marketing recruiting agency offers you is access to a broad network of professionals of varied niches and experience levels. Some of the roles you can hire for include:
- Fractional CMO: A top-level executive responsible for marketing strategy, who you can hire on a part-time basis with flexible hours
- Social media manager: A professional who builds and maintains your brand’s social media presence
- SEO expert: A specialist who optimizes your website and content to ensure your brand is visible to your audience
- PPC expert: A seasoned professional who sets up pay-per-click advertising campaigns to expand your brand’s reach
- Content marketer: A writer or manager who develops your content to educate and engage your audience
- Marketing analyst: An expert who analyzes your performance data and gives you key insights to improve your marketing strategy
- Brand designer: A creative professional who designs your brand’s visual identity and marketing assets
Some marketing recruiting agencies can also source your entire marketing team if you’re starting from scratch.
What To Look For in Marketing Recruitment Agencies
Prioritize the following qualities when choosing a marketing recruitment agency:
- Talent quality: Pick an agency that screens marketers extensively before recommending them to ensure matches with the best talent
- Short time-to-hire: The agency should help you fill your skills gap within a few days to ensure your project takes off as soon as possible
- Quality assurance: Your chosen agency should offer a refund or free replacement if you’re not satisfied with the first candidate you’re matched with
- Flexible contract: As your company and marketing needs change, the agency should allow you to scale up and scale down easily
- Comprehensive support: The agency should make the recruiting process effortless and offer support and guidance through each step
- Transparent pricing: A reputable agency should offer a clear pricing structure with no up-front or hidden fees to instill trust and allow you to plan your budget
1. MarketerHire
With over 30,000 successful matches since 2018 and prominent clients such as Forbes and Netflix, MarketerHire is the number one choice when it comes to marketing recruitment.
Its white-glove approach and proprietary AI-assisted matching system make hiring fast and effortless. You only need to share your needs, and MarketerHire will find you a pre-vetted expert marketer for any role within days, be it a fractional CMO or a paid social expert.
The marketers in MarketerHire’s talent pool have worked with household brands like Uber and PayPal. They undergo thorough screening and represent the top 1% of all applicants who applied to join the network. Led by industry experts, the vetting process consists of:
- Detailed skills reviews
- Live interviews
- Test projects
You’ll have support from your dedicated marketing manager during each step of the hiring process and after onboarding. You also get a two-week trial to assess your match. If you feel they’re not the right fit, MarketerHire will rematch you for free. The contract is obligation-free and scalable, so you can meet your hiring needs timely.
MarketerHire Pricing
- Lite: 10 hours/week; $3,000–$6,000/month
- Part-time: 20 hours/week; $5,500–$11,000/month
- Full-time: 40 hours/week; $9,000–$20,000/month*
*High-level roles may entail higher rates.
MarketerHire Pros & Cons
2. Mondo
Mondo is a U.S.-based staffing agency that hires for digital marketing and tech roles across the country. Its broad network of marketing experts includes professionals who cover over 140 tools and platforms, including specialists in analytics, strategy, SEO, and marketing automation.
Mondo’s team collaborates with you to define your needs and build a tailored recruiting strategy. They then identify suitable candidates in 48 hours, and you choose who gets the interview and the job. The final time-to-placement depends on the contract type and spans three to ten days:
- Full-time work: 8–10 days
- Freelance or contract work: 3–5 days
Mondo’s team will communicate with you throughout the process and ensure your talent is available for work on time.
Mondo Pricing
- Available upon request
Mondo Pros & Cons
3. MarketPro
Having been in business for over 26 years, MarketPro has built a solid reputation and a vast network of active and passive professionals. This marketing hiring agency specializes in executive-level roles, such as CMOs and marketing directors.
MarketPro promises to find your new executive in 10 to 12 weeks.
Once you share your vacancy with MarketPro’s team, they’ll tap into their talent pool and identify the top candidates. They’ll check their references and evaluate their technical skills, leadership style, and cultural fit.
If the marketer is already taken, MarketPro will negotiate for your business to secure an interview.
MarketPro Pricing
- Performance-based payment model
MarketPro Pros & Cons
4. Aquent
Aquent is a work solutions company that offers various services, including talent acquisition. With a talent pool of over two million professionals across eight countries, Aquent can help you fill any marketing, creative, or design role.
Many of Aquent’s agents have practical industry experience. Using an extensive process that includes video interviews, portfolio reviews, and reference checks, they’ll make sure your candidate is ready to step in when needed. If they end up being the wrong fit, you’ll get a refund and an extra 10%.
Aquent nurtures its talent to give it the best chance to succeed. It provides skills training, assists in onboarding, and checks in even after your collaboration starts.
Aquent Pricing
- Available upon request
Aquent Pros & Cons
5. Creative Circle
Like MarketPro, Creative Circle has been operating for more than two decades. Although it specializes in creative work, this consultancy and talent firm can still help you find a wide range of marketing specialists, including content creators, social media managers, and email marketers.
Creative Circle can help you meet your hiring needs regardless of the size of your business. It can source a marketer or an entire marketing team, vetting each candidate to ensure they have what it takes.
The platform is also dedicated to diversity and inclusion. It supports marginalized groups and actively works to eradicate injustice.
Creative Circle Pricing
- Available upon request
Creative Circle Pros & Cons
6. Adecco
Adecco is a long-standing global staffing firm that currently spans 62 countries. When you partner with Adecco, its team develops a tailored recruiting approach to find the optimal candidate for your business.
With Adecco, you can source individuals or teams and scale up as needed. Using advanced technology and a data-based approach, it will zero in on the top contenders from its pipeline of over 300,000 candidates. It promises rapid turnaround as well as management and payroll services.
Adecco Pricing
- Available upon request
Adecco Pros & Cons
7. Cella
Owned by the HR giant Randstad, Cella is a recruiting agency aimed at marketers and creatives that can help you hire U.S.-based professionals for all kinds of employment, such as:
- Freelance/contract
- Temporary
- Direct
Cella can even ease the transition to full-time work in case a temporary hire exceeds your expectations and you decide to take them on permanently.
Once your collaboration kicks off, Cella will appoint a business development manager to support you. To save you time and effort, the agency handles the entire recruiting process, from sourcing to interviewing. It evaluates all marketers in-house to ensure they’re skilled and experienced.
Cella Pricing
- Available upon request
Cella Pros & Cons
8. Mayple
Mayple lets you connect with skilled marketers within four days. Using a data-centric approach, the platform screens candidates based on over 140 criteria to verify their expertise.
To pick the perfect candidate, the agency’s AI matching algorithm considers different sources and over 25 factors, including budget and personality. Still, if you believe it missed the mark, Mayple will find you a replacement for free.
Once you approve the marketer, you can hire, pay, and manage them using Mayple’s client portal. Their work will also be monitored by an unbiased third party to ensure they’re delivering the promised results.
Mayple Pricing
- Depends on the marketing niche and your budget
- Paid Media package starts at $1,800/month
Mayple Pros & Cons
9. Right Side Up
Right Side Up is a marketing talent agency that’s helped some of today’s most popular brands fill their skills gaps. Whether you need a single freelancer or an entire team, you can find them in Right Side Up’s network of over 10,000 pre-vetted marketers.
After the initial meeting where you share your needs, the agency devises your talent strategy and uses proprietary technology to identify the best matches, considering both technical skills and personality.
You’ll get recommendations within two days and can make the hire in two weeks, and Right Side Up will even help you deal with the paperwork. It’ll also check in on you and provide a replacement if the arrangement isn’t working out for you.
Right Side Up Pricing
- Available upon request
Right Side Up Pros & Cons
10. Toptal
A well-known name in recruiting since 2010, Toptal runs a network of freelancers in various fields, including marketing. Still, unlike freelance marketplaces such as Upwork and Freelancer, it pre-vets candidates to single out the top 3% of experts.
The first step to hiring with Toptal is to meet with its director of marketing to describe your needs. Toptal’s team will then suggest a marketer in a few days.
You can assess their compatibility during a two-week trial. If you realize they’re not what you were looking for, you’ll get a replacement and won’t be required to pay until you’re fully satisfied. This offer only applies to the first three matches, though.
Toptal Pricing
- Refundable $500 deposit up-front
- Freelancer rates are undisclosed
Toptal Pros & Cons
MarketerHire—A Standout Among Marketing Recruitment Agencies
Although a relatively new player in the marketing recruitment game, MarketerHire has already made a name for itself with its dedication to efficiency and quality. All of its features and steps are designed to make recruitment as easy and risk-free as possible for you—from its white-glove approach to the free rematching option.
Its scalable services allow you to connect with the high-level marketing talent you need to meet shifting market demands and continue growing.
How MarketerHire Works
Once you partner with MarketerHire, the recruiting process goes as follows:
- Describing your needs: Schedule a brief call with your marketing manager to discuss your company and vacancy
- Meeting your marketer: The MarketerHire team will find a fitting candidate within only 48 hours
- Project kick-off: Your new expert marketer can start doing their magic in as little as three days
If your existing marketing, design, or sales team is struggling with any mundane tasks, MarketerHire has got your back with a pre-vetted Expert Assistant.
Reach out to MarketerHire today and gain access to an exclusive, star-studded network of expert marketers.