Global Talent Transforms Tobie Group From Fractional CMO to a Full-Service Powerhouse

It all started with a woman named Tobie.

On a late night in 2010, Ryan Burch sat at a train platform in Croatia. Deep in thought, he hadn’t spoken English in days when a lone figure approached and, to his relief, struck up a conversation in his mother tongue.

Tobie had a different story. She had worked tirelessly to get a high-paying job in corporate finance. Then, she was involved in a serious car accident that almost killed her. The event completely changed her outlook on life.

The two bonded over the next hour or so, talking about, as Douglas Adams would put it, “life, the universe, and everything.” Ryan had recently completed his MBA at Arizona State University while working full-time as an advertising account executive at his alma mater. But he suspected that there was something more out there for him—one of the reasons why he was soul-searching in Europe at the time. 

“Tobie said, ‘Time doesn't matter, money doesn't matter—the thing that matters is what you truly want to do,’” Ryan recalls. “It was more how she said it than what she said. It was the perfect advice I needed—a nudge in the right direction.”

At that moment, Ryan realized he wanted more than his personal quest for success; he truly wanted to help others succeed.

Today, close to 15 years after the encounter, Ryan leads the marketing agency, Tobie Group, named after the stranger he met in Croatia. Echoes of that serendipitous encounter continue to inform Ryan’s vision for his agency, initially built on a fractional CMO model and now expanded to a full-service agency featuring top talent from all over the globe.

Let’s look at Ryan’s journey and dissect the main strategies that have led to his agency’s success—and his ability to hold firm to the vision that Tobie set in motion so many years ago.

We feel like we're able to give our clients just the right strategic guidance—at the right time—to point them in the right direction. Sometimes, the things that they think are important aren't. We're able to help them pull back some of those layers and understand that there's a process that will lead to something different. 

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Adopting a Full-Service Agency Model in a Fractional Consultancy Environment

Ryan Burch began his career as many marketing and media pros do: at his college student newspaper. Upon graduating, the newspaper offered him a full-time position in the organization, selling and crafting marketing campaigns for both small and large businesses looking to reach the college audience. The position at ASU allowed him to pursue his MBA while working full-time. Although Ryan handled national accounts, he always found joy in working with local businesses. 

After returning from his 2010 European trip and that fateful encounter with Tobie, Ryan secured a position at a digital advertising agency specializing in retargeting. Two months after he started, eBay purchased the company, and his division became part of eBay’s in-house agency. 

A couple of promotions later, Ryan led the ad tech strategy and operations teams working across eBay’s Enterprise and strategic accounts.

During his time at eBay, Ryan came to an important realization.

It didn't matter if we were working with a massive Fortune 500 retailer or a smaller local business. Every team needed "one extra person." 

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

The fractional CMO model was gaining steam, and Ryan saw an opportunity to switch gears. He launched Tobie Group in 2019, initially working as a solopreneur. 

Ryan quickly made a name for himself by transforming ad-buying and digital advertising strategies with surgical precision. Eventually, he became the go-to guy for turning his clients’ digital advertising strategies around. He wasn’t just following the clues and filling in the gaps; he was taking charge, recommending campaign strategies, helping clients grow, and leaving their companies stronger.

I like to say that I can't use advertising to solve your marketing problem. It's one of my favorite things to tell clients because we're extremely good at direct response marketing, but, a lot of times, we're not only doing that for a client. 

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Initially, the fractional approach allowed Ryan to apply his strategic acumen directly where it was needed most—digital advertising—aligning with his startup agency's nimble nature. 

However, as his agency grew and client needs became more complex, Ryan realized the fractional approach had become a limiting factor. The agency didn’t control how its recommendations would be implemented or who would execute them. 

We moved to a full-service agency model because we found that—with that supplemental marketing role—it was difficult to own the output.

When we start peeling back the layers, we identify that other things are lacking—messaging, creative, landing pages, or even price points. So, we've taken on a much more strategic role than a traditional media-buying digital ad agency.

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

This was a pivotal moment for Tobie Group, and Ryan knew he had to lead the change to keep the agency growing. With a vision to transform from a fractional CMO base into a full-service agency structure, the next phase would require a fundamental shift in operations and client management. 

By consolidating a range of marketing services under one roof, Tobie Group could offer more than piecemeal solutions; it could provide comprehensive strategies that span from initial research and creative ideation to campaign execution and analytics—enhancing the quality and impact of every client engagement.

In handling more extensive aspects of each client’s marketing needs, the agency ensures a consistent and unified strategic vision across all touchpoints, fostering deeper client relationships.

As Tobie Group’s portfolio grew, so did the need for additional specialized personnel to take on new and existing client accounts.

Ryan broadened his hiring strategy to include local and global agency marketing experts, enhancing Tobie Group’s ability to offer round-the-clock services and bringing diverse perspectives essential for creative innovation.

Operating a Global Team of Contractors to Offer Best-in-Class Local Service

Today, Tobie Group focuses primarily on helping small and medium-sized businesses succeed in their local markets.

Most of our business is what I categorize as “smarter local marketing.” We're taking that big agency experience and then localizing it for clients.

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

By helping clients build a blueprint for each localized market, understanding what that market will look like, and establishing processes and strategies that can be repeated for each location (such as building individual Google Business Profiles for each location alongside keyword analysis for targeted local SEO strategies, and PPC ads), the agency equips them with the right tools for growth and expansion.

In Ryan’s opinion, Tobie Group’s success hinges on one key advantage: a flexible, global team of experts. It’s not just about covering more ground—it’s about bringing the best possible service to local markets with a precision that only a specialized team offers.

In an increasingly remote-based world, Ryan hones in on the best available talent by looking beyond traditional borders. He uses sourcing platforms like Upwork, as well as industry-specific Slack and Facebook communities, to find the people he needs, no matter where they live. This allows him to keep costs and tenure flexible, hire based on contract length, and build a rotating roster of skilled individuals he can leverage as needed.

We’ve got, at any given time, 15 to 20 contractors that we’re working with. What we like to try to do is bring people in, fire them up for specific projects, and scale back down as needed.

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Tobie Group’s model provides the flexibility to adjust staffing for each project, ensuring resources match project needs efficiently. Using a remote global workforce enhances Tobie Group’s capability to adapt quickly to changing market conditions while enriching the agency with diverse skills and cultural insights. 

This setup also serves as a talent discovery process. As contractors from around the world work on various assignments, Tobie Group identifies those who consistently excel and align with the agency’s culture. The top performers become candidates for regular assignments. 

This approach allowed Tobie Group to meet immediate project demands and strategically build a long-term team with proven professionals, regardless of their location.

Ryan Burch (third from left) with team members in Tobie Group’s Tempe office. (Credit: Tobie Group)

Sometimes, there's a stigma around hiring offshore or hiring an external freelancer. I've never looked at our team that way. We hire our freelancers and contractors with the same standards we would hire somebody sitting next to us here in Tempe, Arizona.

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Over the years, Tobie Group has developed a list of best practices for working with a freelance or contracted workforce to ensure agency longevity and success: 

• Create a Robust Onboarding Process: Ensure that every contractor understands your agency’s values, working style, and client expectations right from the start. Align the contractors with your agency’s goals for better consistency in the work delivered.

• Implement Standardized Procedures: Create standardized workflows and communication protocols to maintain consistency across projects, regardless of who completes the work.

• Use Specialized Skills: One of the main benefits of using a contracted workforce is the ability to tap into specialized skills on an as-needed basis. This allows you to enhance your service offerings without the overhead of full-time employment costs. Use freelancers to fill specific gaps in expertise and ensure your agency can handle a wider variety of client demands.

• Foster Strong Communication: Maintain open lines of communication with your contracted workforce. Regular check-ins and updates help prevent misunderstandings and keep projects on track. Tools like Slack, Asana, or Trello will facilitate seamless communication and project management.

• Build Long-Term Relationships: While freelancers may work on a project-by-project basis, developing long-term relationships with a trusted pool of contractors will provide stability and reliability. Treat them as an extension of your team, and invest in these relationships as you would with full-time employees.

At Tobie Group, longevity and loyalty define the core team (the “inner circle,” as Ryan affectionately calls it), with many members having become integral to the agency since its foundation five years ago. 

The workload for the inner circle is much more predictable and regular. I try to have really open communication about what those ongoing client needs are going to look like, and I ask that the contractors are open with us about their workload. 

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Ryan carefully vets new contractors by initially assigning them smaller projects. This allows both parties to evaluate fit and ensure that skills match and that new contractors resonate with the company’s culture. Regular updates and clear directives ensure that everyone, whether near or far, understands their responsibilities and the broader project goals. 

To enhance the sense of community among remote workers, Ryan personally engages with team members globally. Whether it’s sending Tobie Group gear to a newcomer or visiting contractors in places like London or Australia, he personally reinforces their value to the team. 

This helps maintain high morale and fosters a dedicated and collaborative workplace environment that contributes to Tobie Group’s ongoing success.

We want the best people to stick around. If you have great processes without great people, you might get by. But if you have really great people, it doesn't matter. They will build those processes for you.

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Admittedly though, despite an agency’s best efforts, operating a globally dispersed team introduces complexities to operations. Tobie Group counters these challenges by continually refining internal standard operating procedures (SOPs), and hosting regular check-ins that align all team members with the agency’s goals and client expectations.

Luckily, we've got these really great people who have been with us for a long time and are building the culture and helping us build the processes. I'm not the smartest person in the room, and I value that, right? The processes have to change, mold, and adapt.

At the end of the day, if I've got a great teammate, I trust them to get us up to speed or get us further out on that learning curve than maybe somebody who's just treating their freelancers like part-time work.

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group

Pioneering Change for Agency Excellence

Under Ryan Burch’s leadership, Tobie Group has transformed from a fractional CMO model to a full-service agency. Using a global contractor network has significantly enhanced the agency's ability to meet diverse client needs efficiently.

The agency has adapted to changes and challenges by dynamically scaling its workforce to meet project demands, which allows it to manage quality, costs, and complexity effectively while maintaining the high standards and results clients expect.

I think sometimes, as agency owners, we're looking for these really big solutions when the reality is that the small things done right actually make the biggest impact.

We need to listen to our clients and ask, “What will help you every day?”

Ryan Burch, Owner, Tobie Group