Hub + Spoke: What It Is
Since February, the Internal Agency has been transforming our operating model to better support changing business needs. In June we soft launched a pilot with two teams and targeted bodies of work. With roughly one month into the pilot, we are excited to more broadly introduce the Hub + Spoke to our partners.
The model is straightforward:
- The Hub is our permanent core team of experienced creative and agency professionals. The Hub owns brand standards, creative strategy, client relationships, and accountability for outcomes.
- The Spokes are flexible external creative partners — agencies, freelancers, and specialists — activated when additional capacity or specialized expertise is needed. Spokes operate under Hub direction and standards.
Why We Built It
Our previous model was built for more predictable demand. But agency work now fluctuates more sharply across the year, creating pressure in both directions: excess fixed cost during slower periods and capacity gaps during peaks.
Hub + Spoke gives us a more flexible way to deliver creative value. It keeps a seasoned core team focused on strategic, brand- and business-critical work, while using external partners to add capacity, speed, and specialized expertise when needed. The model also gives us access to new ideas and emerging skills that can make the broader agency ecosystem stronger over time.
The approach was informed by client research, year-over-year financial and project data, and input from a cross-functional team within Marketing & Communications, and validated through external industry experts with expertise in agency operations and management.
Hub + Spoke: What Changes
Our hypothesis is simple: a single intake, clearer routing, and a scalable partner model will help us deliver creative work with greater speed, efficiency, and consistency.
The soft launch gives us a practical way to test the model in real work, measure early performance, and apply what we learn to both Hub + Spoke and the future Workfront build within Marketing Modernization.
| What Changes | Today | Tomorrow |
| One intake process | Multiple ways to request work from the Internal Agency or an external agency | One Wrike intake for all agency project requests; clearer required fields help route work faster |
| Clearer routing | Less formal governance across the agency ecosystem; each project is scoped individually, making capacity harder to plan | A clear framework sizes, prices, and routes work to the right execution path |
| Smarter vendor strategy | Broad list of agencies used as needs arise | A more intentional set of Spoke partners with aligned rates, speed expectations, and business knowledge, all directed by the Hub |
I’ve Heard About a Pilot: What Is It and What We Are Measuring?
In June, we launched Hub + Spoke with two pilot teams: Evernorth Specialty and the Cigna Healthcare Messaging Strategy, giving us a practical view of how the model performs across different business needs, audiences, and types of creative work.
We are measuring two areas: operational and financial performance, and adoption and relationship health. That includes speed, cost, quality, intake discipline, partner experience, and overall adoption.
We will check in with partners as part of the normal project development process, and at 30, 60, and 90 days, with a full data package and recommendation targeted for October. A digital dashboard will be shared for real-time performance updates.
What This Means for You
What Stays the Same
- The Internal Agency remains your primary creative and strategic partner.
- We stay involved early and own brand accountability.
- We remain responsible for the quality and outcome of the work.
What Changes
- Some work may be executed by the Hub, a Spoke partner, or both.
- The Hub routes work based on quality, efficiency, capacity, and fit.
- When a Spoke is involved, they work from our brief, under our direction, and through our review before anything reaches you.
What We Ask
- Use the single intake process so work can be routed, priced, and staffed correctly.
- Engage your IA account lead early — ideally before the brief is written.
- Avoid bypassing intake so the right quality checks stay in place.
What Comes Next
- MVP launch of new intake tool, real-time measurement dashboard, and a range of behind-the-scenes operational enhancements.
- A 30-, 60- and 90-day data package will assess speed, cost, quality, and adoption. We will share what we learn through a first of its kind, real-time digital performance dashboard. This MVP dashboard will include what is working, what needs adjustment, and where the model is not performing as intended.
- If you have questions about how Hub + Spoke applies to your work, start with your IA account lead. The earlier we are involved, the better we can help shape the right path forward.