Directive review: services, focus, and alternatives

Directive is a B2B marketing agency that says it has worked since 2013 and positions itself around qualified pipeline rather than MQL volume. Its work is split into three divisions. Performance covers content, paid media, performance creative, programmatic, revenue operations and a startup program. Commerce covers marketplace ads, product feed management and shopping campaigns. Communications covers PR, influencer, paid social and organic social. Its method is a five-stage framework it calls DiscoverabilityOS (Model, Define, Captivate, Convert, Scale), and it markets Stratos, its own AI platform that pulls CRM, paid media, SEO and ops data into one view. It also offers a lean startup package and a downloadable agency RFP template.

Directive's site is written for B2B marketers who are measured on pipeline. It groups clients into Technology, Industrial and Services verticals and lists industries from construction, energy and manufacturing to finance, healthcare, telecom, logistics and software. Logos shown include Amazon, Uber Freight, Calendly, Adobe, Cisco and Gong, which points to mid-market and enterprise budgets, though the site does not state a company size. A separate startup package is offered for earlier-stage B2B companies. Offices span the US, Mexico, the UK and Canada.

Directive frames every engagement around DiscoverabilityOS, a five-stage method: Model, Define, Captivate, Convert and Scale. Its homepage describes Stratos, an in-house AI intelligence platform that unifies CRM, paid media, SEO and operations data for reporting and planning. Engagements start with an intro call or a free audit, and the site also accepts formal RFPs. The divisional structure means a client can buy paid media alone or add content, creative, RevOps, PR and social from the same agency. The site describes itself as a long-term growth partner rather than a vendor.

Its about page names Garrett Mehrguth (CEO), Tanner Shaffer (Managing Partner and Co-Founder) and Sean Baker (Chief Revenue Officer), along with division heads. The homepage says it has operated since 2013. The site lists six offices but does not name one as headquarters.

Prices are not published. The site routes buyers to an intro call, a free audit or an RFP submission, and describes itself as a long-term partner. It does not state minimums, contract length or whether fees are retainer or project based.

Strengths, based on what its site publishes:

Trade-offs to weigh:

Demand generation agencies work on the inbound side: paid search and social, SEO, content, and conversion. They differ in channel depth, whether they report on pipeline or on leads and traffic, and how much of the ad accounts and content you keep. Ask for pipeline and revenue reporting, not only cost per lead.

Directive is a large, multi-division shop, so it suits B2B companies that want paid media, content and RevOps under one roof with pipeline reporting. Ask who will actually run your account day to day, how DiscoverabilityOS and Stratos change your reporting in practice, and what the minimum monthly fee is, since none is published. Earlier-stage teams should ask whether the startup package uses the same senior people. If you only need one channel run cheaply, a smaller specialist may be a better fit.

OneGTM wrote this profile and competes in the same market, so weigh the comparison with that in mind. The facts about Directive come from its own website.