Should creative operations report to creative or MOps?

Should creative operations report to the creative organization, thereby safeguarding team autonomy, or align with marketing operations (MOps) to gain access to critical tools, data and decision‑makers? 

The answer depends on your team’s current value proposition, operational gaps and strategic goals. It’s an important question because finding the right home for creative ops will determine its ability to drive innovation, efficiency and measurable impact across your enterprise.

The creative ops reporting dilemma

The question of where creative operations should report is not a new one. There are strong arguments for either the creative department or within MOp. 

• Reporting to creative preserves autonomy and addresses creative ops’ unique needs. 
• MOps can provide access to technology, reporting analytics and decision‑makers, increasing creative ops’ influence.

Cella’s 2024 Creative Intelligence Report (CIR) highlights concerns that in‑house creative teams aren’t seen as providers of innovation, strategic value or high‑end creation quality.

That needs to change. Creative operations must elevate its influence, arming in‑house teams with the tools and data validation to demonstrate enterprise value.

Dig deeper: Mastering the art and science of creative analytics

Assessing your creative team’s value proposition

How do you decide where creative ops belongs in your organization? First, look at the current value proposition of the creative team or in-house agency. Is it:

• Clear to business partners and the enterprise?
• Easily quantified and validated?
• In line with what the business needs?

If the answer is no to any of these, find the key gaps and identify what it will take to correct them. Will it require technology, data, resources or the ability to strategically influence the business early in the planning process? The answer is likely yes.

Integrating creative ops into MOps functions

The same 2024 CIR report found the top four activities falling under the marketing operations function were:

• Planning.
• Workflow and/or other internal tools.
• Metrics and reporting.
• Budget/forecasting. 

Marketing planning horizons continue to decrease, and only 39% of in-house creative teams are involved in forecasting and planning. Creative operations representation is critical for both of these.

Marketing planning

Creative ops can represent the creative department’s unique needs, communicate the value story and find opportunities to balance the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s creative output.

Workflow and tooling

Creative ops can:

• Identify opportunities to capture efficiencies and support business case development.
• Articulate the creative department’s needs when evaluating and selecting tools.
• Identify innovation opportunities that support the effectiveness of the creative output.

Metrics and reporting

Creative ops should be able to:

• Define the in‑house agency’s metrics to align with broader marketing objectives.
  • Serve as the department’s business analyst: Lead discussions with reporting and analytics teams.
  • Develop dashboards and reports that drive enterprise‑level strategic decisions.
  • Standardize marketing data terminology to ensure teams interpret in‑market data consistently.
  • Unlock actionable insights and support cross‑departmental analysis.

Budget and forecasting

Enable creative ops to:

• Input resourcing needs into the annual operating plans.
• Clarify the options available based on prioritization.
• Build business rationale for various scenarios based on data and expertise.

Dig deeper: Does your team struggle to evaluate creative ideas? You’re not alone

The case for operational alignment

Creative operations will struggle to align with marketing objectives or adapt to change without a seat at the table. That increases the risk of siloed operations, which lead to misaligned priorities, unclear accountability and inefficiencies. 

With shorter planning cycles, growing demands and pressure to innovate, alignment is more critical than ever. It lets in-house agencies execute timely, data-driven and stronger creatives. 

If you’re considering moving creative ops under MOps, do it to elevate creative’s influence and boost marketing’s overall impact.

Strengthening the creative–marketing partnership

Creative ops can stay in the creative org and still be aligned with MOps. However, this requires intentional effort and leadership support. This partnership is reinforced by:

• Creating shared goals that align with marketing or enterprise objectives. That clarifies accountability and helps teams see how their work contributes to broader success.
• Promoting transparency by involving creative ops subject matter experts in planning and forecasting.
• Setting expectations for regular data sharing — both operational and performance-related — to balance efficiency with effectiveness. Share dashboards and reports across teams to support analysis and strategic decision-making.
• Building in collaboration at a process level. Don’t assume it will happen organically — create space for direct communication between departments.

Structuring for scalable success

Marketing and creative operations are the foundation of your organization’s effectiveness. How you structure and resource these teams determines your ability to scale and drive efficiency.

Setting these roles up for success improves the likelihood of meeting growing expectations around innovation, data analysis, and strategic decision-making. In many cases, MOps holds more decisive influence in these areas — making a strategic partnership with creative ops a powerful way to elevate the impact of your in-house agency.

Dig deeper: How to bridge the gap between creative marketers and marketing analysts