Skip to content

  • Bayonne · Pau · Basque Country · Béarn · Landes · Bigorre

    A marketing department,
    without hiring a marketing director

    ARETA takes responsibility for your marketing function, 2 or 3 days a month: priorities, action plan, management of your providers and reports with figures. You keep the decision, we carry the subject. Specialising in hotels, restaurants and food trades, and open to all SMEs in the region.

    ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5.0/5 from 20 reviews (Google, Sortlist, Malt, Pages Jaunes)

    Book 30 free minutes See the management plans
    1 point of contactGuilhem Arregle, from the first meeting to the final delivery
    3 months, then monthlyInitial 3-month cycle, then cancellable with 30 days' notice
    Written planYour marketing priorities set out in black and white from the first month

  • The situation

    In your business,
    who owns marketing?

    In most SMEs in the region, the honest answer is: nobody in particular. The owner decides between two meetings, everyone does a little, and the substantive topics wait. Six situations we find at every first meeting.

    • Marketing is you, in the evening. Between management, the team and the customers, marketing strategy gets dealt with when there is time left. There never is.
    • A work-study student carries the subject alone. They produce posts, but nobody sets priorities, reviews or measures. When they leave, everything stops.
    • Your providers do not talk to each other. A website here, campaigns there, a printer, a photographer: each one invoices, nobody coordinates or reports.
    • You hired, and it did not last. A lone marketing profile in an SME, with no direction or clear budget, burns out or leaves. The failure cost months.
    • As a hotelier or restaurateur, you put up with the platforms. Commissions rise, the season is decided in a few weeks, and direct booking remains a project never started.
    • You do not know what pays off. Money leaves every month on communication, with no dashboard to say what brings in customers and what does not. A visibility review is often enough to reveal it.

    The problem is not a lack of tools or providers. It is the lack of someone in charge of the subject.

    Talk about your situation, 30 free minutes

  • The trade-off, in figures

    Hire, take on an apprentice
    or outsource?

    All three options are legitimate, and in a meeting we will tell you whether one of the first two is right for you. The table below compares the three honestly, with sourced figures: it is this trade-off, not a brochure, that should underpin your decision.

    CriterionHire a marketing managerApprentice or internOutsourced marketing director
    Annual cost €36,000 to €70,000 gross, or about €50,000 to €100,000 in total employer cost, social charges included Low, partly subsidised. But the real cost includes your supervision time From €21,600 excl. VAT/year
    (fixed fee for 2 days a month, with no social charges or hidden costs)
    Time before first effect 11 weeks of recruitment on average, plus the onboarding period: allow 6 months Set by the school calendar, with a reset every time someone leaves The first month: initial review, priorities and written action plan
    Scope covered That of the person hired: a good content profile does not set the price, the offer or the SEO Partial execution, mostly social media and printed materials The whole function: strategy, offer and pricing, visibility, customer experience, management of service providers
    Reversibility Low: a costly break, both personally and financially High, but with a loss of continuity at every term Initial 3-month cycle, then cancellable every month with 30 days' notice
    Risk if it fails High: a failed hire costs several months of salary and lost time Limited financially, real for your image if content goes out without review Limited to the current cycle: you stop, you keep the plan and the dashboards
    Supervision required Real: an executive on their own in the role needs a director who makes the calls Significant: it is a training post, not a management one None: we are the ones who report to you, not the other way round
    Accountability Annual review, internal objectives Educational follow-up Monthly dashboard with figures: Google and AI visibility, reviews, incoming enquiries, progress of the plan

    Sources: marketing manager salaries in France, Jobmarketingvente, September 2025 · average duration of an executive recruitment, Apec, study Pratiques de recrutement des cadres. Employer cost estimated with employer social charges on the salary range quoted.

    Our position, plainly. If your SME can keep a full-time marketing manager busy and supervise them, hire: it is the best long-term option, and we can prepare the ground before they arrive. Outsourcing is meant for the stage before: when the function has to exist without justifying a post.

  • The scope

    What management covers,
    in concrete terms

    The fixed fee covers responsibility for the function: deciding, prioritising, getting things done and reporting back. Delivery of the work (website, content, campaigns) is sized separately, according to your situation: your teams, service providers we manage, or a mix. It is priced on quote, never imposed. Management can include a community manager in Pau for the social media side of the plan, and draws on all of areta's trades.

    01

    Marketing plan and priorities

    Initial review, objectives, budget, calendar: a written plan kept up to date, which says what we do, what we do not do, and why.

    Included in the fixed fee

    02

    Offer, pricing and margin

    What you sell, at what price, for what margin: menus, set menus, services, packages. The most profitable lever, and the most neglected.

    Included in the fixed fee

    04

    Customer experience and reviews

    What your customers go through, from the first search to the review they leave: customer journey, reputation, loyalty. Our original specialism.

    Our online reputation offer

    05

    Hotels and restaurants

    Direct booking, weight of commissions, occupancy, seasonality, average spend: we speak your language as an operator, not the language of slides. Same logic for wine estates. Management covers your tools, including the choice and running of the restaurant POS software.

    Our hospitality specialism

    06

    Management of service providers

    Website, content, campaigns, photography, print: we scope, select, brief and monitor your service providers. One person in charge, no more scattered effort. When a redesign is needed, our digital agency in Pau carries it out under the same management. And our guide to choosing your POS software is public.

    Included in the fixed fee

  • How it works

    A simple rhythm:
    2 or 3 days a month, at your premises

    Management takes place on site in Bayonne, Pau and the surrounding area, or remotely when that is more efficient. You keep every decision: we prepare the trade-offs, you decide, we get it done.

    1. Free scoping session, 30 minutes

      Your situation, your objectives, your budget. At the end, we tell you honestly whether outsourcing is the right option, or whether a hire or a one-off assignment would serve you better.

    2. Initial review, first month

      Visibility, offer, pricing, reviews, existing providers, committed budgets: everything is laid out flat. The written marketing plan follows from it, with the priorities for the next 3 months.

    3. Monthly management, 2 or 3 days

      Trade-offs, briefs to teams and providers, follow-up of projects, course corrections. Each management day has an agenda and a written report.

    4. Delivery sized separately

      The work (website, content, campaigns, photography) is carried out by your teams, by providers we manage, or by a mix. Each project is priced on quote before it starts: you approve it, or not.

    5. Monthly report with figures

      A dashboard: visibility on Google and in AI answers, reviews, incoming enquiries, progress of the plan, budget used. You know what your marketing produces, backed by figures.

    Why an initial 3-month cycle? Because that is the real time frame for the first measurable effects on visibility and reputation. After that, the collaboration continues month by month: it carries on because it delivers, not because a contract requires it.

    Book the free 30-minute scoping session

  • Why ARETA

    What no other part-time marketing director
    can tell you

    The market for outsourced marketing direction exists: national networks, collectives, independents. ARETA stands apart on four verifiable points, not on adjectives.

    01

    Customer experience as the backbone

    Guilhem Arregle spent nearly twenty years in customer experience and CRM at Citroën, PSA and DS Automobiles, up to DS's global customer experience department. Others manage your marketing: we manage what your customers go through, from the first Google search to the review they leave. Marketing is the means; customer experience is what builds margin and loyalty.

    02

    An operator, not just an adviser

    Trained in restaurant management at the Institut Paul Bocuse, founder of two online delicatessens run in-house: we have kept a profit and loss account, taken the takings season after season and replied to reviews. Compared with franchises and collectives, it is the opposite model: a single point of contact who has sat on both sides of the table.

    03

    Measurement as proof

    With an SEO and GEO background, it follows: local rankings, share of voice in AI answers, brand sentiment, incoming enquiries. Every month, a dashboard with figures says what the management produces. An accountability that generalist offers do not provide.

    04

    Here, not from Bordeaux

    Rooted in the Basque Country and Béarn, with customers in the Landes and Bigorre. On-site work is our normal way of working, not a billed option. And for hotels and restaurants, our sector specialism, proximity is not a comfort: it is a condition of the trade. Management takes place at your premises, never remotely from another region.

  • Public pricing

    A clear management fee,
    execution on quote

    The monthly fixed fee covers responsibility for the marketing function: trade-offs, plan, management of providers, reports. It is not sold by the hour, because a responsibility cannot be cut into hours. Execution work is priced separately, project by project, and always approved by you before it starts.

    Management · Essential

    2 days a month

    From €1,800 excl. VAT/month

    For the micro-business or small SME that wants someone in charge of the subject: marketing plan, priorities, management of providers and monthly report. The minimum volume for the function to really exist.

    Discuss it in a meeting

    ⭐ Management · Recommended

    3 days a month

    From €2,500 excl. VAT/month

    The rhythm of a real part-time marketing director: regular presence on site, several projects run at once, teams and providers kept moving over time. The best volume-to-price ratio in the price list.

    Start with the free scoping session

    Management · Enhanced

    4 days or more

    Higher volume On quote

    For an intense phase: launch, repositioning, opening of an establishment, team structuring. Volume and duration are sized together, with an exit point defined from the start.

    Describe your project

    And execution?

    Website, content, campaigns, photography, print: the work is carried out by your teams, by providers we select and manage, or by a mix, depending on your situation. Each project is priced on a firm quote before it starts. Nothing is committed without your approval, and nothing is billed within the management fee.

    Commitment. Initial 3-month cycle, the real time frame for the first measurable effects. After that, monthly renewal, cancellable with 30 days' notice. You stop whenever you want: the plan, the access and the dashboards stay with you. A more modest budget? Start with a one-off visibility assignment: it is often the best first step.

  • Frequently asked questions

    FAQ | Outsourced marketing director

    The questions that come up most often at the first meeting, with our answers as we give them.

    What is an outsourced marketing director?

    It is a part-time marketing director: an experienced person who takes on responsibility for your marketing function a few days a month, instead of a full-time employee. They set priorities, write the plan, manage providers and report to you with figures. You keep every decision.

    Outsource or hire a marketing manager?

    If your company can keep a full-time marketing manager busy and supervise them, hire: it is the best long-term option. Outsourcing is the stage before: the function exists, the plan moves forward, without the cost of a post (€36,000 to €70,000 gross a year for a marketing manager in France, source Jobmarketingvente, September 2025) or the delay of recruiting an executive, 11 weeks on average according to Apec. And if hiring becomes relevant, we prepare the ground and hand over.

    What do you actually do in 2 or 3 days a month?

    Management, not production: trade-offs, an up-to-date action plan, briefs to your teams and providers, follow-up of projects, monthly report with figures. 2 days represent about 16 hours: that is enough to run the function, not to produce a website or campaigns. That is why execution is sized separately.

    Who carries out the work: my teams or service providers?

    Depending on your situation: your teams when the skills exist in-house, providers we select, brief and monitor when something has to be produced, or a mix of both. Each execution project is priced on a firm quote before it starts. You approve, or not: nothing is committed without you.

    How much does it cost, and what is included?

    Management is a fixed fee: from €1,800 excl. VAT per month for 2 days, €2,500 excl. VAT for 3 days, on quote beyond that. The fee includes the marketing plan, trade-offs, management of providers and the monthly dashboard. Execution (website, content, campaigns) is not included: it is priced on quote according to the work to be undertaken.

    Can I stop whenever I want?

    After an initial 3-month cycle, yes: monthly renewal, cancellable with 30 days' notice. The first 3 months match the real time frame for the first measurable effects on visibility and reputation. When you stop, everything stays with you: the plan, the access, the dashboards and the history.

    What results can I expect, and how soon?

    From the first month: an initial review and a written plan. Within 3 months: the first measurable effects on local visibility and reputation. Beyond that, everything depends on your projects, and that is exactly what the monthly dashboard measures: Google rankings, presence in AI answers, reviews, incoming enquiries. We do not promise a turnover figure: we measure what marketing produces, and you judge on the evidence.

    My business is seasonal (hotel, restaurant): how does it work?

    This is our field: hotels and restaurants are our sector specialism. Management follows your season: intense preparation before opening, a lighter rhythm at the height of service, review and groundwork projects in the low season. Direct booking and the weight of commissions are handled first, because that is where your margin is decided.

    A question that is not on the list?

    Ask your question, 30 free minutes

  • Free scoping session · 30 min · no commitment

    What if your marketing had
    someone in charge at last?

    30 minutes, on site or by video call: your situation, your objectives, and our honest view on the right option for you, outsourcing, hiring or a one-off assignment. You leave with an opinion, not a quote.

    Book the free scoping session
    Email[email protected]
    Phone06 50 82 74 13
    Address2 place du Château Vieux
    64100 Bayonne
    LinkedInARETA

    Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm

    Last updated: 26 October 2026

Call
Book 30 min