Fractional CMO & Digital Marketing Consulting
Senior marketing leadership without the full-time hire
For businesses where marketing spend is meaningful, vendors are stacking up, and the in-house team needs a senior operator at the leadership table. We sit at the strategy layer: setting direction, prioritizing what gets worked on, reviewing the changes that affect performance, and being the one accountable seat across your marketing function. Strategic and directive, not execution-heavy. Every engagement is scoped to fit.
When a fractional model fits
Three patterns we see in businesses ready for fractional or advisory marketing leadership. Most engagements start with one or two of these as the trigger.
Marketing spend is growing without senior ownership
Ad budgets and marketing investment have outgrown the in-house seat that made the original decisions. Vendors and channels keep getting added; nobody at the leadership table is accountable for the connected picture. The cost of that gap shows up as unfocused spend and decisions that contradict each other across channels.
Multiple vendors, no single source of accountability
An agency on paid, a freelancer on email, a developer on the site, a contractor on content. Each one optimizing locally; no one owning the marketing system as a whole. Reviews are happening in silos and decisions that affect performance are getting made without a senior eye.
An in-house team that needs senior oversight, not a full-time CMO
The team is capable but junior, or capable but stretched. The business is growing into needing strategic direction, role structure, planning cadence, and quality standards. The volume doesn't yet justify a full-time CMO hire and the budget probably wouldn't support one anyway.
How we approach the role
Where the role sits
Business leadership
The fractional seat
Direction, priorities, approval
In-house team
Executes
Vendor stack
Executes
Direction and approval sit in one seat. Delivery stays where it already lives.
Every engagement is scoped to the business
Strategy only
Strategic leadership
Strategy + media
Strategic leadership
Paid media management
Strategy + systems
Strategic leadership
SOPs, pipelines, standards
The strategic role is the constant. What sits under it is scoped to the business.
Authority over what ships
Before it ships
Reviewed and approved by us
- Approved
Tracking update
From: Vendor
- Revised
New landing page
From: Your team
- In review
Attribution model
From: Vendor
- Approved
Conversion flow
From: Your team
- Approved
Platform configuration
From: Vendor
Changes that affect measurement are reviewed before they ship. The build stays with whoever does it.
“What you get back is a senior operator who treats your marketing as a connected system. We tell you when a vendor isn't worth keeping. We tell you when the smart move is to spend less. We'll tell you when you've outgrown a fractional model and need to bring it in-house. The honest read is the deliverable.”
What's typically in scope
Four categories the role usually covers. Every engagement is customized; not all four show up in every retainer, and the depth inside each one is scoped to what the business needs.
Strategic direction across brands and channels
Defining brand-specific and cross-brand marketing strategy, identifying and prioritizing growth initiatives, advising on positioning and messaging and market differentiation, evaluating new initiatives and tools (including AI) and distinguishing proven strategies from trend-driven tactics. The 'what to focus on next quarter and why' layer.
Internal systems and team development
Building SOPs, templates, and repeatable workflows. Structuring content pipelines from idea through approval. Defining quality standards for brand alignment. Advising on role structure and responsibilities inside the marketing function. Guidance on AI tools and how to integrate them without producing volume slop. Advisory; we don't run hiring or manage employees.
Authority and change control
Central authority for marketing strategy and approval of changes that impact performance, tracking, attribution, or customer experience. Campaign structure, analytics configuration, landing page changes, platform shifts: reviewed before they ship. The accountability seat that keeps the marketing system coherent across channels and vendors.
Active execution when scoped
Paid media management is the most common execution layer added on top of the strategic role; campaigns we strategize on, we can also run. Other execution areas (website rebuilds, email program builds, content production, branding work) sit at the strategic-direction layer by default and are added to scope only when it's the right fit for the engagement.
Industries
Who we serve
Different businesses, different definitions of a win. We learn yours, then bring what's already working across every industry we serve.
Common questions
What's the difference between a Fractional CMO and a marketing consultant?
A consultant gives advice; a Fractional CMO holds the seat. We're at the leadership table, accountable for the strategy, reviewing the changes that affect performance, and named as the senior operator for marketing across vendors and the internal team. Consulting engagements are useful for specific problems; fractional is for businesses that need an ongoing senior owner.
How customized is the engagement?
Every retainer is scoped to the business. Some engagements are pure strategic leadership; others bundle paid media management, internal systems work, or a heavier multi-brand role. The four categories on this page are the layers we work across; the actual mix in your engagement is set during scoping based on what your business needs and what's already in place.
What's the typical commitment?
Shorter than most agencies ask for, and deliberately so. There's a short initial term while the strategic foundation gets set (priorities, vendor reviews, planning cadence, the operating standards), and it moves to month-to-month after that. The engagement holds the seat as long as it's earning its place.
How available are you week to week?
We keep our calendar deliberately open so we can take a phone call or book a meeting around what the engagement needs, rather than forcing it into a fixed cadence. Regular strategy calls, ongoing communication over email, and Slack Connect when it suits you. Revenue-impacting issues (campaign disruptions, tracking failures) jump the queue.
Will you execute or just advise?
Primarily strategic and directive. Inclusion in discussion or strategy doesn't automatically mean we execute it. Paid media management is the most common execution layer that gets bundled into a fractional engagement, because campaigns we strategize on we can also run. Other execution areas (website rebuilds, email program builds, content production, branding work) sit at the advisory layer by default and are added to scope only when it's the right fit.
Who decides what we work on?
Strategic priorities are shared and decided together at the planning cadence. Day-to-day prioritization runs through us based on impact: revenue generation, conversion performance, core marketing infrastructure first; lower-leverage requests deferred or scoped separately. The model is a strategic retainer, not a queue of tickets, so volume of requests isn't the metric.
What size of business does this fit?
Service businesses where ad spend or marketing investment is meaningful and where the in-house team or vendor stack needs senior oversight but doesn't yet justify a full-time CMO hire. If your monthly marketing budget is too small to give strategy a fair test, fractional probably isn't the right shape yet. We'll tell you that directly.
How is the engagement priced?
Monthly retainer scoped to the role and the work involved. Pricing is handled in the scoping conversation rather than published; every engagement varies enough that ranges would either mislead or anchor the conversation in the wrong place. We're transparent about what's in scope and what isn't, and we'll tell you upfront if the budget you're working with isn't aligned with the role you need.
Get senior marketing judgment, without the full-time hire.
Let's talk about where the business is headed, and whether a strategist on call is the right way to get it there.