Fractional marketing leadership
A fractional marketing director, without the full-time hire
Senior marketing leadership for a set number of days each month. We join your leadership team, review performance against your commercial goals, steer your people and agencies, and keep your strategy on track.
What it is
What is a fractional marketing director?
A fractional marketing director, sometimes called a fractional CMO, is an experienced marketing leader who works with your business part-time, usually a few days a month. You get senior strategic thinking and accountability for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
Compared with a full-time hire
Senior experience without a full-time salary, recruitment fees or a long notice period, and support that scales up or down as you grow.
Compared with an agency
An agency delivers its own channel. A fractional director leads across all of them and holds every partner to the same goals.
Compared with a one-off consultant
Not a report left on your desk. Ongoing ownership of performance, month after month, alongside your team.
Why businesses bring in a fractional marketing director
It usually starts when marketing matters to growth, but nobody senior is in charge of it.
No senior marketing lead
Marketing sits with the founder or a junior team, and nobody owns the bigger picture.
Agencies without accountability
You're paying partners, but nobody is checking their work against what the business needs.
Not ready for a full-time hire
You need senior thinking now, but a full-time marketing director isn't right for the business yet.
A plan that's drifting
The strategy was sound, but day-to-day pressure has pulled everyone off course.
Before you begin
We highly recommend starting with a strategy
A fractional marketing director is only as effective as the plan they're steering. Without one, your monthly days get spent working out what to do, rather than making it happen. That's why most clients start with a strategy project first.
Set the direction
A strategy project using the Clarity Method: who you're for, what you stand for and the plan your team will run.
Your first month, included
Choose Strategy + Activation and your first month of fractional support is built in, so there's no gap between plan and action.
Ongoing leadership
Monthly reviews, recommendations and accountability keep the plan on course as the business grows.
Already have a strategy you're confident in? We'll review it in your first month and build from there.
Explore marketing strategyHow it works
What a month looks like
The rhythm is the same every month, so your team always knows when decisions get made and who owns what.
On site, early in the month
Your on-site days fall in the first half of the month, so decisions are made while there's still time to act on them.
Performance review
Last month and year to date, connected to your commercial results, not just marketing numbers.
Recommendations and 1:1s
Strategic and tactical recommendations for the leadership team, plus 1:1s with the people delivering the work.
Support in between
Remote support between visits, so questions don't wait a month for an answer.
Levels of support
Three ways to work with a fractional director
Each level builds on the one before, from a monthly sounding board to hands-on leadership inside your team.
Sounding Board
A monthly performance review on site, connecting marketing to commercial results, strategic & tactical recommendations for the leadership team, 1:1 sessions with the delivery team, and remote support in between.
Fractional Marketing Director
Everything in Sounding Board, with regular check-ins with your team and/or agencies to ensure accountability across operations and performance, a live dashboard and a quarterly plan refresh.
Embedded
Hands-on oversight of campaigns, performance, marketing resource and partners, weekly check-ins and same-day support for the team. This level of support requires dedicated in-house marketing resource.
Every engagement is scoped after a short intro call, so you get the level of leadership your business needs right now.
Is this right for you?
You'll get the most from it if:
- You have a marketing strategy, or you're ready to start with one
- There's no senior marketing lead in-house, or your team needs direction
- You work with agencies or freelancers and want them held to account
- You want senior thinking without a full-time salary
Need the work carried out as well? See Delivery & Operations.
Senior experience, on your side
Literally Marketing brings 20 years of senior marketing leadership across brands including Hays Travel, HelloFresh, New Balance and DFDS, as well as start-ups, SMEs and local businesses, in both B2B and B2C.
That means a fractional director who has sat in the leadership seat, managed teams and budgets, and knows what good looks like across every channel.
About Literally MarketingQuestions people usually ask
What does a fractional marketing director do?
They lead your marketing at a senior level for a set number of days each month: reviewing performance, setting priorities, guiding your team and agencies, and reporting to the leadership team on what's working.
Is a fractional CMO the same as a fractional marketing director?
In practice, yes. Both are senior, part-time marketing leaders. "CMO" is more common in larger or US-led businesses, while "marketing director" is more common in UK SMEs.
Do I need a marketing strategy first?
We highly recommend it. A fractional director is only as effective as the plan they're steering. If you don't have one, a strategy project comes first, and Strategy + Activation includes your first month of fractional support.
How many days a month will you work with us?
From one day a month up to five, depending on the level of support. On-site days fall in the first half of the month, with remote support in between.
Will you work with our existing team and agencies?
Yes. That's a big part of the role: making sure everyone delivering your marketing is working to the same goals, and holding them to account.
How is this different from an interim marketing director?
An interim director usually works full-time for a fixed period, often to cover a gap. A fractional director works part-time on an ongoing basis, so you keep senior leadership without the full-time cost.
Ready for senior marketing leadership?
Book a short intro call to talk about where your business is heading, or take the free Clarity Scorecard to see where to focus first.