A fractional marketing manager owns the day-to-day work. A fractional CMO sets the direction and leads the people doing it.
A fractional marketing manager owns the day-to-day work: planning, briefing, producing and keeping it moving. A fractional CMO is a senior leader who sets direction, manages your team or freelancers and gets hands-on where needed. If your priorities are clear and you need things done, you want the manager. If nobody senior is steering the marketing, you want the CMO.
| Fractional marketing manager | Fractional CMO | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Clear priorities that need an experienced marketer to execute them | Marketing that has people or freelancers but no senior leadership |
| Typical business | Established businesses, generally from around A$500K in revenue | Businesses already paying for marketing work that is not pulling in one direction |
| Time | Embedded in your business, scope agreed with you | Two days a week of senior time, spread across four days |
| Cost with The Brand Aid | From A$4,000 per month | From A$8,000 per month |
| What you should see | The backlog cleared and the work delivered | Clear priorities and a team or freelancers working to one plan |
They run your marketing from inside the business. They turn the priorities you set into a plan, brief the work, coordinate the people involved and keep it moving every week. It is the hands-on role, and it suits businesses where the direction is already clear. Our guide to what a fractional marketing manager actually does day to day goes through the detail.
A fractional CMO decides what the marketing should be doing, then makes sure it happens. They set priorities, manage a small in-house team or your current freelancers, and check the quality of the work. They also get hands-on, so you are not paying for advice that nobody acts on. At The Brand Aid it is two days a week of senior time, spread across four days so you are never waiting for an answer.
Ask four questions.
Many businesses do. The Fractional Marketing Team starts from A$10,000 per month and gives you a dedicated marketing manager with senior oversight and specialist support around them. It is usually the better fit once marketing has grown too broad for one person. Every client also gets advisory from Amy de Groot, built in at no extra charge.
Write down the last three marketing decisions that stalled in your business. For each one, ask whether it stalled because nobody could decide, or because nobody had the time to do it. Mostly "nobody could decide" means you need leadership. Mostly "nobody had time" means you need execution. That answer is usually clearer than any job description.
A fractional marketing manager owns day-to-day execution inside your business. A fractional CMO is a senior-level expert who sets direction, manages your team or freelancers and gets hands-on where needed.
With The Brand Aid, a Fractional Marketing Manager starts from A$4,000 per month and a Fractional CMO from A$8,000 per month.
Yes. Many businesses start with the role that clears the backlog, then add senior leadership as the marketing grows. The Fractional Marketing Team, from A$10,000 per month, combines both levels.
At The Brand Aid, two days a week of senior time, spread across four days.
Nothing changes if nothing changes.