Fractional marketing isn’t new. We’ve just given it a name, right?

There’s a relatively new term doing the rounds in the business world: fractional marketing.

Fractional CMOs, fractional marketing directors and fractional leadership teams are increasingly being positioned as a flexible alternative to traditional recruitment. For businesses that need senior expertise but don’t necessarily require a full-time appointment, the appeal is understandable.

But while the terminology might feel new, the concept certainly isn’t.

Businesses have been using part-time marketing directors, outsourced marketing teams, consultants and retained agencies for decades. The idea of accessing experienced people without employing them full-time has been around for a very long time.

So what’s actually changed? And is fractional marketing genuinely different from the outsourced marketing arrangements many businesses already have in place?
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What exactly is fractional marketing?

At its simplest, fractional marketing involves engaging an experienced marketing professional for a proportion of their working time rather than employing them on a full-time basis.

A fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), for example, might work with several businesses, providing strategic direction, leadership and commercial marketing expertise to each.

The arrangement can take different forms. Some fractional marketers work a set number of days each month, while others operate through ongoing consultancy or retainer agreements.

For the business, the attraction is relatively straightforward. You gain access to senior marketing experience without the salary, employment costs and longer-term commitment associated with a permanent senior appointment.

It’s a model that can make particular sense for growing businesses, those going through a period of change or organisations that need experienced marketing leadership but aren’t yet at the stage where a full-time marketing director is justified.

And it’s certainly attracting attention.

In 2024, Harvard Business Review explored the growing use of part-time senior leaders, looking at how businesses can access experienced executives through fractional arrangements and the practical considerations involved.
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A new name for an established way of working?

For anyone who’s spent a reasonable amount of time working in marketing agencies or consultancy, much of this will sound familiar.

Businesses have long recognised that they don’t necessarily need every marketing skill sitting within their organisation on a full-time basis.

An SME might need strategic input from an experienced marketing director, a designer for a new campaign, someone to manage its website and support with content, email marketing or social media. But it might not need, or have the budget to justify, employing all those people individually. That’s one of the reasons outsourced marketing arrangements and agency retainers have existed for so long.

At Blumin, we’ve worked with businesses through different models, including acting as an extension of an existing marketing team or providing broader outsourced support where there isn’t a dedicated internal function.

The terminology may have evolved, but the underlying requirement is familiar: businesses want access to the right expertise, when they need it, in a commercially sensible way.

Of course, that doesn’t mean fractional marketing is simply agency support with a different label. There are some important distinctions.
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Fractional marketing leadership and outsourced marketing aren’t quite the same thing

One of the biggest differences is where responsibility sits.

A fractional CMO or marketing director is typically brought into a business to provide leadership. They might develop the marketing strategy, manage budgets, oversee an internal team, report to the board or help shape wider commercial decisions.

An outsourced marketing agency, on the other hand, will often have a greater focus on delivering activity, whether that’s creating content, developing campaigns, managing digital channels or producing marketing materials.

However, the distinction isn’t always clear-cut. Many agencies provide strategic support as part of an ongoing relationship, particularly when working with businesses that don’t have an experienced marketing director internally.

Equally, some fractional marketers take a hands-on role in campaign development and implementation. The difference often comes down to the scope of the appointment, the level of responsibility and the resources available to deliver the work.

And that’s where businesses need to think carefully about what they’re actually buying.
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Strategy is important. But who’s going to deliver it?

Imagine a growing manufacturing business that has reached the point where its marketing needs more direction. It appoints a fractional marketing director who reviews the existing activity, develops a strategy, identifies opportunities and creates a plan for the next twelve months.

So far, so good.

But who is going to update the website, write the content, develop the email campaigns, create the marketing materials and manage the day-to-day activity? If there’s an established internal marketing team, the fractional director may be exactly what’s needed. They can provide leadership, develop the team and ensure the activity supports wider business objectives.

If there isn’t an internal team, however, the business may still need to invest in additional delivery resources. That could mean freelancers, specialist suppliers or an agency. It’s an important consideration because the cost of fractional leadership doesn’t necessarily represent the full cost of implementing the marketing strategy.

A business needs to understand whether it’s buying strategic expertise, practical delivery or a combination of both.
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Where an agency can offer a different approach

One of the advantages of working with a multidisciplinary marketing agency is the ability to access different skills through a single relationship.

Rather than appointing an individual to provide strategic direction and then sourcing separate suppliers to deliver the work, businesses may be able to combine those requirements. An experienced agency team can contribute to marketing planning and strategy while also providing the people needed to put those plans into practice.

That might include content, design, digital marketing, website development, campaigns or ongoing communications support. It may also including things like customer journey mapping, value proposition review, or help defining a businesses’ OKRs and marketing deliverables.

There can also be benefits in terms of continuity. If one person is unavailable, other members of the agency team may be able to maintain progress, provided the account is managed effectively and the right expertise is available. Of course, not every agency offers genuine strategic capability, just as not every fractional marketer will have the same level of experience.

It’s important to look beyond job titles and service descriptions to understand what you’re actually getting.
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The appeal of flexibility

One thing fractional marketing and outsourced agency relationships certainly have in common is flexibility.

For many businesses, marketing requirements aren’t consistent throughout the year. A company might need significant support around a product launch, website development or major campaign, followed by a period of more routine activity.

There may be times when strategic planning takes priority and others when the emphasis shifts towards content production, communications or lead generation. Traditional recruitment doesn’t always accommodate those fluctuations particularly well. Flexible consultancy arrangements and agency retainers can provide an alternative, allowing businesses to access expertise without committing to permanent roles that may not be required at the same level throughout the year.

However, flexibility needs to work for both parties.

A fractional leader will typically have commitments to other businesses, while agencies need to manage their resources and plan workloads across different clients. Clear expectations around availability, responsibilities, priorities and communication are essential.
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When might fractional marketing be the right choice?

There are certainly situations where appointing a fractional marketing director makes a great deal of sense.

A business might have a capable internal marketing team but lack senior leadership. It may be preparing for growth, entering new markets or navigating a period of organisational change. In those circumstances, an experienced individual who can provide direction, challenge assumptions and work closely with senior management could be extremely valuable.

The arrangement may also work well when a business needs specialist leadership for a defined period, perhaps while recruiting for a permanent role or developing its longer-term marketing function. But it isn’t necessarily the best solution for every organisation.

If the biggest challenge is a lack of capacity to deliver marketing activity, appointing someone whose primary responsibility is strategic leadership may not solve the problem. Similarly, if a business needs regular access to several different marketing disciplines, an agency relationship could provide a more practical solution. The key is understanding where the gaps are before deciding how to fill them.
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And what about cost?

It’s tempting to compare the cost of a fractional marketing director with the salary of a full-time CMO and conclude that the fractional option represents a significant saving.

In many circumstances, it may well do. But it’s important to compare the complete cost of achieving what the business needs. If a fractional marketing director is responsible for strategy but requires an agency or freelancers to deliver campaigns, those additional costs need to be factored in.

Likewise, an agency retainer should be assessed against the experience, range of skills, strategic contribution and delivery capacity it provides, rather than simply the number of hours included.

Neither approach is automatically cheaper or better value. The right model depends on what the business needs, what resources already exist internally and how much responsibility the external partner is expected to take.
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Perhaps the terminology matters less than the relationship

The rise of fractional marketing reflects something businesses have understood for a long time: access to expertise doesn’t always have to mean permanent employment. And in a world where businesses are managing budgets carefully while still needing to invest in growth, that flexibility has obvious appeal.

But it’s worth looking beyond the terminology. Whether someone calls themselves a fractional CMO, an outsourced marketing director, a consultant or an agency partner, the questions businesses should be asking are broadly similar.

• Do they have the right experience? 
• Do they understand our business? 
• Can they provide the level of strategic thinking we need? 
• And, crucially, is there a practical plan for turning that thinking into activity?

For some businesses, the answer will be a fractional marketing director. For others, it will be an outsourced marketing agency, an internal team or a combination of all three.

There’s room for different models, and they can complement one another extremely well. Fractional marketing might be the terminology of the moment, but the principle behind it is nothing new. Simply put, it’s about having the right people involved in your marketing, at the right level, without necessarily having them on your payroll.

And that’s something good agency relationships have been helping businesses achieve for years.
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How Blumin can help

At Blumin, we understand that businesses need different levels of marketing support at different stages of their development.

Whether that means working alongside an existing team, providing strategic input or taking responsibility for ongoing marketing activity, we offer a flexible approach that combines experience, creativity and practical delivery.

If you’re considering how best to structure your marketing support, we’d be happy to explore the options with you. Get in touch.

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