The Rise of the Fractional Marketer: Why Businesses Need Senior Thinking Without the Overheads

Erica Fraser, Founder of Withers & Sloane operates as a Head of Marketing within PE-backed organisations to rebrand and ensure exit-readiness. Photo credit: Poppy Hollis for Withers & Sloane

Over the last decade, the marketing sector has been shaken significantly, disrupted beyond what we have experienced for some decades. Where once marketing was viewed as a tactical function, campaigns, comms, and collateral, it has now become a driver of growth, investor confidence, and organisational strategy.

At the same time, businesses are under increasing pressure to scale efficiently, particularly in private equity-backed environments or founder-led businesses preparing for growth. This has given rise to the fractional marketer: senior marketing leaders who deliver strategic expertise on a part-time, flexible basis.

The model is not new, fractional CFOs and COOs have been common for years, but its application to marketing has grown as boards recognise the impact of brand, customer acquisition, and positioning on long-term valuation. The emergence of fractional marketing reflects not just cost sensitivity, but a deeper recognition of marketing as a strategic function.

What Is a Fractional Marketer?

A fractional marketer is a senior marketing professional, often with director or CMO-level experience, who works with businesses on a part-time, contract, or project basis. Unlike consultants who typically advise from the outside, or agencies who deliver narrowly scoped services, fractional marketers embed themselves within a business. They offer strategic oversight, leadership, and executional guidance, but without the long-term financial commitment of a full-time hire.

Research into portfolio careers and contingent labour markets suggests this is part of a wider trend towards flexible, non-traditional employment models. The rise of alternative work arrangements reflects not only employer needs but also senior professionals seeking autonomy and portfolio-style careers (Cappelli and Keller, 2013)

Fractional marketing sits firmly in this space, offering businesses high-value expertise while giving marketers flexible careers outside permanent C-suite structures.

Why Businesses Are Turning to Fractional Marketing

There are several key drivers behind the growing demand for fractional marketing leadership:

1. Cost Efficiency Without Compromise Hiring a full-time CMO can cost upwards of £150,000 per year in the UK, excluding benefits and bonuses (Spencer Stuart, 2023). For businesses in growth or turnaround stages, this level of commitment may not be realistic. A fractional marketer provides access to the same calibre of thinking at a fraction of the cost, aligning with the resource-based view of strategy, which emphasises the efficient deployment of valuable and rare resources (Barney, 1991).

   
   

2. Bridging the Gap Between Founders and Scale Founder-led businesses often reach a stage where growth slows because marketing relies on intuition rather than systematic strategy. Greiner’s (1972) growth model highlights the need for leadership evolution as businesses scale, moving from founder-centric decision-making to professional management. Fractional marketers help businesses transition through these stages, professionalising marketing without destabilising culture.
   

3. Private Equity Pressure for Value Creation

   In PE-backed businesses, marketing is no longer a peripheral function. Investors expect clear go-to-market strategies, strong customer acquisition channels, and demonstrable brand equity (Edelman, 2010). Fractional marketers play a critical role in shaping this, ensuring marketing aligns with financial goals and investor expectations.
   

4. Agility in a Changing Market In volatile markets, businesses need to pivot rapidly, adjusting positioning, messaging, and channel strategy. Fractional leaders provide that agility, a trait aligned with dynamic capabilities theory (Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997), which argues that firms must integrate and reconfigure competencies to address rapidly changing environments.
   

Risks of Delaying Senior Marketing Expertise

Many organisations wait too long to bring in senior marketing input, relying instead on junior marketers or outsourcing tactical work to agencies. While this may suffice in the short term, it can create several risks:

• Fragmented Marketing Activity: Without a central strategy, marketing spend becomes piecemeal and reactive.

• Missed Growth Opportunities: Businesses may fail to invest in brand positioning or scalable acquisition channels at the right time.

• Reduced Valuation: During due diligence, inconsistent brand messaging, weak digital presence, or unproven marketing channels can raise red flags.

• Talent Drain: Junior marketers without senior guidance often leave, frustrated by lack of direction.
  

Dynamic markets require firms to build “simple, experiential, and iterative” strategies, precisely what senior marketing leadership provides. (Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000) Fractional marketers embed this discipline without the structural burden of full-time leadership.

The Future of the Fractional Model

The fractional model is demonstrative of a structural overhaul in how businesses access senior expertise. Just as CFOs and HRDs now operate on a portfolio basis, marketing leaders are following suit.

Research from McKinsey in 2022 showed that 36% of executives now expect to rely more heavily on external, flexible talent in leadership roles, particularly in marketing, strategy, and digital transformation. As the war for talent intensifies, and as senior leaders increasingly pursue portfolio careers, fractional marketing will only expand.

As AI and automation change the executional side of marketing, the demand for strategic oversight will become even more critical. Businesses will need leaders who can integrate technology, customer insight, and brand strategy into coherent growth plans, exactly the value fractional marketers provide.

A Strategic Lever of Flexibility, Cost-efficiency

The rise of the fractional marketer reflects a greater transformation in how businesses view marketing. One as a strategic lever. By embedding senior expertise in a flexible, cost-efficient way, fractional marketers allow businesses to professionalise, scale, and prepare for investor scrutiny without committing to permanent overheads.

For boards, founders, and investors, the question is no longer whether to invest in marketing leadership, but when and how. For many, the fractional route is the most effective way to secure strategic expertise exactly when it’s needed most.

References

• Barney, J. (1991) ‘Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage.’ Journal of Management, 17(1), pp. 99–120.

• Cappelli, P. and Keller, J. (2013) ‘Classifying work in the new economy.’ Academy of Management Review, 38(4), pp. 575–596.

• Edelman, D.C. (2010) ‘Branding in the digital age.’ Harvard Business Review, December, pp. 62–69.

• Eisenhardt, K.M. and Martin, J.A. (2000) ‘Dynamic capabilities: what are they?’ Strategic Management Journal, 21(10–11), pp. 1105–1121.

• Greiner, L.E. (1972) ‘Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow.’ Harvard Business Review, 50(4), pp. 37–46.

• McKinsey & Company (2022) ‘The State of Organizations 2022.’ McKinsey Global Survey.

• Spencer Stuart (2023) ‘UK CMO Snapshot: Trends in Marketing Leadership.’ Spencer Stuart Insights.

• Teece, D.J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A. (1997) ‘Dynamic capabilities and strategic management.’ Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), pp. 509–533.