Senior marketing leadership, with a consultancy behind it
Most fractional CMOs work alone. Ours come with a senior team behind them, proven processes and shared accountability for the outcome.
Most fractional CMOs work alone. Ours come with the backing of a full senior team, proven processes and shared accountability for the outcome.
Marketing leadership that thinks in revenue, not campaigns
Most fractional CMOs work alone. You’ve probably already tried one, or an agency, or a new hire that didn’t stick.
Ours come with a full senior team: 40+ years of combined director-level experience, embedded directly in your business rather than delivered from outside it. We’ve owned P&L. We’ve run commercial teams. You get a revenue engine, not just a marketing one.
Does this sound familiar?
What a fractional CMO gives you
A fractional CMO gives you exec-level marketing leadership without a full-time appointment. They set the strategy, own the plan against revenue targets and report directly to senior management.Â
Our team of experienced fractional CMOs:
Prefer a diagnosis first?
Some businesses know they need a fractional CMO. Others know something isn’t working when it comes to growth, but not what. That’s what our Marketing Audit is for: a clear, evidence-based read on your commercial capability before you commit to anything further.
Fractional CMO vs the alternatives
Option | What you get | Where it breaks down | Founder-led marketing
| Speed, full control, no extra cost
| Doesn’t scale. Growth stays dependent on one person.
|
|---|---|---|
Full-time CMO hire
| Permanent, dedicated resource
| Slow to recruit, expensive to get wrong, often hired before the strategy exists to brief them
|
Growth or performance agency
| Execution capacity, channel specialism
| Optimises the channels you hand them. No accountability for the commercial outcome
|
Generalist marketing consultant
| Strategic input, lower cost than a hire
| Delivers a recommendation, then moves on
|
Fractional CMO with a consultancy behind them
| Senior strategic ownership, embedded delivery, continuity, a team’s commercial experience
| Needs a mandate to deliver beyond just execution.
|
The OV difference
The fractional CMO market is crowded with capable individuals. We built Open Velocity because the model works better with a consultancy behind it and because marketing leadership on its own isn’t enough.
Since 2022, we’ve worked the same way on every engagement: embedded in the business, not running you through a template built for someone else. Our senior team brings 40+ years of combined director-level experience across SaaS, financial services, ecommerce, health tech and complex B2C businesses, applied fresh to your specific market, proposition and team.
Our fractional CMOs have held director-level positions across a range of businesses. Strategic know-how, with operational oversight.
We've owned P&L. We've built and run commercial teams. The strategy we build is designed around revenue from the outset, not marketing metrics that need translating afterwards.
We work inside your business, not at arm's length from it The approach is built around your problem and we build capability in your team.
No subcontracting to people you haven't met. You always deal directly with our team.
What it costs
Retainers start from £2,500 a month, scaling with the exact level of support you need. Our approach is flexible and can scale up and down depending on business needs.Â
For context: a full-time CMO typically costs £120,000+ in base salary alone, before NI, benefits and the six months it usually takes to recruit one properly.Â
There’s also the opportunity cost and what a mis-hire, or a six-month delay, costs against your growth timeline.
Our fractional CMOs
How we add value for our clients
Success stories are best told in the words of their subjects. Here’s what some of our clients have to say about working with Open Velocity.
FAQs
How do I know if I need a fractional CMO or a full-time hire?
If you can’t yet write a clear job description for the role, you’re not ready to hire full-time. A fractional CMO defines what the function needs first, then supports the move to a permanent hire when the business is ready.
Is a fractional CMO just a marketer, or do they understand the commercial side?
Our fractional CMOs have owned P&L and run sales processes, not just marketing budgets. The strategy is built around revenue from the outset, and delivered by someone embedded in your business, not observing from outside it.
How do you report on performance to my board or investors?
Every engagement is built around the commercial metrics your board already cares about. You get a narrative and evidence base you can take straight into a board meeting.
Can a fractional CMO work alongside my existing marketing team?
Yes. Most clients already have marketing capability in-house. Our fractional CMOs work with that team directly, filling the strategic gap above them.
What happens when we're ready to hire a full-time CMO?
We’ll tell you when that point arrives. Part of the role is building the case and the readiness for that hire, then handing over cleanly.
Do I need a Marketing Audit before I can start with a fractional CMO?
No. Some clients start there, some don’t. If you know something isn’t working but not what, our Marketing Audit is the right place to look first.