Fractional marketing director for smaller firms
A fractional marketing director is a senior marketer who leads a firm’s marketing for part of the week.
Other firms call the same role a fractional head of marketing, a fractional VP of marketing or a fractional CMO. This website uses the last of those names on its other pages.
Saad Afsar fills the role at Firefly for about five hours a week. The engagement and its terms are the same under each title.
How the four titles relate
| Full-time title | The same role for part of the week | What the title usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing director | Fractional marketing director | A marketing director leads the firm’s marketing. In a smaller firm this is usually the most senior marketing person. |
| Head of marketing | Fractional head of marketing | A head of marketing is the most senior marketing person in the firm. Some firms use this title where others say director. |
| VP of marketing | Fractional VP of marketing | A VP of marketing is a senior marketing lead in a company that uses vice president titles. |
| Chief marketing officer (CMO) | Fractional CMO | A CMO is the executive who answers to the owner or the board for all of the marketing. |
The level of work a fractional marketing director does
A firm’s marketing work is done at three levels. A fractional marketing director works at the third level.
- Coordinator or assistant
- A coordinator or an assistant carries out tasks such as posts, emails and updates to listings.
- Marketing manager
- A marketing manager runs the campaigns and the channels from day to day.
- Director, head of marketing, VP or CMOThe level of a Firefly engagement
- The person at this level sets the plan and the budget, directs the staff and the agencies, and answers to the owner or the partners for the result.
A fractional marketing director does not replace a coordinator, a manager or an agency. Those people continue to carry out the daily work, and Saad directs it.
The engagement suits a firm that has a marketing budget and has staff or an agency to carry out the plan.
Our guide to what a marketing director does compares the manager, the director and the CMO, and says which one a business needs.
Firms that ask for a marketing director
Some owners and managing partners describe the person they need as a marketing director or a head of marketing, and not as a CMO. The work they describe is the same.
Firefly works with professional firms such as law and accounting practices, and with hospitality groups and independent brands. The published results on this page include a law firm and an accounting firm.
Our page for a law firm marketing consultant covers that field in more detail.
The terms of the engagement
A fractional marketing director engagement has the same terms as a fractional CMO engagement.
The fractional CMO at Firefly is Saad Afsar. He has 15 years of marketing experience, has led marketing for 40+ brands, and has enterprise experience at Unilever and Samsung.
Firefly works with owner-led businesses in Toronto and New York: hospitality groups, professional firms and independent brands.
Our page on what a fractional CMO costs compares these terms with published market rates.
- Rate
- $100 an hour
- Standard engagement
- $2,000 a month
- Time
- About five hours a week
- Minimum term
- Three months
Results from fractional CMO engagements
Each result is measured in the client’s own system, over the period shown.
- Two Boots New York pizza, since 1987 +12% same-store net salesyear over year · Toast POS
- YYZ Law Aviation and travel law, Toronto 4.3× organic search clicksover three years · Google Search Console
- Boqueria Spanish tapas, multi-city US +73% private-events revenueyear over year · Tripleseat
- Paperchase Accounting and CFO advisory, NYC and London +69% website visitsyear over year · Google Analytics
Questions and answers
What is a fractional marketing director?
A fractional marketing director is a senior marketer who leads a firm’s marketing for part of the week under a monthly agreement. The firm gets marketing leadership without adding a full-time salary.
Is a fractional marketing director different from a fractional CMO?
No. At Firefly it is the same engagement on the same terms, and Saad Afsar does the work under either title.
Is a fractional head of marketing or a fractional VP of marketing the same thing?
Yes. A firm with one senior marketing person may call that person a marketing director, a head of marketing, a VP of marketing or a CMO. The responsibilities are the plan, the budget, the direction of staff and agencies, and the result.
What level of work does a fractional marketing director do?
Saad sets the plan and the budget, directs your staff and your agencies, and answers to you for the result. Your coordinator, your staff or your agency continue to carry out the daily work.
Does Firefly work with professional firms?
Yes. Professional firms are one of the three groups Firefly works with. The other two are hospitality groups and independent brands.
What does a fractional marketing director cost?
The rate is $100 an hour. A standard engagement is about five hours a week, which comes to $2,000 a month, and the minimum term is three months.
Book a call, or write first
You can book a discovery call on Saad Afsar’s calendar.
If you prefer to write first, send a few details in the form and Saad will reply within 24 hours.