Commitment options
Engagements run from a single day a week to a full strategic function, and the level of involvement can grow or shrink as your business does.
The status quo
Marketing drifts when nobody owns it fully.
A full-time marketing director is a serious commitment, often upwards of $180,000 a year once you account for salary, benefits and the tools they'll need, and that's before you've even proven the role is shaped correctly for your business yet. Bring in an agency instead and you'll often get a plan, a deck and a monthly retainer, while the actual thinking about your business happens somewhere else, on someone else's schedule.
Hand marketing to someone junior and they can execute a calendar, but setting the direction the business actually needs takes a different kind of experience, so strategy waits for someone senior to notice it's missing. In the meantime, marketing drifts. Campaigns run without a thread connecting them, and the business spends money without building anything that compounds.
A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who works with your business part-time, bringing full-time judgement without the full-time cost.
At Iron Road, that means Colin Kennedy sets your strategy, leads your projects and puts genuine hands on the platforms and campaigns that carry it out, so the plan and the delivery come from the same person.
What you actually get
A full marketing function, led by one person.
Every engagement includes the same five things, whether you need a day a week or a full strategic function.
Strategy and planning built around your actual goals, budget and timeline
Project leadership that keeps campaigns, content and specialists moving toward the same goal
Hands-on execution, by Colin and his small team at Iron Road, is carried out across the platforms and channels your strategy depends on
Team and supplier orchestration, so every specialist involved is chosen, briefed and directed by one accountable person
Accountability and reporting that tells you plainly what's working and what still needs attention
How engagements work
Start wherever makes sense, and grow from there.
Most engagements begin one of two ways, and both lead to the same kind of working relationship.
How you start
Most relationships begin with a conversation or a Trust Audit, and that gives us the context to recommend the right level of involvement for where your business actually is.
The first 90 days
Expect a clear strategy, a working plan and visible movement on the priorities that matter most, agreed together from the start.
Not sure which way to start?
Most clients begin with either a Trust Audit or a straightforward conversation about where things stand, and either one gives us enough to recommend the right level of involvement for your business.
Talk it throughFAQ
Common questions.
How does the cost compare to hiring someone full-time?
A full-time CMO typically costs upwards of $180,000 once salary, benefits and tools are accounted for, and that's before the role has even proven itself. A fractional engagement gives you the same calibre of leadership for a fraction of that commitment, scaled to the amount of time your business genuinely needs.
Will someone fractional really be committed to our business?
Commitment comes from accountability and a genuine stake in the outcome. Iron Road works with a small number of clients at any one time specifically so that attention stays real, and the relationships tend to run for years rather than months.
How is this different from working with an agency?
An agency is usually built to sell you services across a menu, with account managers translating your needs to the people actually doing the work. Iron Road embeds as a single senior lead who sets the strategy and either executes it directly or assembles and directs the right specialists for the job, so one person stays accountable for the whole outcome.
We already have someone doing marketing. Does this still make sense?
Often, yes. A fractional CMO can give direction and mentorship to an existing marketing coordinator or executive, adding senior strategic oversight while your current team keeps handling the day-to-day work they're already good at.
What clients say
Strategy in the morning,
campaigns by the afternoon.
“
Colin helped us move from a patchwork of disconnected activity to a coherent marketing function. What set him apart was that he could talk strategy in the morning and be building campaigns by the afternoon.
Chief Executive
Professional services firm, Auckland
“
I am very impressed with how Iron Road has been able to quickly grasp our business and our requirements, formulate specific plans and campaigns and execute them with fantastic benefits.
Simon Nikoloff
Managing Director, KiwiHost New Zealand
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Colin was brilliant at grasping and defining the business requirements, working with stakeholders to get buy-in and participation in what was a fundamental and effective direction for the wider business.
Simon Billings
Digital thought leader, ecommerce & data-driven marketing
Ready to start
Get senior leadership on your marketing,
without the overhead of hiring it.
Most conversations start with a 30-minute discovery call or a Trust Audit, and either one gives us what we need to recommend the right way to work together.