What’s a Fractional CD
Meet the fractional CD
A few years ago, I was introduced to one of my now best friends and favorite work partners, Michelle Heath of Growth Street. And at the same time, I was also introduced to the concept of a fractional CMO.
I immediately thought of how many businesses could use one.
A CMO is hard to find for a variety of reasons. It’s a crucial role, and you need both the experience and the chemistry to be right. They have to work successfully with creatives and also deliver results.
A fractional CMO can enter the picture in a variety of ways – to amplify the experience on the team when a seasoned CMO isn’t available or practical, develop strategy at a crucial plateau or growth point, as CMO coverage during the hiring process or a maternity/paternity leave, or to help teach the team to fish - building out the marketing practices so the existing team can go forward. Notice I’m saying “existing,” not “in-house” - that’s because the fractional CMO (especially now that we are mostly in hybrid or full WFH situations) feels like part of the in-house team while still bringing the freshness of an outside perspective. And all of this has become accepted practice.
So when will we more widely adopt the practice of a fractional CD?
It’s funny; many in-house and big agency CDs end up being temporary (the average tenure is just 1-2 years!). CD is a tricky role. You have to be fresh to be creative. You have to be brave and vulnerable. You’re inherently passionate, and there’s something personal about putting your big ideas into the fray. CDs can be fragile, territorial, unable to manage others, and even prone to tantrums.
I’ve seen them fired (the tantrum thing), laid off as the highest payrolled when an account moves on. I’ve seen them quit in a huff (sometimes very soon after arrival) and also cause other departures for failure to promote deserving team members. I’ve seen them burn out, too. Quietly quitting, losing the freshness, going through the motions.
Yet HR hasn't become widely open to hiring a non-full-time CD. What’s the risk? Is it more than the risk of hiring full-time, where there’s more overhead and more to lose?
Here are some things that I and others on our team have done as fractional CDs or copy/design directors:
Develop and lead a season when internal creative efforts need some oomph
Mentor internal creative staff
Creatively drive a key holiday season
Lead brand evolution (or just voice or visual or digital)
Evaluate where a team isn’t working and provide a go-forward plan
Drive day-to-day creative
Take a big agency’s proposed strategy down to IRL initiatives
Creatively strategize around a key release
Develop a change in key messaging across platforms
As part of a large agency, provide a vertical experience needed or lead a pitch
Our fractional CDs come with the freshness of agency experience but present internally as part of the team. They make the work better, teach/train/mentor internal team members, and can bring in additional players as needed (also without overhead). They know a wide range of verticals, (obviously) play nicely with others, and it’s a comfort to HR to know that if the fit’s off, it’s easy enough to make a change. (It hasn’t happened yet.)
If you’re a CMO or CCO, consider trying it out, or letting HR know you’re open to this and let’s talk. As creative talent gets harder and harder to find, we happen to think this is a smart approach that yields better work, a better team, better collaboration and better creatives.