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PILLAR 01

Marketing execution and outsourced direction (fractional CMO)

Senior judgement to decide what to do, and the execution to make it happen: the annual plan, the budget, the media buying and the weekly follow-through. Without opening a full-time role.

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When this pillar makes sense

  • Your team executes, but nobody decides what comes first or with how much budget.
  • You spend on ads, an agency and content, but no plan ties them together.
  • You need a marketing director and a full-time role is not justified yet.
  • You are launching a product, a brand or an attraction and nobody owns the full go-to-market.
  • Reports show activity but do not answer whether marketing is making money.

What's included

  1. Full marketing direction

    A senior owner who sets priorities, approves or kills initiatives and holds the relationship with the leadership team. Present in the decisions, not just the reports.

  2. Annual calendar and budget

    A twelve-month plan by channel and quarter, with budget allocated to each line and spend tracked against plan every month.

  3. Go-to-market and tactical plan

    For launches: concept, naming, pricing input, a per-channel launch plan and operational readiness so the team is ready on day one.

  4. Media planning and buying

    Digital and offline media — TV, radio, out-of-home, cinema — planned as one budget. Includes direct negotiation, partnerships, co-marketing and sponsorships.

  5. Market intelligence

    Competitive benchmarking, trend analysis and pricing research, so decisions rest on data rather than instinct.

  6. KPIs, attribution and dashboards

    What gets measured, an attribution model your team understands, and an executive dashboard that answers the question that matters: what is working.

How we run this pillar

  1. 15-minute diagnostic

    We look at what is broken, what already works and whether this is the pillar you need. If it is not, we say so.

  2. Plan and number in 48 hours

    A one-page document: retainer scope, first-quarter deliverables and a fixed monthly price.

  3. Month one: foundation

    Channel and spend audit, the annual calendar and budget, and the KPIs agreed with leadership.

  4. Weekly operation

    A weekly review of progress and spend, documented decisions and a monthly report against plan.

Tools

  • GA4
  • BigQuery
  • Looker Studio
  • Meta Ads
  • Google Ads
  • TikTok Ads
  • Programmatic

Who runs it

  • Erwin Farret

    Erwin Farret

    Founder and director

    Strategy, performance and AI agentisation

    I run the strategy and the client relationship, and personally build the AI process agentisation and LLM-assisted development. Marketing and operations for companies already trading that need senior judgement without opening a full-time role.

    LinkedIn

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Questions about this pillar

What's the difference between a fractional CMO and an agency?

An agency executes what it is asked. A fractional CMO decides what to ask for: sets priorities, allocates budget across channels and answers for the result to leadership. At Cero7 the same team does both, so no layer loses context between whoever decides and whoever executes.

How much time does a fractional CMO spend on my company?

It depends on the scope agreed in the one-page document. The retainer defines deliverables and review cadence, not hours: you pay for direction and results, not time in a chair.

Does it include media buying or only strategy?

Both. Online and offline media planning and buying — TV, radio, out-of-home and cinema — are part of the pillar, as are direct media negotiation, partnerships and sponsorships.

Can it work with the marketing team I already have?

Yes, and that is the most common case. The pillar directs and organises the internal team rather than replacing it, and closes with documentation so they can run what was built without depending on us.

Related pillars

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A short call to see whether this pillar solves what you need. You leave with a concrete next step, whether you hire us or not.

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