Fractional CMO or an interim CMO?
An interim CMO works 5 days a week for 3 to 9 months, built for a rebrand, a launch or a departure with a hard date: £13,417 to £24,917 a month on the same band. A fractional CMO holds the seat part-time with no end date: £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week. Pick interim when a date drives the work.
Below is what each one actually owns, what they cost on the same basis, how each one fails, and when to pick the other one.
| A fractional CMO | An interim CMO | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the outcome | Positioning and the channel plan, revisited as the market moves | A launch, a rebrand or a market entry delivered by a fixed date |
| Commitment | One to three days a week, flexing with the work, no end date assumed | 5 days a week, usually for 3 to 9 months |
| How it is priced | £700 to £1,300 a day | A day rate for 5 days a week, often through an interim agency that adds a margin, so a month of interim cover costs well over twice a month of two fractional days. |
| Typical monthly cost | £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week | £13,417 to £24,917 a month at 5 days a week, before any agency margin |
| How it fails | Being asked to deliver a rebrand and a launch on a fixed date in two days a week, while managing the agency, the team and the stakeholders, so the date slips and the seat gets the blame. | Being bought for ongoing marketing leadership that was never five days wide, so a full-time rate pays for availability, and the strategy leaves with the interim when the contract ends. |
| Pick it when | The work is ongoing leadership rather than a project with a date | A rebrand, a launch or a market entry has a hard date and needs somebody every day until it lands |
What an interim CMO actually is
A chief marketing officer holding the seat full-time for a fixed stretch, usually 3 to 9 months, most often to deliver a rebrand, a launch or a market entry with a hard date, or to cover a departure. The seat is the same; the shape is 5 days a week with an end date.
What each one owns
| A fractional CMO | An interim CMO |
|---|---|
| Positioning and the channel plan, revisited as the market moves | A launch, a rebrand or a market entry delivered by a fixed date |
| The pipeline number, quarter after quarter | Every working day of the team while the deadline runs |
| Hiring the team, and knowing when to hire a full-time leader | Cover for a departed CMO, with the team managed in person |
| Two or three companies at once, which keeps the view current | A handover to the permanent hire, built into the role |
What neither of them does
Neither is the agency, the content team or the media buyer. A rebrand led by an interim still needs designers and producers, and a launch run by a fractional CMO still needs hands to ship it.
How each one fails
The fractional CMO: Being asked to deliver a rebrand and a launch on a fixed date in two days a week, while managing the agency, the team and the stakeholders, so the date slips and the seat gets the blame.
An interim CMO: Being bought for ongoing marketing leadership that was never five days wide, so a full-time rate pays for availability, and the strategy leaves with the interim when the contract ends.
What they cost, on the same basis
A fractional CMO charges £700 to £1,300 a day, which is £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week. A day rate for 5 days a week, often through an interim agency that adds a margin, so a month of interim cover costs well over twice a month of two fractional days. The monthly and annual arithmetic for the fractional side, against a full-time equivalent, is on the cost page for this seat.
Pick an interim CMO when
- A rebrand, a launch or a market entry has a hard date and needs somebody every day until it lands
- The CMO has left and a marketing team needs managing in person while the search runs
- The work is a defined project with an end, and a handover to a permanent hire is part of it
We would rather say that plainly than win an engagement that was the wrong shape. Nobody pays us to list on the bench, so there is nothing in it for us either way.
When you want both
In sequence, sometimes. An interim lands the launch or covers the gap; once it is delivered and the workload settles, a fractional CMO takes the seat part-time until a full-time hire makes sense. Running both at once usually means one of them is the wrong shape.
Fractional, part-time or interim marketing director
Three shapes, often confused because the titles overlap. A fractional CMO or marketing director holds the seat one to three days a week as a contractor, usually for several companies, with no end date assumed. A part-time marketing director is the older British phrase for much the same seat, sometimes employed on the payroll for fixed days. An interim marketing director or CMO is full-time and temporary: every working day, for a defined stretch, with an exit built in.
| Fractional | Part-time | Interim | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days | One to three a week, flexing | Fixed days each week | 5 a week |
| End date | None assumed | None assumed | Usually 3 to 9 months |
| Contract | Contractor, through their own company | Often employed, pro rata | Contractor, often through an agency |
| Built for | Ongoing leadership | Ongoing leadership on the payroll | A date, a launch or a gap |
Read next: Fractional vs interim, across every seat.
Common questions
Should I hire a fractional CMO or an interim CMO?
An interim CMO works 5 days a week for 3 to 9 months, built for a rebrand, a launch or a departure with a hard date: £13,417 to £24,917 a month on the same band. A fractional CMO holds the seat part-time with no end date: £5,367 to £9,967 a month at two days a week. Pick interim when a date drives the work.
Is a fractional CMO cheaper than an interim CMO?
On a like-for-like basis it usually is, because you buy the days you need rather than all of them. A fractional CMO runs £700 to £1,300 a day, most often one to three days a week. A day rate for 5 days a week, often through an interim agency that adds a margin, so a month of interim cover costs well over twice a month of two fractional days. But cheaper is the wrong question if the work genuinely needs the other one.
When is an interim CMO the better choice than a fractional CMO?
A rebrand, a launch or a market entry has a hard date and needs somebody every day until it lands. The CMO has left and a marketing team needs managing in person while the search runs. The work is a defined project with an end, and a handover to a permanent hire is part of it.
Can I use a fractional CMO and an interim CMO at the same time?
In sequence, sometimes. An interim lands the launch or covers the gap; once it is delivered and the workload settles, a fractional CMO takes the seat part-time until a full-time hire makes sense. Running both at once usually means one of them is the wrong shape.
When should a company hire an interim CMO?
When the marketing work fills every day for a defined stretch: a rebrand with a launch date, a market entry, a product launch, or a departed CMO leaving a team without a manager. Outside those, the work is usually ongoing rather than full-time, and a fractional CMO covers it for far less.
How much does an interim CMO cost per month?
On the same UK band as the fractional seat, £700 to £1,300 a day, full-time interim cover works out at £13,417 to £24,917 a month on 46 billable weeks a year, before any agency margin. Two fractional days a week of the same seat is £5,367 to £9,967 a month.
Can an interim CMO become fractional?
Often, and it is a sensible shape. Once the launch lands or the permanent search is under way, the workload drops back to a day or two a week, and the same person can stay on fractional terms rather than handing the context to somebody new. Agree that at the start, since interim agency contracts sometimes restrict it.