Marketing Transformed.
Growth Unlocked.

Are you operating your business without senior marketing leadership? At VCMO, we embed Fractional Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) into organisations to deliver strategic clarity, operational alignment, and commercial impact. We'll transform your marketing into a growth engine — without the risk & cost of a full-time hire.

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Marketing leadership from big brands...

is this you?

You’re Spending More On Marketing — But Seeing Less Return.

At a certain stage, marketing gets louder… but not smarter. The team’s growing. Campaigns are running. But results? Flat.

Does this sound familiar?

  • No one can clearly tell you what’s working — or why
  • Marketers are being hired without a strategic direction
  • Activity feels fragmented, reactive, or led by non-marketers
  • The Board’s asking tough questions you’re struggling to answer
  • Sales, marketing, customer service, product, and brand feel disconnected
  • Leads are leaking and revenue is stalling

This isn’t a tooling issue. It’s a leadership gap. And that’s where our Fractioanal CMOs come in.

what we do

We Embed Fractional Marketing Leadership into Your Business to Drive Growth

Our Chartered Fractional CMOs step into your business to lead, mentor, and transform your marketing function from the inside out. We bring strategic vision, commercial rigour, and hands-on leadership to build a marketing capability that delivers — not distracts.

We don’t just align marketing with brand. We align it with customers, commercial outcomes, and investor expectations.

Here's what to expect from our marketing leadership...

Audit & Performance Insight

Independent audits expose gaps, benchmark effectiveness, and reveal growth opportunities — giving leaders clarity before committing spend.

Strategic Planning & Positioning

Clear value propositions, customer-aligned messaging, and go-to-market plans built using proven frameworks and data — not guesswork.

Marketing Operations Oversight

From agency management to in-house operations, we ensure every activity is focused, aligned, and accountable.

Team Leadership & Mentoring

We lead internal teams, mentor rising marketers, and provide senior direction in sales-led or founder-driven businesses.

Sales Alignment & Enablement

We unify sales and marketing with shared language, better-qualified leads, and tools that help teams convert — not compete.

Revenue-Focused Tactics

Funnel design, forecasting models, and campaign architecture tied to pipeline and profit — not vanity metrics.

Board & Investor Confidence

We speak the language of KPIs, growth strategy, and investor logic — giving your board confidence in marketing’s contribution to enterprise value.

Preparation for Exit and M&A Transactions

We align marketing with investor priorities — scaling systems, sharpening positioning, and strengthening enterprise value for funding rounds, acquisitions, or strategic exits.

Who We Help

We help ambitious businesses in complex, regulated, and fast-moving sectors cut through complexity and unlock growth. Our Fractional CMOs deliver the strategic marketing leadership to compete, scale, and thrive.

Businesses Requiring Strategic Marketing Leadership

We help ambitious companies needing C-Level marketing leadership, from scale-ups to mid-tier and PE-backed businesses.

Businesses in Complex & Regulated Sectors

We help businesses in complex, regulated sectors achieve growth with confidence, clarity, and compliance.

100% Chartered

Fractional CMOs: C-Suite Leadership Without the Cost

When you work with VCMO, you don’t get a freelancer, an outsourced marketing director, or a hands-off consultant. You get a seasoned C-level marketing leader — embedded, accountable, and equipped to lead change from day one.

Each of our Fractional CMOs:

  • Holds Chartered Marketer status via the Chartered Institute of Marketing
  • Is a SOSTAC® Certified Planner, trained in strategic marketing design and execution
  • Has led marketing functions across scale-ups, mid-market firms, and large enterprises

You’re not buying hours. You’re securing embedded leadership — with the commercial rigour and operational depth to drive measurable growth.

Agility That Delivers From Day One

We combine agility, speed, and cross-sector insight to deliver marketing leadership that drives impact from day one. From rapid strategy sprints to retained leadership, we deliver clarity and growth through flexible, human-led marketing solutions.

Flexible Engagement

Need a quick strategy sprint? A project delivered? A retained CMO? We flex to fit your challenge — without bloated retainers or lock-ins.

Speed to Value

We’re not recruitment. We don’t take quarters to ramp up. Your Fractional CMO is embedded and making impact within days.

Cross-Sector Expertise

We’re not vertical-obsessed. We bring fresh perspectives from SaaS, healthcare, professional services, and beyond — helping you break free from tunnel vision.

Custom GPT-Enabled

Our custom GPTs and proprietary tools accelerate research, planning, and execution — cutting costs while boosting marketing performance.

new to the model?

The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Fractional CMO

Hiring a full-time CMO isn’t always the right move —especially if your business is scaling, evolving, or in transition. But without senior marketing leadership, momentum stalls, teams drift, and growth opportunities slip through the cracks.

We've published The Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Fractional CMO which gives you the clarity to decide if the model fits — and how to make it work inside your organisation.

Inside, you’ll learn:


✅When to choose a Fractional CMO over other options
✅What a high-calibre Fractional CMO actually delivers
✅How typical engagement models, pricing, and scope work
✅How to onboard effectively and measure success
✅Common pitfalls — and how to avoid them
✅Real-world examples of fractional leadership in action

Whether you’re leading a £2M business or managing a £30M portfolio, this guide is your no-fluff introduction to strategic marketing leadership — without the full-time cost.

how our process works

A Proven Process. Built for Impact.

From an initial discovery consultation to delivery, our model is structured, focused, and built to deliver results — fast. No fluff. No faff. Just embedded leadership that drives momentum and measurable outcomes.

sostac®

How We Transform Your Marketing Into a Growth Engine

We use PR Smith’s SOSTAC® Planning Framework — ranked among the world’s top business models — to structure marketing into a clear, measurable growth engine. All our Fractional CMOs are SOSTAC® Certified Planners and apply the framework with other proven models to deliver robust, outcome-driven strategies.

(Image credit: Courtesy of PR Smith Marketing Limited)

Our project was to create a top-level marketing strategy which, once built, we could drive forward ourselves. And I can honestly say the work has been transformational for Yellowtail. After each workshop with VCMO, both Dennis Hall and I would be amazed at how much we'd achieved. We worked hard! But the results are worth it.

Sarah Steele
Operations Director, Yellowtail Financial Planning
Read the Case Study

Shout out to Paul Mills who bravely took on running a positioning workshop with us yesterday. Is there anything harder than doing the thing your client does for others for them?! Great work. Really thought provoking, and so important to have facilitated by someone with an external perspective!

Bryony Thomas
CEO, watertight business thinking

Paul is a professional strategic marketeer who is able to apply his expertise with marketing budgets large and small. The commercial impact of Shaw & Co's rebrand, which was initiated, designed and implemented by Paul, has been to differentiate us positively in a sector where few have succeeded. He delivers what he promises, on time and on/under budget, to a high quality. Paul made a positive impact on our business that will last.

Rod Leefe
chair, shaw & co

VCMO's audit brought clarity to a complex set of challenges. They cut through the noise and delivered a clear, prioritised roadmap that we could act on immediately. Their ability to engage across teams and translate insight into action was exactly what we needed.

Dr. Ross Burn
Co-founder, Catsci limited  
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Lydia possesses a deep understanding of marketing strategies and has consistently delivered exceptional results. Her ability to analyse market trends, create engaging campaigns, and drive customer acquisition is truly impressive. Her dedication, attention to detail, and strong communication skills make her an invaluable asset to any organisation. I cannot recommend Lydia enough for her expertise, professionalism, and exceptional work ethic.

Alan Leckey
Business Consultant, CCO - the Collaboration Company  

Paul Mills wasn't just an outsourced marketing leader — he was a mentor. His support helped me enhance my technical marketing skills and shape a more strategic mindset, as well as build my  confidence with senior leadership and deliver higher-impact work. He is dependable and skillful, and his guidance has made me feel more capable and prepared for future challenges.

Caitlin Daniels
marketing manager, catsci limited
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VCMO brings knowledge, insight and practical experience to the table, but also something else, which is quite rare, the unwavering commitment to finishing the job without compromising on the quality of the output. Their work for Yellowtail has been exemplary and we're seeing the results already.

Dennis Hall
founder, yellowtail financial planning

Ruth brought great experience and insight to my firm over many years. Her considered and thoughtful approach to problem solving are a real strength and her experience of marketing and business development in the legal sector was invaluable.

Gavin Tyler
Managing Partner, Cripps

VCMO helped us think beyond our capabilities and reframe how we communicate the true value of what we do. Paul's workshop unlocked fresh ideas resulting in a more strategic approach to our content plan and go-to-market materials. The quality of the output and power of the messaging is really impressive.

Peter Ridgway
Business Development Director, Reach Separations
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VCMO has been instrumental in reshaping how we approach marketing at Lucent. Their strategic clarity, attention to detail, and ability to deliver at pace have been exceptional. Paul's embedded himself seamlessly into the team and quickly earned trust — not just from me, but from our wider staff and partners. The website and content strategy he led have already started delivering results, and I now feel far more confident in how we grow the business over the coming years.

Steven Rowe
Founder - Lucent Financial Planning
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VCMO helped me find the words and structure to communicate what I do — and who I do it for — in a way that finally connects. I’ve had more inbound enquiries since the website relaunch than in the previous two years.

Lee Spencer
aka The rowing marine
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