Alongside the in-house capability practice, BizLift offers fractional executive leadership for organizations requiring senior direction without a full-time hire. These engagements frequently precede or accompany Build, Optimize, or Transform work.
Fractional engagements suit two situations. The first is organizations that need executive-level marketing or production leadership but are not yet ready to hire full-time — often because the marketing function is being built or restructured, and the shape of the permanent role is still being defined. The second is organizations in transition, where a full-time executive has departed and the business needs continuity in senior leadership during the search for a replacement.
In both situations, the fractional engagement provides senior operating judgment applied at the moments that matter, without the full cost or commitment of a full-time hire.
Fractional leadership
Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
Led by Elena Gonzalez, Partner, Chief Marketing Officer Advisory.
Senior marketing leadership for companies that need a Chief Marketing Officer's judgment without hiring one full-time. The advisory brings the discipline of enterprise marketing leadership to organizations at the point where the brand and the marketing function need serious executive attention.
The engagement anchors on the brand: what it stands for, how it appears in market, whether it is doing the commercial work it needs to do, and where it is losing value that could be captured. From that anchor, the advisory extends to the marketing and advertising work the brand produces, the organization producing it, the agencies and vendors supporting it, and the systems measuring whether any of it is working.
Core areas of the advisory
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The anchor of the engagement. A structured evaluation of the brand as it exists today: what it stands for, who it speaks to, where it sits against competitors, and whether the positioning still fits the business the company has become. The output is a clear read on where the brand is strong, where it is drifting, and where it is materially underperforming what the business needs from it. Where repositioning is warranted, the advisory develops the new positioning, defines what it means for messaging and identity, and sets the plan for bringing it to market.
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A senior audit of the work the company currently has in market: campaigns, advertising, digital presence, social content, sales collateral, product marketing, and executive communications. The review evaluates whether the work reflects the brand accurately, whether it is producing commercial results, and whether the investment is well allocated across channels. Recommendations identify what to keep, what to change, what to stop doing, and where new investment would produce disproportionate returns.
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An assessment of the team producing the work — how it is structured, whether the right roles exist, where capability gaps are constraining output, and whether the operating model matches the pace and complexity of the business. Recommendations may include restructuring, hiring priorities, workflow changes, or the introduction of new functions. Connects directly to BizLift's Creative and Social Media Teams practice when detailed team design is required.
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A review of external agencies, freelancers, and vendors, including what they are producing, what they are costing, and whether they are the right partners for the business as it is today. The advisory addresses agency of record decisions, roster consolidation or expansion, contract review, performance management, and, where appropriate, the transition of external work to in-house capability. Most companies discover meaningful cost savings and quality improvements from a rigorous portfolio review.
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Decisions about the marketing technology stack, including which platforms to adopt, which to retire, and how to integrate them. The engagement includes the responsible integration of AI-enabled tools and workflows.
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The evaluation and management of external agencies, freelancers, and vendors. The engagement includes vendor evaluation, contract review, performance management, and, where appropriate, the transition of external work to in-house capability.
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Direction of the campaigns and initiatives that carry the brand into market. This includes annual and quarterly planning, launch strategy for new products or entrances into new segments, brand-led thought leadership programs, and the coordination between marketing, sales, product, and executive communications that determines whether campaigns land. The advisory brings the operating discipline that keeps campaigns on strategy, on schedule, and accountable to defined outcomes.
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Decisions about the marketing technology stack, the metrics that actually indicate whether the brand and marketing are working, and the responsible integration of AI into marketing operations. The advisory addresses which platforms to adopt or retire, how measurement should report to the executive team, and where AI creates leverage without undermining brand consistency or governance.
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For companies in transition between CMOs, the advisory provides continuity in senior marketing leadership while the search for a permanent CMO proceeds. Interim engagements are structured to preserve the integrity of the search — the fractional CMO does not become a candidate for the permanent role, which allows the company to evaluate external candidates without complicating dynamics.
Fractional Executive Producer
Senior production leadership for campaigns, productions, and the operations that support them. The advisory brings the operating discipline of senior commercial production — rigorous pre-production, disciplined budgeting, defined creative standards, accountable vendor management, and the business infrastructure that supports scaled output — to organizations producing work that defines how their brand appears in market.
Core areas of the advisory
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Senior direction of how production work happens across the organization, including which productions get made, how they are staffed, how vendors are selected and managed, and how quality standards are set and maintained. For organizations without a production executive, this fills a role that would otherwise sit at VP or Head of Production level.
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The design of in-house video, audio, podcast, and photography studios. Fractional engagements often function as the bridge between an initial studio design project and the operational launch of the finished facility.
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The integration of AI tools and workflows into production operations. Because production is one of the most rapidly changing areas of AI application, the fractional Executive Producer engagement often includes ongoing AI capability decisions as the technology evolves.
Specialized production advisory services
The advisory also includes specialized services that address specific challenges organizations face when producing campaigns and content through external vendors rather than in-house or through ad agencies.
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The identification and recommendation of qualified production companies and post-production vendors for specific projects, domestically and internationally. Recommendations are made independently, based on the vendor's qualifications, capabilities, and fit for the specific work.
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The independent review of production and post-production budgets submitted by vendors or developed internally, including benchmarking against market rates and identification of inefficiencies. This service provides organizations with senior expert review of what they are being quoted before they commit.
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For organizations working directly with production companies rather than through a full-service ad agency, the advisory provides the executive producer function that would otherwise sit within the agency: managing the production relationship, ensuring vendors deliver to specification and on budget, coordinating creative approvals across stakeholders, and maintaining executive accountability throughout the production.
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For commercial productions filming in Texas that meet the program's eligibility requirements, the advisory manages the application and documentation process for the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program (TMIIIP), administered by the Texas Film Commission. Commercial projects are eligible for a base cash grant in the range of five to ten percent of qualifying in-state expenditures.
A common industry practice is for the production company or ad agency handling the commercial to apply for and receive the grant directly, without the corporate client whose budget funded the eligible expenditures being aware that a grant was available or claimed. The advisory helps corporate clients understand their eligibility to benefit from the incentive on productions they fund, and structures the production and contracting relationship so that the grant flows to the client rather than being retained by intermediary vendors. Applications must be submitted before principal photography begins; the advisory is engaged early in pre-production to preserve eligibility.
Engagement structure
Fractional engagements are typically structured as monthly retainers, scoped to the cadence and budget of the specific business. Standard engagement sizes range from limited-scope advisory (approximately 40 hours per month) through half-time fractional leadership (approximately 80 hours per month). Project-based engagements are also available for defined initiatives.
Fractional engagements are conducted under the same confidentiality, independence, and non-exclusivity principles that govern the firm's in-house capability practice.
Related: In-House capability services
Fractional leadership engagements frequently connect to the firm's practice areas. A fractional Chief Marketing Officer engagement may include creative and social media team design as a defined workstream. A fractional Executive Producer engagement may include in-house studio design or AI integration in production workflows. The two practice areas are complementary and often work together within a single client relationship.