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Contract CMO

for startups and companies
with big dreams

Successful marketing doesn't happen by chance. It starts at the top, with good leadership.

 

Top brand companies already know it. It takes discipline + expertise to set a clear strategy and execution plan. To experiment and innovate and measure. To help teams, partners, and agencies bring their best work. To instill a customer-first mindset that delivers powerful insights.

And if your growth needs to accelerate, this leadership depth is more important than ever.

I help brands grow.
And businesses run
better, faster, smarter.

I specialize in being a contract CMO or strategic advisor for startups and brands with ambitious growth goals. I bring critical marketing expertise, especially as you approach a major pivot point: 

 

  • initial launch or scale-up

  • stalled growth

  • brand overhaul

  • acquisition or merger

Whatever your challenge, I can sharpen strategic direction, elevate the brand, and build the necessary pieces and discipline for growth.

About

About

Katie Fagan, The Other CMO

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A full-stack, classic brand marketer by training, I've spent 20+ years building brands and helping businesses in a variety of B2C + B2B markets (consumer healthcare, fintech, higher ed, SaaS, industrial manufacturing, and even art), through both digital + traditional channels. 

Demand gen, analytics, and innovation are my special sauce...but mostly, I have a passion for understanding why people make a specific choice for something, in a given moment.

This path has given me a fast learning curve -- and an arsenal of lessons and best practices to help you rise above the market clutter and connect with modern consumers.

View my LinkedIn profile

Services

Services & Capabilities

Your unique goals, company stage, and whether you have a marketing team in place (and how big) will guide our integration and partnership. I work with a very limited client roster, so that I can be immensely valuable and incredibly available.

In all cases, my objective is to get your brand and marketing operating at a high level, to build both near-term wins and long-term value.

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Fractional Leadership 

For startups and smaller companies, a little can go a long way to ensure you're maximizing value of your marketing dollars. I'll step in as part-time leader, assess gaps and weaknesses, develop a plan, bring on any necessary partners, and oversee implementation. And as you grow, I can continue building your permanent marketing function. 

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Strategic Advisory

A demand gen strategy for startups, a sound growth plan for stalled brands, optimizing brand impact from acquisition or merger. In this engagement, I serve as advisor to the CEO to work through a specific challenge — which they’ve identified as a pre-cursor to creating or growing their marketing function. 

Katie is strategic and intentional with her approach. She helped us think critically about our target audience and how to measure success.
Contact
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