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FractionalCMO

Since 201565+ in-house team6 cities

Fractional CMO and marketing consulting for promoter-led and family firms. A senior head for your marketing, without a full-time salary.

A strategist calls you in one working day.

Updated 10 Oct 2026

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A strategist calls you in one working day. We use these details only to call you back. Privacy notice and terms of use.

Brands we have worked with

  • Sai Angan
  • Rupa Peekaboo
  • Tea Junction
  • Zandu Vigorex
  • Fox & Mandal
  • Veedol
  • Tata Efee
  • Avadh Sugar & Energy
  • Taj Cement
  • Weichai
  • Rerasathi
  • Honest AI
  • Walton
  • Supertron
  • Balrampur Foundation
  • Fine Organics
  • Kopran
  • Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited
  • FIVB
  • Hanumanta Foods
  • Linc
  • Nitya Gold & Diamonds
  • Novozymes
  • PSPL
See all 122 clients
/ 01 Marketing consultant

A marketing head who answers for the numbers.

When a company spends crores, three agencies each say it is going well and nobody can tell what came back, the missing piece is a senior owner. PromotEdge provides marketing consultants and fractional CMOs (part-time chief marketing officers) to Indian companies, so your marketing spend turns into enquiries and sales.

A senior marketer from our team becomes your part-time marketing head on a monthly retainer, owning the plan, budget, agencies and reporting. We would rather be blunt than pleasing: if an agency's work isn't paying back, you hear it, ours included.

It suits promoter-led and family firms, listed companies and startups, selling to businesses (B2B), consumers (B2C) or direct online (D2C), in manufacturing, real estate and healthcare. Expect a plan and budget in month one, and an honest read on what pays back within a quarter.

  • 2015working with Indian brands since
  • 65+in-house team: strategy, creative, media and tech
  • 4pillars under one roof: strategy, advertising, digital, on-ground activation (BTL)
  • 6cities: head office in Kolkata, teams in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar
All PromotEdge facts →
/ 02 What the CMO owns

The whole job, part of the time.

01

Marketing plan

A yearly plan with quarterly targets, split by channel and region and tied to sales. Our media planning work does the same.

02

Budget control

Where every rupee goes, who approves what, and money moved away from what isn't working.

03

Agency and vendor management

Briefs and targets on one scorecard, TV, dealer schemes and Google Ads included. PromotEdge's own work can be cut too.

04

Monthly business review

Spend, leads, cost per lead, pipeline and sales, discussed with the promoter or CEO every month.

05

Sales and marketing together

Shared lead definitions, follow-up rules and a weekly check-in between the two teams.

06

Hiring and coaching

Job descriptions, interviews and coaching, so the skills stay inside your company.

07

Big decisions

A senior view on positioning, launches, new states and large campaigns, before money is committed.

08

Board-ready reporting

A quarterly note for the board or family: what was spent, what came back, what changes next.

Not sure whether you need a CMO or an audit first? Ask us. Talk to us

/ 03 What usually gets in the way

What usually gets in the way,and the way through.

“We spend crores and can't say what it brings back.”

Every channel goes on one sheet: spend, enquiries, cost per lead and sales. Channels that can't show a return are questioned first.

“Three agencies, and each says its work is going well.”

One set of targets for all of them, reviewed side by side every month. Agencies stop marking their own homework.

“A full-time CMO is too costly now, and juniors can't run marketing alone.”

You get senior judgement for part of the month, and your juniors get a boss who teaches them. When you're ready, we help you hire.

“Sales says the leads are junk. Marketing says sales never follows up.”

Both teams agree what a good lead is, how fast it is called and where it is recorded. The argument becomes a number.

“The promoter picks ads on instinct, and the board wants a plan.”

A yearly plan with a budget, targets and a quarterly review the board can read. Instinct still counts. It just gets tested.

“We hired a marketing head, and they left before anything changed.”

A fractional CMO keeps the plan, data and agencies steady while you hire, so the next person walks into a working system.

“We only need posters made faster.”

That is an execution need, and a good agency or designer will serve you better, for less. We will say so.

Want us to put your channels on one sheet and tell you plainly what we see? Get a free growth plan

/ 04 In their own words

What clientssay.

Each quote is copied word for word from the client page on our current website.

“A practical approach to ensuring return of investment has been the day one mantra.”

Bobby SrinivasBobby SrinivasChief Manager Marketing & Brand Marketing, Utkarsh India

“The format they have created is great, there is a smooth flow of communication, great brainstorming sessions and additionally super ideations and executions.”

Anish Basu MallikAnish Basu MallikMarketing Executive, Unimark Group

“The PromotEdge Agency stay with us all these 3 days, since when we arrived..more, more than 3 days. Since in the airport, they stayed together with us (FIVB team). …”

GibaGibaBrazilian Former Volleyball Player

Tell us what’s not working. We’ll send you an honest one-page growth plan, free.

/ 05 The rhythm

The first month,then a steady cadence.

  1. 01

    Weeks 1 and 2: listen

    We meet the promoter, the sales head, the marketing team and every agency, and read your numbers.

  2. 02

    Weeks 3 and 4: the plan

    A 12-month plan and budget with quarterly targets, plus a short list of what to stop right away.

  3. 03

    Every week

    A working session with your marketing team: what ran, what's late, what's next.

  4. 04

    Every month

    A review with the promoter or CEO on one scorecard. What can't be measured can't be achieved, so a number nobody owns does not make it.

  5. 05

    Every quarter

    The plan is reset. Money moves to what worked, and the board gets its note.

  6. 06

    When you're ready

    Help hiring a full-time marketing head, and a clean handover of plan, data and agency contracts.

Go deeper

More on this

How we deliver it, and why

Fractional CMO, full-time CMO or agency retainer?

A fractional CMO owns the plan, budget, agencies, team and results for agreed days each month, at a fixed retainer. A full-time CMO does the same daily, with salary, benefits and often a bonus. An agency retainer delivers its own work and rarely advises you to cut its fee. Many firms combine a fractional CMO with agencies. If a promoter cannot share sales numbers or give the CMO a say over budget, the advisory retainer is the honest choice.

How your business model changes the plan

A dealer-led B2B firm puts dealer schemes and trade spend on the scorecard. A D2C brand watches ad spend, repeat orders and marketplace sales. A franchise needs numbers outlet by outlet. A services firm tracks enquiries to signed deals.

Who sets the rules in India

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) calls itself the official national organisation of advertising agencies. It says it works for fair commercial conduct among advertisers, agencies and media.

Source: AAAI, aaaindia.org, formed 1945, read 10 October 2026

  1. Put every channel on one sheet. You cannot steer what you cannot see, and channels with no return get questioned first. One scorecard in the first two weeks.
  2. Write a 12-month plan with quarterly targets. The board can read it, and instinct still counts once it is tested. Plan and budget by week 4.
  3. Hold every agency to the same numbers. Agencies stop marking their own homework. Saurav Agarwal, our Founder & CEO, leads strategy and business review. A side-by-side review each month.
  4. Agree what a good lead is. The sales and marketing argument becomes a number both can see. A shared definition and a follow-up rule.
  5. Coach your people, then hand over. The skills should stay in your company. Hiring help and a clean handover.

AI in marketing consulting: today and next

Today: Google Sheets

Gemini in Google Sheets can build tables and formulas, draft analysis and insights, and make charts from your scorecard data. It needs an eligible Google Workspace or Google AI plan, and Google warns it may suggest inaccurate information.

Source: Google Workspace Help, Gemini in Google Sheets, read 10 October 2026

Next

Our view: scorecards will build themselves faster. Deciding where the next rupee goes will still need a senior person who knows your market. More tools are covered in our guide to AI marketing tools for Indian businesses.

Our beliefWe believe in process. Good results should repeat, not happen by luck.

/ 07 Cost

What affects the cost of a fractional CMO.

A fractional CMO is a set amount each month for an agreed amount of senior time. A consulting project is a fee for one defined problem.

What affects the cost

  • Time each month: days with your team, review meetings and on-call support
  • Size of the marketing budget and the number of agencies to manage
  • Number of brands, product lines and regions
  • Whether hiring and coaching your team is part of the brief
  • Travel to plants, dealers and regional offices in other cities

How we quote

  1. We hear what you spend, who owns marketing today and what is not working.
  2. We read your plan, budget, agency contracts and last year's sales and lead numbers.
  3. We write a scope: days each month, agencies to manage, numbers we will report.
  4. You get a written quote within 2 working days, before you sign anything.

What you get in the quote

  • The days of senior time each month
  • The weekly session and the monthly review
  • The agencies and vendors the CMO will manage
  • The scorecard, and travel on its own line

When you compare quotes, ask how many days of senior time you get each month, and who exactly does the work. A low retainer with few days is not cheap.

/ 08 What happens next

What happensafter you ask.

For projects we think we can help, this is how it goes.

  1. 01

    A strategist calls you

    In one working day: a 30-minute call with one of our strategists about your business and what is not working.

  2. 02

    You get a 1-page plan

    A short, honest plan: what to fix first and what we would do. It is free.

  3. 03

    A quote, if you want one

    If you want to go ahead, we send a quote within 2 working days.

We confirm the timeline in the quote. Contracts start at 3 months, with 30 days' notice to stop.

No pressure. No sales pitch.

Tell us who owns your marketing today.We'll show you the plan.

Or leave your number. A strategist calls you in one working day.

We use these details only to call you back. Privacy notice.

Straight answers.

  • The same job as a full-time marketing head, for part of the time. They own the marketing plan and budget, manage your agencies, coach your team, line marketing up with sales, and report to the promoter or board every month.

  • It is a fixed monthly retainer, set by the time needed, the size of your budget and how many brands, regions and agencies are involved. It costs much less than a full-time senior hire. We quote after a first conversation, against a written scope.

  • A marketing consultant usually solves one problem, such as a plan or an agency review, and then leaves. A fractional CMO stays, owns the results month after month, and is answerable when the numbers fall short. Many firms start with a consulting project and move to a fractional CMO later.

  • An agency is paid to deliver its own work, so it is rarely the right judge of it. A fractional CMO sits on your side of the table. Most companies keep their agencies: the CMO gives them clear briefs and targets, reviews them on one scorecard and moves budget between them, or away. The decision stays with you.

  • An agreed number of days each month, plus the weekly team session, the monthly review and urgent calls. The first month is heavier, because the plan is being built. Sessions run on calls and remotely, we meet you in your city at least once every three months, and travel is a separate line.

  • Agree the numbers in month one: enquiries, cost per qualified lead (what you pay for one enquiry from a person who can really buy), sales from marketing and spend. Within a quarter you should see waste cut and money moved to what pays back.

  • A fractional CMO starts by learning it from your sales head, dealers and past numbers, so we don't learn your category on your budget. We work with companies in manufacturing, real estate and healthcare, among others. Tell us yours and we will say plainly whether we are the right fit.

  • If you aren't sure where the problem is, yes. A marketing audit shows what is working and what to stop, before any plan is written. Many companies then hand the plan to a fractional CMO to run, so the audit is a low-risk first step.