What is the difference between a fractional CMO and a consultant?

Consultants write decks and hand them back. Fractional CMOs operate inside the company and own the implementation outcome.

Does IG offer marketing consulting?

IG offers fractional CMO engagements that include strategy work. We do not sell deck-only consulting engagements because the value lives in the implementation, not in the recommendation alone.

Fractional CMO · vs Consultant

Fractional CMO vs Consultant

Consultants write decks. Fractional CMOs ship pipeline. IG's operating company thesis is the proof.

A consulting engagement and a fractional CMO engagement can cost roughly the same. They produce roughly the opposite output.

A consultant gives you a strategy deck and a recommendation. A fractional CMO operates inside the company until the recommendation is shipped.

Dimension	Fractional CMO at IG	Marketing Consultant
Deliverable	Pipeline + operating system	Strategy deck + recommendations
Engagement length	3-18 months	4-12 weeks typically
Inside the company	Yes, embedded in the function	Outside, with periodic check-ins
Implementation	Owned by the fractional CMO	Handed back to the client team
Accountability metric	Pipeline outcomes	Deliverables shipped
Risk to the client	Engagement runs longer if needed	Recommendation may sit on a shelf

Deliverable

IG: Pipeline + operating system

Marketing Consultant: Strategy deck + recommendations

Engagement length

IG: 3-18 months

Marketing Consultant: 4-12 weeks typically

Inside the company

IG: Yes, embedded in the function

Marketing Consultant: Outside, with periodic check-ins

Implementation

IG: Owned by the fractional CMO

Marketing Consultant: Handed back to the client team

Accountability metric

IG: Pipeline outcomes

Marketing Consultant: Deliverables shipped

Risk to the client

IG: Engagement runs longer if needed

Marketing Consultant: Recommendation may sit on a shelf

When a consultant is the right call

You need an outside perspective on a defined strategic question. You have the internal team to execute. The consulting engagement ends with a deck the team will actually run.

McKinsey-style brand-positioning audits or Big Four AI-strategy decks fit this shape. Useful in their own right, structurally different from what a fractional CMO does.

When a fractional CMO is the right call

You need the strategy AND the operating capacity to ship it. The internal team can execute but does not have senior marketing leadership. The fractional CMO is the senior leader plus the operating accountability.

IG case studies are the proof: AllVoiceAI fractional CMO engagement shipped positioning, GTM, narrative, and investor-readiness inside the engagement window. OneBenefits shipped Marketing AI in eight weeks.

The structural difference

A consultant writes "the marketing plan should do X." A fractional CMO does X. The first model bills against the deck. The second model bills against the outcome.

IG's engagement model is built around outcome ownership. If the work does not ship, the engagement does not produce the result we both signed up for.

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