Fractional CMO · Nashville · Los Angeles · New York
Your marketing isn't underfunded. It's unowned.
I'm Morgan Harris. For 25 years I've built, scaled and sold marketing and media companies — and I still run the agencies behind some of the most demanding brands in the world. I step in as your CMO on a fraction of the time and cost, and I make the marketing actually work.
You already know something's wrong.
You're spending real money on marketing and you can't draw a straight line from it to revenue.
Your agency sends decks. Your team sends dashboards. Nobody sends you a number you trust.
You've thought about hiring a CMO. Then you saw what a good one costs — $300K base, equity, a year to ramp, and a coin flip on whether they're the right fit.
So nothing changes. Another quarter goes by.
What I actually do
I own the marketing function. Not the deck.
Three or four days a month, or two days a week — whatever the business needs. What doesn't change is what I'm accountable for:
The number.
Pipeline, revenue, CAC, retention. Whichever one is breaking, that's the one I'm on.
The team.
Your marketing hires, your contractors, your freelancers. I manage, coach, and where necessary, replace them.
The agencies.
I scope them, price them, hold them to it, and cut the ones that aren't earning their retainer.
The spend.
Where every dollar goes and what it returns. In plain English, monthly, to you and your board.
The plan.
A 90-day operating plan that a 25-person company can actually execute — not a 60-page brand platform.
Most fractional CMOs have never carried a P&L. I've carried five.
I've built and sold this.
Three exits across digital media, marketing and technology. I know what a buyer diligences, because I've sat on both sides of the table.
I still run agencies.
I'm CEO of a multi-agency platform serving global brands. I'm not a consultant describing the market from the outside. I'm in it this week.
I know what your agency isn't telling you.
I've written the scopes, set the margins, and staffed the accounts. When I review your agency relationship, I know exactly where the money is going.
How we work together
Three ways in.
The 30-Day Diagnostic— start here
Fixed fee, fixed scope, no long-term commitment. I go through your marketing, your spend, your team, your agencies and your data. You get a written findings document and a 90-day plan you own outright, whether you hire me or not.
Fractional CMO— the core engagement
Monthly retainer, six-month minimum. I run marketing. Weekly with your team, monthly with you, quarterly with your board.
Advisory
For CEOs who have a capable marketing lead and need someone senior to pressure-test them. Monthly call, on-call in between, quarterly deep dive.
A few things I've done.
- Built and sold three companies across digital media, marketing and technology.
- Founded and run an agency whose anchor client is one of the most demanding brands on earth. Nine years and counting.
- Acquired an underperforming Los Angeles agency and rebuilt its leadership, margin structure and go-to-market.
- Co-owner and board member of a professional football club — where I learned what marketing looks like when the product is emotion.
Work across brands including
Two questions I always get
"Aren't you just going to funnel me to your own agencies?"
No. If your best move is an outside agency, I'll tell you and I'll help you hire one — including my competitors. If mine is genuinely the right fit, you'll know it's on the table before we start and you'll price it against three others. My retainer doesn't depend on where the work lands.
"How is this different from a consultant?"
A consultant hands you a recommendation. I hold the job. I'm in your Slack, in your standups, and on the hook for the result.
Thirty minutes. No deck.
Tell me what's not working. I'll tell you what I'd do about it, and whether I'm the right person to do it.