Agency, freelancer or fractional CMO
Four ways to resource marketing, what each one is for, and a ten-statement test for which one your business actually needs. It also sets out plainly when a fractional appointment is the wrong answer.
Download the guide
Look inside
Eight of the thirteen pages. Turn them the way you would a printed guide.
What the guide covers
Thirteen pages, laid out the same way as every other guide in the series.
The four options
What each one is for, what it costs, and when it is the wrong answer.
Eight actions
Numbered and in order, from writing down what a customer costs to naming who reviews the work.
A worked example
A Dubai business services firm at AED 8 million, three suppliers and no shared brief.
A one-page brief
Print it, complete it before you meet anyone, and send the top half to every candidate.
Related
Where to go next.
Set a marketing budget
Three ways to reach the number, and the rule that decides when the money moves.
Read the guide
Build a board-level dashboard
Six questions the page has to answer, twelve numbers, and what turns each one amber.
Read the guideWhere this fits. If the answer is a fractional CMO in Dubai, that page sets out the scope and the pricing. If you need somebody in the seat full time for a fixed period, that is an interim CMO.
The articles behind this guide. Fractional CMO vs marketing agency: which does your business need? and Do you need a fractional CMO? A two-minute readiness check.
Sources. Indeed UAE, chief marketing officer, AED 20,119 a month from 13 reported salaries, updated 23 July 2026. Michael Page 2026 executive band of AED 80,000 to AED 130,000 a month, reported secondhand. UK fractional benchmarks from published 2026 pricing guides: day rates of GBP 750 to GBP 1,400, monthly retainers of GBP 3,000 to GBP 7,000 at one to two days a week. All checked 22 August 2026, and listed in full on page 10 of the guide.
Next step
Talk the decision through before you commit to it
A 30 minute discovery call at no charge, on whichever part of this sits closest to the decision in front of you.
Book a discovery callOr read how fractional cmo works, what it covers and how it is scoped.