Hiring a Marketing Director vs. a Fractional CMO: What’s the Smarter Move in 2025?
So you're growing. Things are finally clicking. Sales are rolling in, your brand looks kinda legit, and you're ready to take the next step with your marketing. Congrats! Now comes the big question:
Do you hire a full-time marketing director or bring in a Fractional CMO?
And here's where most business owners freeze. Because let’s be real—you're not trying to light stacks of cash on fire, nor are you dying to manage another high-salary team member who may or may not actually know what they’re doing. (Yeah, we said it.)
Let’s break this down without the HR mumbo jumbo. If you’re a growing small-to-mid-sized business in 2025, one of these options makes way more sense than the other—and spoiler alert: it's not the full-time director.
Option A: The Full-Time Marketing Director
We’re not here to drag marketing directors—some of them are fab. But hiring a full-time in-house director means:
A salary of $90k–$150k+
Benefits, 401k, taxes, PTO, sick leave, HR paperwork, etc.
One person. One brain. One perspective.
And unless you strike hiring gold, they likely:
Don’t design
Don’t run ads
Don’t write copy
Don’t shoot content
Don’t know Reels from TikToks
So guess what? You’ll still need to hire a designer, ad strategist, social media manager, photographer, and content creator. Oh, and someone to actually implement all that strategy. Congratulations, you just built an entire in-house agency you can’t afford.
Option B: The Fractional CMO
Now enter the Fractional CMO. Same leadership, same high-level strategy—but they’re part-time and project-based. No payroll. No onboarding slog. No watercooler small talk about the latest Bachelor episode.
Here’s what you do get:
C-level strategy and direction tailored to your business
Implementation oversight
A team of experts (like us!) already baked in
Content creation, ads, design, social media, email—all of it
Consistency and cohesion across every touchpoint of your brand
With a Fractional CMO, you’re not hiring one person. You’re hiring a whole damn marketing department—for a fraction of the cost.
Let’s Talk Real Numbers
Hiring a full-time marketing director? You're easily in for $120k+ per year once you factor in overhead.
Hiring Ivy House as your Fractional CMO and content team? You’re looking at $36k–$60k per year depending on the level of service. That’s less than half the cost with way more output and talent.
We’re not blowing smoke. We’re just being real. Money talks—and your budget deserves better than a single hire who can't do it all (no one can, btw).
When a Full-Time Marketing Director Does Make Sense
We’re not anti-hiring. (We’re anti-wasting money.) If you’re pulling in $5M+ in annual revenue and have an in-house creative team, sure—bring in a full-time director to lead them.
But if you’re still scaling? Still figuring out funnels, brand consistency, or WTF to even post this week? Fractional is your best friend.
How to Know What’s Right for You
TL;DR
If you’re scaling and want expert-level marketing leadership without hiring a full-time unicorn, go fractional. With Ivy House, you’re not getting one overworked director. You’re getting an entire team of photographers, social media strategists, copywriters, ad managers, and branding experts who actually give a damn about your success.
No bloated meetings. No BS reports. No fluffy “synergy” speak.
Just real strategy, killer content, and consistent execution that actually moves the needle.
So go ahead—skip the six-figure hire and work smarter, not harder. Book a Fractional CMO discovery call with Ivy House and let’s get your brand running like the revenue-generating machine it’s meant to be.
