Hand marketing to a senior
Outsourced CMO leadership that runs the whole function, not just advises it
An outsourced CMO from Chameleon Collective puts a senior marketing leader and the execution bench behind them on your business. You get strategy and delivery from one collective, without the cost or ramp of a full-time chief marketing officer.
Scope an outsourced CMO engagement
An outsourced CMO from Chameleon Collective puts a senior marketing leader and the execution bench behind them on your business
Why teams choose an outsourced CMO from Chameleon
A leader plus the bench, not a lone advisor
The leader here arrives with the execution capacity to act on the plan: brand, demand, lifecycle, and analytics specialists from the same collective. You get the function, not a strategist who leaves you to staff it.
Senior operator, no agency markup
The person owning your marketing has run it in seat as a chief marketing officer. There is no account layer and no junior team between the strategy and the work, so the budget buys senior judgment instead of overhead.
Sized to the stage, with a clean exit
Engage the leadership and delivery you need now, then scale up, scale down, or hand off to a permanent hire. We tell you when a full-time CMO is the right next move and run that search.
What an outsourced CMO actually does
An outsourced CMO is senior marketing leadership delivered as a service: a seasoned operator owns your strategy, your team cadence, and your budget, backed by the specialists needed to execute. The work is running the function, not handing over a deck. It suits companies that need real marketing altitude and delivery before a permanent executive makes sense.
Outsourced CMO versus fractional CMO
A fractional CMO is one part-time leader in the seat. An outsourced CMO is that leader plus the execution bench, so the same engagement covers both the strategy and the hands to deliver it. If you only need leadership, the fractional model fits. If you need the whole function stood up, the outsourced model does.
Outsourced CMO versus an agency
An agency executes channels with a junior account team and no ownership of your number. The outsourced model owns the marketing outcome from inside your business and pulls execution through outsourced marketing capacity scoped to the plan. One accountable leader, not a roster of vendors.
Honest about when to go full-time
We tell you when the right move is a permanent chief marketing officer rather than an extended engagement, and our Recruit practice runs that search with a full handoff from the outsourced team.
Start with a two-week diagnostic
Current state, the real constraint, and whether the outsourced model or a single fractional leader fits your stage. A senior operator is on the call from day one.
What outsourced CMO services cover
We size scope to your stage and constraint, pulling from the disciplines that move together under one accountable leader:
- Marketing strategy and the operating model: the priorities and the cadence that runs them.
- Leadership in seat: a senior operator owning the number, part-time or near full-time.
- Demand generation and pipeline: the channel mix that pays back inside the quarter.
- Brand and positioning: the narrative that makes every channel convert harder.
- Lifecycle and retention: the CRM and LTV work that protects acquisition economics.
- Analytics and measurement: GA4, warehouse models, and board-ready reporting.
How We Compare
| Feature | Outsourced CMO (Chameleon) | Marketing agency | Full-time CMO hire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the number. | A senior CMO-level operator. | No one owns your outcome. | One hire, once they ramp. |
| Execution capacity. | A specialist bench from one collective. | A junior account team. | Whatever you staff around them. |
| Cost. | A fraction of a loaded CMO package. | Retainer plus markup. | Salary, equity, and benefits. |
| Time to in-seat. | Two to four weeks. | Weeks to staff a team. | Three to six months. |
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from teams evaluating an outsourced CMO for senior marketing leadership.
Most engagements run $12K to $50K per month, scaled to seniority, days per week, and how much execution capacity rides with the leader. That is a fraction of the loaded cost of a full-time chief marketing officer, and the operator is in seat in weeks.
A fractional CMO is one part-time leader. Outsourced CMO services bundle that leader with the execution bench, so the engagement covers strategy and delivery together. Pick fractional when you only need leadership, outsourced when you need the whole function stood up.
Senior leadership of the marketing function plus scoped delivery: strategy, team cadence, budget ownership, demand, brand, lifecycle, and analytics. You engage the leader and only the specialist capacity the plan actually needs.
An agency executes channels with a junior team and never owns your outcome. An outsourced CMO owns the number from inside your business and directs execution against it, accountable for pipeline and revenue rather than a deliverable.
Most engagements begin in two to four weeks, from scoping conversation to first day in seat. Urgent turnarounds can move faster.
Directly. Chameleon Collective is a senior-only collective, so there is no account-management layer between you and the outsourced CMO running your marketing.
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Ready for a permanent CMO?
An outsourced CMO is often the bridge to a permanent hire. Our Recruit practice runs the chief marketing officer search in parallel, with a senior candidate slate inside 30 to 45 days and a clean handoff from the outsourced team.
Get In Touch
Put an outsourced CMO on your business
One conversation to scope it: current state, the real constraint, and whether the outsourced model or a single fractional leader fits your stage.
