A senior marketing lead, without the full-time hire.

You get a part-time senior marketing lead who sets the direction, writes the briefs and gets everyone pulling the same way, then hands over properly when the time comes, and because we’re a mother and daughter studio, two senior heads share one seat at your table.

Lots of doing. Not much leading.

Plenty of people are doing your marketing. Nobody senior is steering it. You don’t need a department yet. You need someone to lead the one you’ve got.

  • You’re still the marketing lead, usually after everyone else has gone home.
  • Your freelancers and agencies are each doing a good job of something slightly different.
  • There’s activity every week but no plan you could point to.
  • Your briefs live in people’s heads, so the work keeps coming back not quite right.
  • Someone has suggested hiring a CMO and you’re not sure it’s time yet.
  • Two or more ring true? You’re in the right place.

Part of your team, not beside it.

We don’t take over your marketing. We lead it, week in and week out, alongside the people you already have.

Set your direction

We work out where your marketing should take your business and turn it into a short plan with clear priorities. Short enough to remember and clear enough to say no to shiny distractions.

Write your briefs

Good work starts with a good brief. We write them, so your designers, writers and agencies know exactly what they’re making, who it’s for and why it matters.

Lead your people

We guide your team and suppliers, review the work and keep everyone pulling the same way. You get fewer surprises and fewer rounds of amends.

Be your senior voice in the room

Launches, pitches, new hires and tricky decisions all go better with someone senior to think them through with. We’ll tell you what we really think, kindly but clearly.

And when it’s quicker to make something than to brief it, we make it ourselves. Same people, same thinking.

From your first week to a proper handover.

Your business isn’t anyone else’s, so we agree the shape with you at the start and review it as we go. Here’s how it usually unfolds.

  1. 01

    Settle in

    It starts with a conversation about what’s happening, what you already have and where you need senior input. Then we get to know your numbers, customers and people before we change a thing.

  2. 02

    Set the course

    We pressure-test your priorities with you, turn them into a plan your team can follow and write the first briefs.

  3. 03

    Lead the work

    We steer the work with you month by month, planning, briefing and reviewing with your team and suppliers. You also get regular time with us to look up from the detail.

  4. 04

    Hand over properly

    When you’re ready, everything is handed over with the thinking written down. If the answer is to hire, we help you shape the role so your new lead starts with a plan rather than a blank page.

Three things you keep when we leave.

We’re not here to make ourselves indispensable. We’re here to leave your marketing in better shape than we found it.

  • A plan your team actually follows

    Short, prioritised and written in plain English, so it survives contact with your busiest Monday.

  • Better work from your own team

    Clearer briefs and steady leadership get more from the people and suppliers already on your books.

  • A straight answer on hiring

    You’ll know whether you need a full-time marketing lead, when and what kind. Sometimes the honest answer is not yet.

Two heads, one direction.

Stellar & Rose is a mother and daughter studio, so you get both of us, from your first conversation to the final handover.

Vanya, co-founder of Stellar & Rose

Vanya

Strategy, digital and the big picture

Vanya sets your direction and builds your plan. Hand her a tangle of channels, numbers and opinions and she’ll give you back something everyone can follow.

Masha, co-founder of Stellar & Rose

Masha

Ideas, creativity, story and the human bit

Masha makes sure your plan sounds like you and your work feels human. Expect her to ask what your customers would actually say.

When a decision deserves another experienced pair of eyes, you also have Rupert Cruise, our senior adviser.

More about us

What you’re probably wondering.

If your question isn’t here, bring it to a fit call. Good questions are rather our thing.

How is this different from a fractional CMO?

It’s a close cousin. The differences are that you get two senior people rather than one, we can make the work as well as lead it and we plan your handover from the start, so you’re never left depending on us.

How much of your time do we get?

Enough to lead properly. We agree the shape with you at the start, based on what your business needs, then adjust it as things change.

Do we need a marketing team already?

No. You might have a small in-house team or a handful of freelancers and agencies. You might just have yourself and a very full inbox. We lead whatever you’ve got.

Will you do the work as well?

Where it makes sense, yes. It’s made by the same people who did the thinking. Often, though, the most useful thing we can do is help your own people do their best work.

How long does it last?

For as long as it’s useful to you. You might need a senior lead for a defined stretch, such as the run-up to a launch. Or you might keep us until you’re ready to hire. Either way it ends with a proper handover.

What happens when we’re ready to hire?

We help you work out what kind of marketing lead you need and shape the role. Your new hire then inherits the plan, the briefs and the thinking behind them, so they start on day one rather than month three.

Should we start with the Marketing Reset instead?

If you’re not sure what’s wrong yet, it might be the better first step. The Marketing Reset is four focused weeks that end in a prioritised plan, which we can then put into action as your senior lead.

See the Marketing Reset