What is a fractional CMO, and why is the term used in Madrid?

A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who takes the CMO role in your company for a fraction of the week. It is the same model as a part-time CMO. The word "fractional" comes from the international, venture-backed, English-speaking world. It reaches Madrid through investors, international boards and the head offices of foreign groups.

If your board or your fund asks whether you have considered "a fractional", this is what they mean. For days, price and logistics, see our part-time CMO in Madrid page.

When do Madrid companies bring in a fractional CMO?

• After a funding round. Investors expect a plan, a budget and metrics they can follow. The marketing team is junior and reports to a founder who has no time for it.
• Between two CMOs. The marketing leader has left and the search will take months. A fractional CMO holds the role as an interim, keeps the team moving and helps define the next hire.
• Entering Spain through Madrid. A foreign company opens its Spanish office in the capital. It needs someone senior to adapt the positioning and the go-to-market before it commits to a full local team.
• Expanding out of Spain. A Madrid company wants to open other European markets, and its marketing was built for Spain only.
• A founder who still runs marketing. Every campaign waits for your approval. The company has outgrown that setup.

How does it compare with a full-time CMO, an agency or a freelancer in Madrid?

Full-time CMO

A full-time CMO is the right choice when the need is permanent and the scope is clear. Madrid has many experienced marketing executives, a lot of them trained in large groups. Moving from a large group to a company of fifty people is a real change, and it does not always work. A fractional CMO lets you define the role and prove what it should deliver before you open a permanent position.

Agency

As the capital, Madrid has no shortage of agencies. An agency executes a brief well. It does not decide your positioning, arbitrate your budget or manage your people. Without a senior person on your side, the agency ends up setting the strategy by default. A fractional CMO takes that seat.

Freelancer

A freelancer brings one skill: paid media, content, design, CRM. That is useful once someone has decided what to do. A fractional CMO makes those decisions, then chooses and leads the specialists.

What does a fractional CMO cost, and for how many days?

iytro leaders are embedded 1 to 3 days per week, or work as an interim. The day rate is 1,100 to 1,500 €. Two days a week comes to about 10,000 to 12,000 € per month. There is no long-term commitment, and the volume is adjusted month by month.

What do the first 90 days look like?

• First month. Time on site in Madrid to meet the leadership team, sales and marketing. Review of the data, the positioning, the budget and the agencies. A written diagnosis with the main problems ranked.
• Second month. A plan with a small number of priorities, each with an owner and a metric. Choices on what to stop. First changes to messaging and to the handover between marketing and sales.
• Third month. The plan is running. The team has a weekly rhythm, the board has a dashboard, and you have a recommendation on the organisation you will need next.

Does iytro have an office in Madrid?

No. iytro has offices in Paris, Barcelona and New York. iytro leaders work with companies in Madrid from those cities, on site when needed and remotely otherwise. On-site days are best planned around the kick-off, planning sessions, workshops and board meetings.

iytro was founded in 2019 and created the Part-time CMO model in France. It has 400+ clients, is B Corp certified, and 86% of clients recommend it. The core offer is one embedded leader, the part-time CMO. Profiles include CMO, Head of Growth, Brand Director, Product Marketing, CRM, Content, Field and Partner Marketing, and Marketing Ops.

If Madrid is one market among several, read the fractional CMO in Europe page. For examples of missions, see the Lifen case study and the Coinhouse case study.