01 What is a fractional director of marketing?
A fractional director of marketing provides senior, director-level marketing leadership on a part-time, ongoing basis. The organization gets strategy, direction, and oversight from an experienced marketing executive without the cost or commitment of a full-time hire. It suits organizations that need one consistent senior voice making decisions, not simply more tasks completed.
02 How is a fractional marketing director different from an agency or a freelancer?
An agency delivers projects and a freelancer delivers tasks. A fractional director provides leadership: setting strategy, coordinating vendors under one direction, and giving the board clear language for what marketing produces. The relationship is ongoing and embedded, so the work builds durable systems rather than one-off deliverables.
03 Who does Santa Fe Marketing work with?
Santa Fe Marketing works with museums, arts organizations, cultural institutions, and mission-driven nonprofits in Santa Fe and throughout New Mexico. The practice is intentionally small and takes a limited number of clients at a time, so each relationship gets senior attention.
04 How much does a fractional marketing director cost?
Santa Fe Marketing offers three engagement levels, each billed as a monthly retainer. Pilot & Advisory runs $2,000 to $3,000 per month, Core Engagement $3,500 to $5,000 per month, and Anchor Engagement $6,000 to $8,000 per month. The right level depends on the scope of work and how much hands-on execution the organization needs alongside strategy.
05 What are the three engagement levels?
Pilot & Advisory is the entry point: strategy, review, and guidance, ideal for organizations exploring senior marketing support for the first time. Core Engagement adds selective execution across brand, digital, print, and institutional communications, in effect an acting director of marketing. Anchor Engagement is a full fractional executive role with deep integration into staff, board, and vendors, and only one Anchor client is taken at a time.
06 What is the six-month pilot?
Every engagement begins with a defined six-month pilot rather than an open-ended retainer. The pilot audits and establishes a baseline, activates systems and campaigns, and ends with a formal review of what the work produced. At six months, both sides evaluate honestly and decide together what comes next.
07 What marketing challenges does Santa Fe Marketing help with?
Common areas include marketing strategy and direction, brand consistency, editorial and newsletter planning, digital and print systems, vendor coordination, campaign direction, and nonprofit-specific programs such as Google Ad Grants. The through-line is coordination: turning scattered effort into a coherent system with measurable results.
08 Do you work with organizations outside New Mexico?
The practice is focused on Santa Fe and New Mexico, where local knowledge of the arts, civic, and cultural landscape is part of the value. Being on the ground matters for the kind of embedded, relationship-based work this model depends on.
09 What size organization is this for?
It is built for small and mid-sized organizations that cannot justify a full-time marketing director but still need senior strategic direction. If marketing is currently spread across staff without a clear owner or system, that is exactly the gap this practice fills.
10 How do we get started?
Start with a brief intake form on the website. Brian responds personally, usually within 48 hours, with an honest read on where the organization stands and whether the model is a fit. If it looks promising, the next step is a short discovery conversation to clarify priorities and the right engagement level.
11 Is there a cost or obligation for the initial assessment?
No. The intake form and the personal response that follows are free and carry no obligation. It is a genuine read on what would move the needle, not a sales sequence.
12 Who is Brian Bixby?
Brian Bixby is the Fractional Director of Marketing & Communications behind Santa Fe Marketing. His background spans two decades of art, design, and institutional communications, including a master's degree from Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany, and marketing leadership for cultural institutions such as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. He works with a small number of New Mexico organizations at a time.