Authentic Brand

• Pricing model: Hybrid model: primarily a custom monthly retainer for Fractional CMO leadership based on a set number of hours per week/month, plus a separate Advisor CMO offering billed hourly or per project. Authentic also routes execution work through its Ally Network, but no public execution pricing was found.
• Typical range: $200–$375 per hour
• Billing: Fractional CMO engagements are retainer-based with a flat fee tied to dedicated hours; Advisor CMO is billed hourly or project-based.
• Contract terms: Fractional CMO engagements are typically 12–24+ months. Weekly capacity is described publicly as roughly 6–20+ hours/week on the main service page, and 4–20+ hours/week in the CMO match article. Advisor CMO has no long-term retainer required.
• Guarantee: Right-Fit CMO Guarantee: if the client is not satisfied with fit, or if there is employee turnover, Authentic states it will cover the cost of onboarding another CMO from its team.

Authentic does not publish a concrete retainer fee, package price, setup fee, or minimum purchasable project price on the pages reviewed. The clearest public number is an agency-published market benchmark: Authentic says the typical hourly rate for a fractional CMO ranges from $200 to $375/hour, while also stating that Authentic itself usually sells Fractional CMO work on a retainer rather than pure hourly billing. For buyers, that means the public evidence supports the pricing model and an hourly market band, but the actual Authentic retainer appears custom-quoted based on hours, scope, business size, growth goals, and pace of change.

Authentic Brand appears to run engagements as a fractional CMO-led marketing transformation: they start with intake and matching a specific CMO, move quickly into onboarding and discovery, then build an annual/quarterly marketing operating rhythm with weekly and quarterly leadership reviews, KPI reporting, and coordination of internal teams and outside partners.

1. 1

   Complete intake and align on needs

   The engagement starts with a simple intake survey and an initial meeting so Authentic can understand the client’s business model, goals, culture, and marketing needs before assigning leadership.

2. 2

   Meet your matched fractional CMO

   Authentic selects a right-fit CMO based on business-model fit, relevant experience, cultural alignment, and capacity, then sets up a meet-and-greet so the client can confirm confidence in the match.

3. 3

   Kick off onboarding and discovery

   After contract signature, the matched CMO begins work quickly and uses Authentic’s proven onboarding and discovery process to assess gaps, understand the current marketing engine, and identify where marketing is disconnected from strategy or leadership rhythms.

4. 4

   Build the marketing roadmap and operating system

   The CMO uses Authentic Growth® tools and frameworks to create a visual roadmap from strategy through execution, shape an annual plan, and connect marketing roles, foundations, tactics, budget, and KPIs into a more disciplined operating system.

5. 5

   Lead execution across team and partners

   Rather than doing every task personally, the CMO leads the players around the work: reorganizing or guiding the marketing team, overseeing agencies or contractors, and aligning contributors around a shared vision and operating rhythm.

6. 6

   Run weekly and quarterly alignment cadences

   Delivery continues through recurring leadership cadences: the CMO meets weekly and quarterly with the leadership team to review KPI and budget performance, while quarterly workshops use pre-work surveys, synthesized themes, and decision-focused sessions to clarify what is working, what is not, and what must be done next.

7. 7

   Iterate, report, and build transferable capability

   Authentic treats the plan as agile rather than fixed, iterating based on performance insights, market dynamics, and business changes while building internal marketing maturity, team capability, and systems that are meant to outlast the engagement.