Frequently asked questions
Straight answers. No jargon.
Companies that want senior marketing capability without the cost or commitment of a full-time CMO. We have particular depth in endurance and sports brands (Wahoo, Wattbike, Ribble, Classified, RGT, Pelotan, Planet X), and broader work across AI, fintech, sports tech, hardware and digital assets. The best fit is usually a scaleup or established business with no senior marketer in the room, or one between hires.
A part-time senior marketing leader embedded in your team. You get executive-level thinking and accountability at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. At Manual Focus, the Fractional CMO seat is one of four ways to work with us, alongside Strategic Advisor (less commitment), Build & Hand Over (project work) and Manual Focus AI, where we run the AI workflows and deliver the output.
A traditional agency hires a team to execute campaigns for you and bills you for their time. Manual Focus is a small senior team that uses AI to produce what a full marketing team would. There's no account manager layer, no junior staff working your account, and no agency overhead. You're working directly with the operators, and the work ships faster because AI does the parts a junior team would.
Every engagement starts with a 30-minute working session, free. We talk through where you are, what you need, and which way of working (Strategic Advisor, Fractional CMO, Build & Hand Over, or Manual Focus AI) makes sense. If we click, we scope the work and start. Transparent scope, transparent timelines, no padded retainer.
We have particular depth in endurance and sports brands like Classified, Wahoo, Wattbike, RGT, Ribble, Planet X and Pelotan. Beyond that, we've led marketing across AI, fintech, sports tech, hardware and digital assets, from AI wealth management to privacy-focused digital assets to direct-to-consumer cycling. The marketing playbook is portable; the AI tooling is industry-agnostic.
It depends on the shape of the work. Strategic Advisor is a day rate or a monthly retainer for one or two days a month. Fractional CMO is one or two days a week on a monthly fee. Build & Hand Over is a fixed price for a fixed scope, with typical builds taking 4 to 12 weeks. Manual Focus AI is a monthly retainer. The first 30-minute working session is free, and you get a written scope with the cost before anything starts.
Fractional CMO and Manual Focus AI have a three-month minimum, because the first month goes on setting the thesis and the plan. Build & Hand Over is a fixed project with a fixed timeline, so it ends when the work is handed back. Strategic Advisor runs on a day rate or a monthly retainer.
A small senior team led by James Vickers, with operators from the Foundry, the collective Manual Focus is part of. There's no account manager layer and no junior staff on your account. The people in the working session are the people doing the work.
You get the marketing thesis and a 90-day plan inside the first month, built with your existing team. From there the seat runs one or two days a week: leading the team, shipping the key pieces of the plan and reporting to the CEO and board.
Yes. The Lens is free, with 47 playbooks and installable Claude skills covering brand, demand, content, ops and productivity. Teams that can run the playbooks themselves get the method without the cost of a Fractional CMO. Others use it alongside one of the services to keep the in-house team sharp between engagements.