How we work together
Three ways to engage with the team, all of them threading AI and emerging tech into the workflows you already run. Plus one product where Manual Focus owns and runs the AI workflows on your behalf.
The senior voice in the room
For companies with a marketing team but no senior leader running it.
You have people doing the work. What you don't have is someone senior calling the shots, reviewing the output and asking the harder questions. We sit alongside the team for a handful of sessions a month, giving you the strategic input of a CMO without the cost or commitment of one.
What this looks like
- Weekly or fortnightly working sessions on what to do next
- Reviews of campaigns, content and creative before they ship
- Quarterly planning and priority-setting with the team
- Briefings on the AI tooling and emerging tech worth using, and where it fits the workflows your team already runs
- Hiring and team-shape advice as you grow the function
- Direct line between sessions for the calls that won't wait
What this is not
We won't run your team for you, ship the work on your behalf, or sit in every meeting. This is senior input on a part-time cadence, not embedded leadership.
Shape · 1–2 days a month. Day rate or monthly retainer.
Book a sessionEmbedded senior marketer
For companies that need senior marketing leadership without a full-time hire.
We embed in your leadership team. We set the marketing thesis, build the plan, lead the people you already have, and ship the pieces that need senior hands. AI and emerging tech are wired into the workflows your team already runs, so a small team moves like a much larger one. You get the seniority of a CMO at a fraction of the cost, with execution shipped alongside the strategy.
What this looks like
- Marketing thesis, 90-day plan and quarterly OKRs
- Leading and growing the existing team (or hiring it)
- Embedding AI and emerging tech into the workflows your team already runs, day by day
- Shipping key campaigns, launches and content with that leverage in place
- Owning reporting to the CEO and board
- Inputs into product, pricing and positioning decisions
- Bringing the Forge tooling to compress production cycles
What this is not
This isn't a generalist consultant who hands you a deck. It's senior marketing leadership that ships work. And it's not unlimited time. The seat is part-time by design, so the cadence has to be set up to make the most of it.
Shape · 1–2 days a week. Three-month minimum.
Book a sessionScoped outcome, shipped fast
For companies that know what they need built, and want it shipped fast.
You have a specific marketing outcome in mind, whether that's a launch, a website rebuild, an SEO program, a brand refresh or a content engine. We build it end-to-end with AI and emerging tech wired into the build (not bolted on after), then hand it back to your team to operate, with documentation and training to keep it running.
What this looks like
- Product or feature launches, with positioning, narrative and assets
- Commerce rebuilds on Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce/WordPress — full-stack or headless, shipped fast
- Headless web architectures — composable stacks built for speed, SEO and a clean handover
- Landing systems and conversion infrastructure (Next, Astro, Webflow where it fits)
- SEO and answer-engine optimisation programs, including content engines
- Brand refreshes with messaging architecture and visual direction
- PR campaigns with journalist outreach, story arcs and placement
- AI and emerging-tech workflows embedded into your existing stack, not a parallel one
What this is not
It's not a retainer dressed up as a project. The scope is fixed up front, the price is fixed up front, and the handover is real. After it's shipped, your team owns it.
Shape · Fixed scope, fixed timeline, fixed price. Typical builds 4–12 weeks.
Book a sessionWe run the AI workflows. You get the output.
For CTOs, CMOs and existing teams who can't carve out the time to stay current with new models, build pipelines or learn another tool every week.
Manual Focus AI is the product side of the agency. Instead of teaching your team to run the workflows, we own them. Content planning, wireframing and production sit inside Manual Focus, run on the Forge, and the output lands in your stack on an agreed cadence. When a new model ships that's better than the one we were using, we swap it in. You don't see any of that, you just keep getting better output.
What this looks like
- Content planning pipelines — calendars, briefs, drafts, fact-checks
- Wireframing and creative production — landing pages, ad units, social packs
- Research and synthesis — competitor moves, SERP shifts, model launches, distilled weekly
- Pipelines maintained and re-tooled as new models and capabilities ship
- Output delivered in your brand and your stack, ready to use, not just ready to edit
- No internal training, no tool sprawl, no learning curve for your team
What this is not
It's not headcount you have to manage. It's not a tool you have to learn. It's not a generic SaaS subscription. The workflows are owned and operated by Manual Focus, tuned to your brand and your priorities, and the output shows up on cadence.
Shape · Monthly retainer. Output on agreed cadence. Three-month minimum.
Book a working sessionEndurance and sports brands
are where we've shipped the most.
If you're building in endurance, sports or the broader fitness category, you're getting a team that has run marketing in your category at scale. Our founder, James Vickers, co-founded RGT Cycling and took it from 19k to 350k users before Wahoo Fitness acquired it. Beyond that, we've led marketing across AI, fintech, hardware and digital assets, so the playbook travels.