leadership | retainer

keep a ref
in the booth.

Senior marketing leadership embedded with your team all season — a fractional CMO who owns the strategy, keeps the scoreboard honest, and calls the fouls before they cost you. For a fraction of a full-time hire.

From $5,000/mo · senior, not junior • no media markups
the booth - acme.com
retainer ª Mo 04
[ vendors under oversight ]
paid agency
on standard
seo freelancer
flagged • review
email vendor
on standard
Pipeline / month
$1.2M ▲ 22%
blended CAC
$310 ▼ 18%
Next: q3 game plan locked friday
senior advisor
|
no media markups
|
oversees your vendors
|
fraction of a cmo
why a head ref

an official,
not an account.

You don't get handed to a junior after signing. The person setting your strategy is the person in the room — all season.

senior, not junior

The operator setting your strategy is the one in your meetings — not a salesperson who passes you to an account exec the day the contract is signed.

follows the scoreboard

Channel-agnostic and measurement-first. No incentive to push the channel that pays us best — we go where your numbers say the wins are.

no hidden markups

No media markup games, no manipulation dressed as strategy. Honest marketing as a business model — and a real edge over agencies that mark up your spend.

keeps your vendors honest

We sit above your existing agencies and freelancers and hold them accountable to the scoreboard — no need to rip and replace what's already working.

how it compares

not an agency.
Not a full time hire.

Typical Agency
full time cmo
fractional head ref
who runs it
Junior account manager
Senior—if you can hire one
Senior operator, fractional
Incentives
Marks up your media spend
Aligned, but a fixed cost
Aligned—no media markups
monthly cost
Fees + media markup
$15-$30K + fully loaded
From $5,000/month
continuity
Re-onboards every project
High—once they're hired
Knows you from Review → Playbook
Vendor oversight
Is the vendor
Yes
Oversees all your vendors
what you get

in your corner, all season

01

Monthly strategy

Priorities, channel strategy, budget allocation, and the quarterly game plan.

02

a living scoreboard

Ongoing measurement and reporting your leadership can actually trust.

03

vendor oversight

We keep your existing agencies and freelancers accountable to the numbers.

04

priority access

On call for the decisions that can't wait for the monthly huddle.

the retainer

pick your level of play

Two levels of involvement, billed monthly. Final scope is set on a call — the right tier depends on how embedded you need the Ref to be.

deepest
embedded
hands on • more days per month
$8,000
starting • per month
  • Everything in Advisory +
  • More days per month, on call
  • Hands-on execution oversight
  • Priority access between huddles
go embedded >

Not sure which level? We'll size it on a call — and you can move up or down by the quarter.

Ref's guarantee

calls made in your favor

No media markups, no kickbacks, no manipulation dressed as strategy. The Ref's only incentive is your scoreboard — so every call is made to win your game, not pad an invoice.

12
years active
1.5k+
plays cataloged
booth feed
month 04
[flag on the field]
"Paid agency billing for 'management' on a paused campaign. Flagged and clawed back this month."
[clean play]
"Q3 game plan aligned with leadership. Budget reallocated to the two channels carrying pipeline."

put a ref in your booth

Book a call to scope the right level of involvement. If you've had a Full Game Review, we already know your game film.

talk to the ref ⚑
24h response | No-b.s. guarantee