Strategic consultancy

Strategic consultancy

Your marketing team is working hard. Your growth system isn't.

Your marketing team is working hard. Your growth system isn't.

As a Fractional CMO, I help founders and leadership teams bring brand, acquisition, lifecycle, and retention into alignment for scalable and durable revenue growth.

As a Fractional CMO, I help founders and leadership teams bring brand, acquisition, lifecycle, and retention into alignment for scalable and durable revenue growth.

Marketing leadership across tech, fintech, and sports:

Marketing leadership across tech, fintech, and sports:

“Strategic, principled, and collaborative are the words that come to mind when I think about Colton. He was instrumental in maturing and scaling TuneIn's strategy and operations, and an invaluable resource for me and my team. Colton consistently provided trusted counsel on complex decisions, and his ability to juggle multiple initiatives was unlike any I've seen before.”

Paul Lee

TuneIn — Audio streaming platform | Venture-backed

“Strategic, principled, and collaborative are the words that come to mind when I think about Colton. He was instrumental in maturing and scaling TuneIn's strategy and operations, and an invaluable resource for me and my team. Colton consistently provided trusted counsel on complex decisions, and his ability to juggle multiple initiatives was unlike any I've seen before.”

Paul Lee

TuneIn — Audio streaming platform | Venture-backed

“Colton was able to drive significant business change and revenue generation. Introducing and onboarding an entirely new customer engagement channel, along with several key revenue-generating initiatives, puts him at the top of the class and exceeds expectations.”

Alec Hanson

loanDepot — Consumer fintech | Public company

“Colton was able to drive significant business change and revenue generation. Introducing and onboarding an entirely new customer engagement channel, along with several key revenue-generating initiatives, puts him at the top of the class and exceeds expectations.”

Alec Hanson

loanDepot — Consumer fintech | Public company

“Colton is a fantastic partner. His understanding of strategic marketing and resulting implementation of strategy is unmatched.”

Korey Banks

Marketing SaaS platform | Series B, VC-backed

“Colton is a fantastic partner. His understanding of strategic marketing and resulting implementation of strategy is unmatched.”

Korey Banks

Marketing SaaS platform | Series B, VC-backed

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My Philosophy

My Philosophy

Marketing isn't a funnel.
It's a system.

Marketing isn't a funnel.
It's a system.

Sustainable growth comes from aligning brand, acquisition, lifecycle, and retention — not optimizing them in isolation.

Sustainable growth comes from aligning brand, acquisition, lifecycle, and retention — not optimizing them in isolation.

Brand

Creates trust and differentiation that makes growth efficient. Failure: Demand without differentiation

Growth

Converts demand into predictable pipeline. Failure: Volume without efficiency

Lifecycle

Turns interest into conversion and momentum. Failure: Leads that never mature

Retention

Compounds growth through loyalty and expansion. Failure: Short-term wins without long-term lift.

Brand

Creates trust and differentiation that makes growth efficient. Failure: Demand without differentiation

Growth

Converts demand into predictable pipeline. Failure: Volume without efficiency

Lifecycle

Turns interest into conversion and momentum. Failure: Leads that never mature

Retention

Compounds growth through loyalty and expansion. Failure: Short-term wins without long-term lift.

Brand

Creates trust and differentiation that makes growth efficient. Failure: Demand without differentiation

Growth

Converts demand into predictable pipeline. Failure: Volume without efficiency

Lifecycle

Turns interest into conversion and momentum. Failure: Leads that never mature

Retention

Compounds growth through loyalty and expansion. Failure: Short-term wins without long-term lift.

Growth problems are usually alignment problems.

Growth problems are usually alignment problems.

My Approach

My Approach

Rethinking modern marketing leadership.

Rethinking modern marketing leadership.

After a decade leading marketing inside some of the fastest-growing companies in fintech, tech, and sports — I kept seeing the same problem. Teams optimizing channels in isolation while the system underneath stayed broken. Brand promising one thing, paid capturing another, lifecycle restarting the sale instead of continuing it.

At loanDepot, owned digital leads converted at 4.5x the rate of purchased ones — not because the product was better, but because the system was aligned. The SMS program I built doubled conversion likelihood and drove 150% growth in aged lead reactivation. At Uber Eats, a content-first brand strategy contributed to 140% user growth and $10M+ in incremental bookings. At MLSE, an integrated esports campaign generated $1.6M and 114% audience growth — the highest in the NBA 2K League that year. None of those results came from a single channel. They came from alignment across all of them.

That's what I bring as a fractional partner — not a consultant with a framework, but an operator who has run the full system and knows where it breaks.

After a decade leading marketing inside some of the fastest-growing companies in fintech, tech, and sports — I kept seeing the same problem. Teams optimizing channels in isolation while the system underneath stayed broken. Brand promising one thing, paid capturing another, lifecycle restarting the sale instead of continuing it.

At loanDepot, owned digital leads converted at 4.5x the rate of purchased ones — not because the product was better, but because the system was aligned. The SMS program I built doubled conversion likelihood and drove 150% growth in aged lead reactivation. At Uber Eats, a content-first brand strategy contributed to 140% user growth and $10M+ in incremental bookings. At MLSE, an integrated esports campaign generated $1.6M and 114% audience growth — the highest in the NBA 2K League that year. None of those results came from a single channel. They came from alignment across all of them.

That's what I bring as a fractional partner — not a consultant with a framework, but an operator who has run the full system and knows where it breaks.

Colton C. Hill

Colton C. Hill

— Fractional CMO, ColtonHill.co

— Fractional CMO, ColtonHill.co

Colton in the dugout at loanDepot Park
Colton in the dugout at loanDepot Park

The Leadership Decision

The Leadership Decision

Why Choose Fractional Leadership?

Why Choose Fractional Leadership?

The right leadership model depends on stage, growth complexity, and organizational maturity.

The right leadership model depends on stage, growth complexity, and organizational maturity.

Fractional CMO

Fractional CMO

Fractional CMO

Full-Time CMO

Full-Time CMO

Full-Time CMO

Leadership Model

Senior executive leadership without permanent seat

Full-Time Dedicated permanent executive role

Time to Impact

Immediate diagnosis and system alignment

Hiring process and ramp period

Organizational Scope

Aligns and elevates existing teams

Builds and manages long-term org structure

Flexibility

Scales involvement up or down

Fixed executive commitment

Best Fit

Growth complexity exceeds internal structure

Organization is resourced for permanent expansion

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Most fractional engagements start within two weeks

Most fractional engagements start within two weeks

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My Process

My Process

How I Work.

How I Work.

Embedded leadership that aligns your entire organization around a unified operating model.

Embedded leadership that aligns your entire organization around a unified operating model.

Diagnose the System

Diagnose the System

Diagnose the System

Rapid assessment of brand, acquisition, lifecycle, retention, measurement, and team structure.

Align Strategy & Ownership

Align Strategy & Ownership

Align Strategy & Ownership

Define priorities, sequencing, KPI model, and cross-functional accountability.

Operate & Elevate

Operate & Elevate

Operate & Elevate

Hands-on leadership across channels while mentoring the team and building long-term leverage.

Common Challenges

Common Challenges

Where Growth Breaks as Companies Scale

Where Growth Breaks as Companies Scale

You’ve built a strong product. As you scale, growth complexity often outpaces structure, ownership, and alignment. If these sound familiar to you, just get in touch.

You’ve built a strong product. As you scale, growth complexity often outpaces structure, ownership, and alignment. If these sound familiar to you, just get in touch.

  • Channel Silos

    Paid, brand, and lifecycle operate independently — results improve locally but underperform collectively.

  • Inconsistent Messaging

    What marketing attracts doesn't match what sales sells or what the product delivers.

  • Unclear Ownership

    Multiple stakeholders influence growth, but no single leader owns the full system.

  • Weak Measurement

    Teams track channel metrics, but lack a shared model tying marketing to revenue and retention.

  • Lifecycle Underleveraged

    Acquisition gets budget and experimentation; activation, engagement, and retention lack strategic ownership and testing rigor.

  • Execution Without Strategy

    Activity increases, but prioritization and sequencing don't reflect a unified growth plan.

  • Channel Silos

    Paid, brand, and lifecycle operate independently — results improve locally but underperform collectively.

  • Inconsistent Messaging

    What marketing attracts doesn't match what sales sells or what the product delivers.

  • Unclear Ownership

    Multiple stakeholders influence growth, but no single leader owns the full system.

  • Weak Measurement

    Teams track channel metrics, but lack a shared model tying marketing to revenue and retention.

  • Lifecycle Underleveraged

    Acquisition gets budget and experimentation; activation, engagement, and retention lack strategic ownership and testing rigor.

  • Execution Without Strategy

    Activity increases, but prioritization and sequencing don't reflect a unified growth plan.

You don't need another marketing coordinator. You need strategic leadership that can see the full picture and align every piece of your growth engine. That's where I come in.

You don't need another marketing coordinator. You need strategic leadership that can see the full picture and align every piece of your growth engine. That's where I come in.

Strategic leadership

Ready to work together?

If growth complexity has outpaced structure, a short conversation is usually enough to determine whether alignment, execution, or leadership is the constraint.

Or email me at colton@coltonhill.co

Strategic leadership

Ready to work together?

If growth complexity has outpaced structure, a short conversation is usually enough to determine whether alignment, execution, or leadership is the constraint.

Or email me at colton@coltonhill.co

Strategic leadership

Ready to work together?

If growth complexity has outpaced structure, a short conversation is usually enough to determine whether alignment, execution, or leadership is the constraint.

Or email me at colton@coltonhill.co