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julia stein · fractional cmo

Your product has features. Your market needs a reason to choose you.

I help companies connect their positioning to the customers they want to win—turning product-heavy messaging into a clear, compelling brand story that drives growth.

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15+ years
$16M budgets
teams of 20+
toronto, working worldwide

where I’m most useful

When the business has outgrown ad hoc marketing.

Usually the problem is not a lack of ideas or effort. It is that no one owns the whole marketing picture.

  • Your product is strong, but the positioning is not landing.

  • Growth has created activity without a clear marketing system.

  • An important launch, category move or repositioning needs senior ownership.

  • The team needs direction, structure and a leader who can connect strategy to execution.

I bring the senior judgement to make the decisions, then help the team put them into motion.

work with me

Two ways to work together.

ongoing · multi-month

Embedded fractional CMO

I join the leadership team and take responsibility for marketing as a business function, not a collection of campaigns. Together we set the direction, focus the investment and build the team and operating rhythm to deliver it.

  • Positioning, ICP and go-to-market direction
  • Marketing plan, priorities and budget
  • Team, agency and partner leadership
  • Measurement, operating cadence and executive alignment

6–12 weeks

Focused go-to-market engagement

For a launch, repositioning, category entry or marketing reset that needs a senior lead and a defined finish line. I turn the problem into a clear strategy, the essential assets and a practical plan your team can carry forward.

  • Market, customer and competitive diagnosis
  • Narrative, messaging and launch story
  • Launch or growth plan with milestones
  • Essential assets, team alignment and handoff

Interim leadership, first-marketing-hire support and AI workflow design can be scoped within either engagement when they are part of the larger business need.

Portrait of Julia Stein, fractional CMO and founder of JUST Go To Market
julia steintoronto

about

Senior enough to see the whole picture. Hands-on enough to move the work.

I’m Julia Stein, a marketing executive with 15+ years across financial services, fintech, insurtech, B2B SaaS, luxury and global consumer brands. I’ve led budgets up to $16M, built teams of 20+ and worked across brands including PepsiCo, Capital One, LVMH, Onlia and Canaccord.

I started in agency and spent the past decade client-side, so I’m comfortable moving between the boardroom and the work itself. My strength is connecting brand, product and growth, especially when the category is complex, the stakes are high and the path forward is not obvious.

read julia’s perspective in strategy

currently certifying in generative & agentic ai for business transformation, rotman school of management

selected work

onlia insurance

Building a challenger brand in digital insurance.

At Onlia, Julia led marketing across brand strategy, acquisition and lifecycle as the company worked to stand out in a category dominated by established insurers.

  • Repositioned the brand around a clearer challenger proposition
  • Led creative strategy and media for a category-defining digital launch
  • Connected acquisition, lifecycle marketing and conversion optimization

the impact

+40%

increase in brand awareness within 18 months

2.4M+

YouTube views on the Go Online with Onlia campaign

36%

annual policy growth, from 10,000 to 13,600

results achieved during julia’s leadership, together with the broader onlia team and business.

selected brand experience

  • Trusty Estate Inc.
  • Era Preneur
  • LawVo
  • Optimize
  • Onlia Insurance
  • Aurora Cannabis
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Beam Suntory
  • Gallo Wines
  • Maple Leaf Foods
  • Junto XP
  • DDB
  • Capital One
  • PepsiCo
  • LVMH
  • Canaccord
  • TSX

how I work

AI behind the work. Senior judgement in front.

I use an integrated AI support stack across research, synthesis, content mapping, analytics, lifecycle and workflow orchestration. It helps me cover more ground and move faster. Brand positioning, voice and messaging are a different matter: those stay with a senior marketer.

  • Research and market synthesis
  • Content mapped to the buyer journey
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Lifecycle and CRM support
  • Workflow automation

AI accelerates the supporting work. Strategy, brand voice and every client-facing message are written and owned by me.

A faster path from customer truth to market action.

common questions

What working with a fractional CMO looks like.

What is a fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is an experienced chief marketing officer who leads your marketing on a part-time, ongoing basis. You get senior strategic ownership of positioning, planning, budget and team leadership without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.
What does a fractional CMO actually do?
The work is leadership, not task delivery. That means setting positioning and go-to-market direction, deciding where the budget goes, leading the internal team and agency partners, building the measurement and operating rhythm, and keeping marketing accountable to the business plan.
When should a company hire a fractional CMO?
Usually when marketing activity has outgrown the person currently overseeing it: the product is strong but positioning is not landing, growth has created activity without a system, or a launch, category move or repositioning needs senior ownership. It is also common before hiring a first full-time marketing leader.
How much does a fractional CMO cost?
Cost depends on scope and the number of days a month involved, and it is typically a fraction of a full-time CMO salary plus bonus and equity. I scope each engagement to the decisions that need to be made, so you are paying for senior judgement rather than headcount.
How is a fractional CMO different from a marketing agency or consultant?
An agency executes campaigns and a consultant delivers a recommendation. A fractional CMO sits inside the leadership team, owns the marketing function and is accountable for the outcome, including how agencies and internal team members are directed.
How long does a fractional CMO engagement last?
An embedded engagement runs on an ongoing multi-month basis and continues as long as marketing needs a senior owner. A focused go-to-market engagement runs six to twelve weeks against a defined finish line and hands off to your team.
Do you work with B2B and B2C companies?
Yes. The work spans regulated and complex categories including insurance, legal technology, real estate, consumer goods and food and beverage, with both B2B and consumer go-to-market experience.
How does AI factor into the work?
AI supports research, synthesis, content mapping, analytics, lifecycle and workflow orchestration so more ground gets covered faster. Brand positioning, voice and messaging stay with a senior marketer and are written and owned by me.
read the full guide

contact

If your marketing needs a senior owner, let’s talk.

Tell me what is changing, what is stuck or what needs to happen next. I’ll tell you honestly whether I’m the right fit.

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linkedin

/julia-stein