Services — Sam Ford Collins

Engagement Models

Four ways to work together.

Most engagements start with embedded leadership — a fractional CMO seat where I can run the full methodology and stay in the room while the work goes to market. The other three are sharper, more focused entry points.

Embedded Fractional CMO

The full methodology, end to end, with me in the org as the brand leader. Two to four days a week, on retainer. I run planning, lead agency relationships, sit in the leadership team, and stay close enough to protect the position as it goes to market.

Best for · Pre-CMO scaleups · Critical launches Most common entry

Strategy Engagement

Phases one and two of the methodology, run end to end. Excavate and Distill — positioning audit, competitive teardown, narrative architecture, voice, and the non-negotiables. Output: a brand book your team will actually use, plus a deck that travels.

Best for · Repositionings · Launches Project

Positioning Workshop

An intensive day with the leadership team. We pressure-test where the brand stands, where it could stand, and the one sentence the whole organization can defend in a hallway. You walk out with a deck and a working document the team can move on the next morning.

Best for · Founders · CMOs new in seat Workshop

AI Brand System

Phase four as a standalone build. Custom AI workflows for content generation, asset governance, competitive monitoring, and creative briefing — voice-locked to your existing brand standards. The same brand work at AI speed, on brand standard.

Best for · Established brands · In-house teams Build

How it actually works

Start with a conversation.

Every engagement starts with a free thirty-minute conversation. I want to hear what you're trying to build, what you've already tried, and where things feel stuck. You'll get a sense of how I work and whether my read on the situation is useful to you.

If the fit is right, I send a one-page proposal with scope, timeline, fee, and the deliverable. From there we shape the right entry point — embedded, project, workshop, or build — based on where the brand actually is and what it needs next.

I take a small number of engagements at any given time so the work gets the attention it needs. If it's not the right fit on my side, I'll happily tell you who I'd send you to instead.