When you run a unique agency that’s part strategist, part operator, and part Fractional CMO team, no two weeks look alike. Sometimes it’s all data and dashboards. Other times, it’s all collaboration and creativity. This one? A little bit of everything — and a lot of very good things.

Building Traction, Not Just Campaigns

We kicked off the week deep in EOS mode, just the way we like it. On Monday, we showed up at the leadership table for one of our longest-running clients, a large commercial cleaning services company in Metro-Detroit. As their Fractional CMO, we don’t just “check in.” We help run the business side of marketing: reviewing the Scorecard, updating Rocks, and aligning quarterly goals to the Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO).

Companies commonly treat EOS as a leadership tool, not a marketing one, but when applied correctly, it becomes the framework that keeps creative work connected to measurable outcomes. For example, aligning each campaign to a Rock or measurable KPI ensures marketing isn’t just busy, it’s productive. If your agency or internal team doesn’t have a clear Scorecard, start there. It’s the single best way to turn marketing from a cost center into a growth driver.

Marketing That Gets Fan Mail

It’s not every week you get fan mail for marketing, but this week, we did.
The client of our client sent a voice note gushing about how much they love the Instagram Reels and email campaigns we’ve been creating. (It’s the third unsolicited compliment this month. And yes, we’re blushing.)

That kind of feedback doesn’t only feel great, it’s honestly the best reminder that marketing isn’t just numbers and metrics — it’s human. When the message resonates, people don’t just notice it. They feel it.

Emotional response is one of the most underrated and untold KPIs in marketing. Algorithms may change, but human psychology doesn’t. People engage with content that makes them feel something. As marketers, we can measure reach, clicks, and conversions all day, but the voice note test is real: if your audience would talk about your content unprompted, you’ve moved beyond marketing into relationship-building. That’s how you grow brand equity.

From Overwhelmed to Overbooked

This week we launched a new social strategy for one of New York’s top luxury real estate brokerages and we’re taking over the stuff and things to make it happen. Their team had been juggling content, listings, and office management with no real plan in place. (Gentle reminder that marketing is not a side hustle!)

Our solution? A forward thinking system that puts brand standards, luxury listings, and top-performing agents front and center, while taking the daily “what do we post?” off their plate.

One of the biggest missed opportunities in real estate marketing, or any industry with a vast network of contributors, is brand cohesion. When everyone posts their own version of “luxury,” the brand gets diluted. The key is to centralize creative direction and automate consistency, using shared templates, tone guides, and tiered content calendars. This not only strengthens brand recognition but also reduces burnout for office leaders who wear too many hats. Strategy is the highest form of service.

Growing Leaders Who Grow Clients

Ok, can we talk about ourselves for a minute?

At Plum, we believe marketing leadership starts with actual leadership. So, we launched our own internal development program to help our team grow alongside our clients.

We’re talking real, personalized, thoughtful training, designed to build confidence, communication, operational excellence and clarity. (side note, if anyone reading this is looking for great executive coaching – check out our great friend and trusted resource Kelly Scheer.)

In most agencies (heck, most companies), leadership development is reactionary, it happens after burnout or turnover. We take a proactive approach, borrowing from EOS’s People Component: right people, right seats. When you invest in leadership education before people “need” it, you create a team that anticipates client needs, thinks like owners, and runs more efficient meetings. The ROI isn’t just retention, it’s smarter, more autonomous decision-making across every account.

Grit and Precision

Finally, we partnered with our client Manson Reamers on something special: the packaging, storytelling, and launch plan for their newest precision-engineered product.

Family-owned. Michigan-built. Aerospace-level accuracy.
We’re crafting a launch that reflects who they are, independent, steeped in heritage, expert craftsmen, and quietly excellent.

In manufacturing marketing, storytelling often gets lost behind specs and data sheets, but it shouldn’t. The companies that win long-term are those that connect craftsmanship to culture. We treat every product launch like a brand launch, because buyers don’t just want to know what a product does; they also want to know who made it and why it matters (remember the voice note test?) When you build emotion into precision, you turn products into legacies.

The Thread That Ties It All Together

This week’s throughline? Clarity.

Whether it’s running an EOS Quarterly, building leadership from the inside out, or crafting stories that connect across industries, strategy isn’t something we talk about once a quarter. It’s how we operate.

Clarity scales. When every team member, client, and campaign operates from shared definitions and expectations, efficiency follows. That’s the quiet advantage of running with a Fractional CMO model, you gain senior-level alignment without the full-time overhead, giving your team both the strategy and structure they need to execute confidently.

Very good. Worth having.

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