What we offer

So how can Sense & Forum® support you?

Five ways in, depending on how much you already know and how fast you need to move. Community you own outperforms reach you’re renting.

Planning out a service engagement

Audit and Redesign

We map every touchpoint where people actually experience your organisation: onboarding, communications, events, and the everyday rhythm that builds belonging or quietly lets it slip. Then we build on what's working and design around what isn't.

  • A full engagement and communications audit
  • A clear-eyed look at who's included, who isn't, and where
  • A rebuilt structure you can put into practice, not a slide deck

This is for you if

  • Your programme, community or event has plateaued, and you're ready to find out why
  • You want evidence before you rebuild, not another guess
  • You're ready to hear where the gaps actually are, warts and all

This isn’t for you if

  • You're after a cosmetic refresh rather than a structural rethink
  • You're not prepared to act on what the audit turns up
How we work
6–12 weeks · project-based
  • Diagnostic first, written findings report before any rebuild
  • Redesign delivered in phased checkpoints
  • Handover: what changed, why, what to watch

Fractional CMO

Embedded fractional CMO support on a rolling basis: senior judgement in the room, before the budget exists to hire for it internally. Fixed days per week or month, matched to your stage, with a monthly rhythm for setting direction, reviewing priorities and making decisions.

  • A dedicated fractional CMO for a fixed number of days per week or month
  • A monthly rhythm: direction set, priorities reviewed, decisions made
  • Scope reviewed at agreed intervals, not left open-ended

This is for you if

  • You need senior judgement in the room on an ongoing basis
  • You want a fixed, predictable rhythm rather than an hours bank
  • You're ready to make decisions at defined checkpoints

This isn’t for you if

  • You need day-to-day execution rather than strategic direction (see Growth Support and Community Management)
  • You're looking for a one-off project with a fixed end date (see Launch Partner)

Prefer strategic input from our founder directly, without the embedded team? Serena Gasparini also runs a separate advisory practice outside Sense & Forum. See her Advisory Retainer.

How we work
Monthly retainer · fixed days
  • Fixed days per week or month, matched to business stage
  • Monthly rhythm: direction set, priorities reviewed, decisions made
  • Scope reviewed at agreed intervals

Growth Support and Community Management

Hands-on execution against a strategy we've already agreed: posting, engagement, moderation and member support, delivered against a monthly deliverables list. Strategic calls get escalated to you, not made unilaterally, so direction always stays yours.

  • Execution against an agreed strategy: posting, engagement, moderation, member support
  • A monthly deliverables list, reviewed monthly
  • Strategic decisions escalated to you, not made unilaterally

This is for you if

  • You have a strategy in place and need consistent execution against it
  • You want minimal day-to-day input once direction is set
  • You're building a starting point before a bigger retainer or full build

This isn’t for you if

  • You need someone setting strategic direction, not just executing it (see Fractional CMO)
  • You don't yet have an agreed strategy to execute against (see Audit and Redesign)
How we work
Monthly retainer
  • Execution against an agreed strategy: posting, engagement, moderation, member support
  • Monthly deliverables list, reviewed monthly
  • Strategic calls escalated, not made unilaterally

Build Your Community, Programme or Event

A phased build for organisations moving quickly, whether that's a scaling business, a growing nonprofit or a community launching at pace. We design the architecture for your community, programme or event ahead of the growth curve, not scrambling to catch up with it.

  • A phased build plan sequenced to your growth curve
  • The full community, programme or event architecture
  • Hands-on delivery through launch, not just a strategy document

This is for you if

  • You're scaling fast and want the architecture built before growth outpaces it
  • You're launching something new and want it built right the first time
  • You want hands-on delivery through launch, not just a strategy deck

This isn’t for you if

  • You already have a working structure that just needs auditing (see Audit and Redesign)
  • You want ongoing embedded support rather than a phased build
How we work
3–6 months · phased
  • Diagnostic first: what this is for, who it's structurally for
  • Delivered in phases, working version before end
  • Framework handed over in a form your team can run

Launch Partner

Fractional Chief Marketing Officer work: strategy plus hands-on execution, delivered by our team, your team, or both. Built for young companies without the budget for a full-time CMO yet, and for teams launching or entering a new market who need senior marketing leadership in the room. We've led launches across FMCG, community platforms and startups. Different from Fractional CMO: this covers full marketing leadership on a fixed sprint with an endpoint, not an open-ended retainer.

  • A dedicated fractional CMO for the length of the sprint
  • A project manager and freelance specialists as needed: social, copy, events delivery, email marketing, production
  • A fixed 90-day plan with a clear end date and handover

This is for you if

  • You're launching or entering a new market and need senior marketing leadership fast
  • You want fixed-scope work with a clear end date, not an open-ended retainer
  • You don't have the budget for a full-time CMO yet

This isn’t for you if

  • You need ongoing, open-ended support (see Fractional CMO or Growth Support and Community Management)
  • You're not ready to move at a 90-day sprint pace
How we work
90-day sprint · fixed
  • Fixed 90-day sprint, one outcome: launch
  • Weekly checkpoints throughout
  • Handover: what launched, what to track, what's next

On investment

Investment varies by tier and scope: a starting point, not a fixed quote. Fractional CMO and community/programme builds are scoped individually, because the work varies with the size and stage of what we're building together. We don't discount scope that's already been agreed; if budget is the constraint, we adjust what's included, not the quality of the work.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find out what this will actually cost?

Book a discovery call. Fractional CMO and Build engagements are priced to the specific scope, business stage, and time commitment, not a fixed rate card, so pricing is set on the call once we know what we're actually solving for.

How is the price for my engagement actually set?

Off the scope, not the clock. We look at what stage you're at, what's already in place, and what the engagement needs to achieve, then price the work, not the hours it might take.

What happens after the discovery call?

You'll get a written scope and proposal matched to what we discussed, with a defined price and timeline. Nothing starts until that's agreed.

Can I start with a smaller engagement and move into something bigger later?

Yes. Growth Support and Audit & Redesign both work well as a starting point before a Fractional CMO retainer or a full community build: most ongoing relationships start smaller and scale once the fit is proven.

Do you work with early-stage businesses, or only established ones?

Both, with the engagement matched accordingly. Early-stage work tends to sit in Growth Support or an Audit; established organisations with more complexity tend to need Fractional CMO or a full build.

Is the Fractional CMO retainer a fixed number of hours?

It's set as days per week or month, agreed upfront and reviewed at intervals, not an hours bank that gets tracked and invoiced against.

What if the scope needs to change partway through?

We review scope at agreed points in every engagement. If more is needed, we scope the addition properly rather than absorbing it quietly or stalling the original work.

Do you offer one-off projects, or is everything a retainer?

Both. Audit & Redesign, Build, and Launch Partner are all fixed-scope projects. Fractional CMO and Growth Support are ongoing retainers.

How involved do I need to be day-to-day?

Depends on the tier. Fractional CMO and Build engagements need your decisions at defined checkpoints. Growth Support and Launch Partner are built to run with minimal day-to-day input from you once direction is set.

Can you work globally?

Yes: it's actually one of Serena's core skills. She's Australian, based in Cyprus, with years working in the UK for the Australian government and multiple citizenships along the way, so working across time zones, cultures and markets comes naturally. We work with clients across Australia, the US, the EU and the UK, with a team hired globally and built to work remotely.

Not sure which one you need?

Neither did most of our clients, before we talked it through.

Book a discovery call