Honest Answers to
the Questions Everyone Asks
No runaround, no "it depends" without explanation. If you're evaluating Axis or just trying to understand what a marketing engagement actually looks like, this is the place to start.
About axis creative consulting
About Axis
8 questionsAxis Creative Consulting is a Fort Lauderdale-based marketing consultancy that builds integrated marketing systems for early-stage brands, growing businesses, and ambitious founders. We specialise in digital marketing, SEO, email and SMS marketing, brand strategy, creative event experiences, tradeshow management, and fractional CMO services.
The difference between Axis and a traditional agency is accountability. We don't just execute campaigns — we own the strategy, report directly to leadership, and measure our work against revenue outcomes, not activity metrics.
Scott Murphy is the founder of Axis Creative Consulting and the strategist behind every engagement. With over 10 years of experience leading marketing for brands across eCommerce, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and professional services, Scott has built SMS programs generating over $1.2M in revenue, driven 340% organic traffic growth for B2B companies, and launched products that hit $2M+ in first-year sales.
When you work with Axis, you work directly with Scott — not an account manager passing notes to a junior team.
Axis is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We work with clients across the United States and are comfortable with fully remote engagements — the majority of our clients operate entirely through video calls, Slack, and shared project management tools. For event and tradeshow management, we travel as the project requires.
Axis works best with brands that are ready to move — not ones still figuring out whether marketing is worth investing in. Specifically, we work well with:
- Early-stage brands building their marketing foundation for the first time
- Growing businesses with revenue but no dedicated marketing leadership
- Established companies that have tried agencies and found them too disconnected from business outcomes
- Founders and operators who need a strategic partner, not just a vendor
We work across B2B and B2C, product and service businesses. The common thread is ambition — clients who want compounding results, not one-off campaigns.
We've built proven results across eCommerce, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, professional services, property management, and animal health. Each industry has different marketing dynamics — compliance requirements, buyer psychology, channel preferences — and we understand those nuances rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
That said, strong marketing strategy travels across industries. If your category isn't listed above, a quick strategy call will tell you whether we're the right fit.
Four meaningful differences:
- Direct accountability — you work with Scott directly, not an account manager relaying information to a junior team
- Outcome orientation — we measure success in revenue, leads, and pipeline, not impressions or engagement rates
- Honest scoping — we only take engagements where we believe we can deliver meaningful results; if we're not the right fit, we'll tell you
- Intentionally small roster — we limit active clients to ensure every engagement gets real strategic attention, not templated execution
We keep our active client roster intentionally small. The exact number varies, but the principle is consistent: we never take on more work than we can execute at the standard we hold ourselves to. This is why clients consistently renew — and why we have a 95% client retention rate.
If we're at capacity when you reach out, we'll be straightforward about it and discuss timelines for when we can take on new work.
Both. Some of our best work has been with brands at the very beginning — when the positioning, systems, and channels are being built from scratch. There's a real advantage to getting the foundation right from day one rather than having to undo bad habits later.
The only criterion is readiness — not revenue stage. We need a client who is clear on what problem they're solving, committed to the process, and ready to act on the strategy we build.
working with axis
Working With Axis
8 questionsEvery engagement follows the same four-stage framework:
- Diagnose — full marketing audit, competitive landscape, biggest opportunities, and most urgent gaps
- Strategise — a clear, sequenced plan with priorities, timelines, and success metrics, approved before execution begins
- Execute — we run every play, with weekly optimisation and real-time reporting
- Compound — building systems and assets that get more valuable over time, not campaigns that stop when spending pauses
Typically within 1–2 weeks of signing an agreement. Week 1 is access, onboarding, and audit initiation. Week 2 is initial findings. By the end of month 1, you'll have a clear picture of where you are and what we're building.
The first 30 days are entirely focused on diagnosis and strategy. We don't execute anything until we understand exactly what we're building and why:
- Full audit of your current marketing — channels, content, tech stack, analytics, and competitive position
- Leadership alignment session to understand your business goals, growth targets, and constraints
- 90-day strategy roadmap built and presented
- KPIs and reporting framework established
- Quick wins identified and scheduled for immediate execution
- Weekly async updates — performance summary, priorities for the coming week, anything that needs your input
- Monthly strategy sessions — 60-minute deep review of performance, roadmap adjustments, and next-month planning
- Quarterly leadership reviews — executive-level summary suitable for board-level reporting
- Direct Slack access — strategic questions don't wait until the next scheduled call
- Month 1: Higher involvement — expect 2–4 hours for audit, strategy session, and alignment meetings
- Ongoing: 1–2 hours per month for the strategy review and approvals
- Day-to-day: Essentially none — we run execution independently and only pull you in for decisions that require your input
- Access to existing marketing channels and analytics (Google Analytics, ad platforms, email platform, CRM)
- A 60-minute onboarding call to understand your business, goals, and constraints
- Any existing brand materials, past campaign data, or performance benchmarks
- Clarity on your decision-making process — who needs to approve what, and how fast
If some of these don't exist yet, that's fine — we'll build the foundation as part of the engagement.
Both, depending on the engagement. Most Axis engagements are full-service — strategy and execution managed end-to-end. We don't hand you a strategy deck and disappear. For some clients with larger internal teams, the engagement is strategy and oversight. The right model depends on what you already have in place.
We adjust. Good strategy is a hypothesis until the data confirms or challenges it. The monthly review cycle exists so we can respond to what we're seeing, not keep executing a plan the data has already told us to change.
If results are below expectations, we bring that to the table directly — with an honest diagnosis of why and a concrete plan to course-correct. You'll always know exactly where things stand.
services – general
Services — General
6 questions- Digital Marketing — paid media, social, SEO, analytics
- Search Engine Optimization — technical SEO, content strategy, authority building
- Email & SMS Marketing — platform setup, automation, campaigns, list growth
- Branding & Design — positioning, identity system, messaging, brand guidelines
- Creative Event Experiences — brand activations, corporate events, industry conferences
- Tradeshow Management — full lifecycle from strategy through post-show follow-up
- Fractional CMO — embedded marketing leadership for growing businesses
One is fine. We run single-service engagements regularly. The only caveat: some services naturally amplify each other, and we'll tell you if there's a meaningful case for combining them — but we won't push it just to increase scope.
Both. Some services are naturally project-based (brand identity, tradeshow management, website redesign). Others are inherently ongoing (SEO, email and SMS, Fractional CMO). We structure the engagement to match what the work actually requires.
Yes, and often this is the best-fit scenario. An internal team with strong executional capability but no senior strategic leadership benefits most from a Fractional CMO or strategy-focused engagement. We plug in at the leadership level — building the roadmap, managing the team, and holding strategy accountable — while the in-house team handles day-to-day execution. We're not here to replace your team. We're here to make them more effective.
Yes. We've worked as the strategic layer behind agency execution — providing positioning, messaging strategy, and campaign direction while a production-focused agency handles creative output. If you're an agency looking for a senior strategic partner for a specific client engagement, reach out.
Website strategy and oversight — yes. Full website design and development projects — selectively, where there's a clear marketing strategy behind them (SEO architecture, conversion optimisation, brand alignment). For clients who need a full web development team, we work with trusted partners and can manage the engagement on your behalf.
search engine optimization
Search Engine Optimization
8 questions- Technical SEO audit and full remediation
- Keyword research and strategy mapped to commercial intent
- On-page optimisation across all target pages
- Content strategy and production built around keyword opportunities
- Authority building through structured link acquisition
- Monthly reporting with ranking data, traffic attribution, and pipeline impact
Meaningful movement typically starts in months 3–5 and compounds from there:
- Months 1–2: Technical foundation fixed, architecture set, keyword strategy mapped
- Months 3–4: First keyword movements. Some pages hitting page 2 or low page 1
- Months 5–8: Multiple page-1 rankings. Organic traffic a meaningful contributor
- Month 12+: Compounding returns. Content built in month 3 still generating traffic without additional cost
Anyone promising page-1 rankings in 30 days is targeting keywords nobody searches for.
No — and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. Google's algorithm is not under our control. What we guarantee is the quality and consistency of the work. What we can point to is our track record: 340% organic traffic growth for Tri-Source Pharma, 40+ keywords in top-3 positions, multiple #1 rankings for primary category terms — all within 12 months.
Yes. Local SEO requires specific tactics that differ from general organic SEO — Google Business Profile optimisation, local citation building, location-specific page architecture, and review management. If your business depends on appearing in local search, local SEO is a distinct priority and we build the program accordingly.
No. We build SEO programs on white-hat fundamentals — technical health, genuine content value, and earned authority. We don't buy links, use private blog networks, or stuff keywords. These shortcuts might produce short-term movements but create long-term risk. We're building assets that compound over years, not quick wins that collapse with the next algorithm update.
Yes. We have direct experience building SEO and content programs within regulated industries — including pharmaceutical, where content must be accurate, defensible, and free of prohibited claims. We build a compliance framework before any content is written and work within whatever legal or regulatory constraints your industry requires.
The free audit is a diagnostic — it tells you what's wrong and what to prioritise. It's actionable on its own. A full SEO engagement is execution: we build the strategy, create the content, fix the technical issues, build the authority, and report on results every month. The audit shows you the map. The engagement drives the car.
- Keyword rankings — movement for target terms across all priority pages
- Organic traffic — sessions, new users, and growth trends by page and category
- Click-through rate — how often your listings are clicked when shown
- Organic conversions — leads, form fills, and calls attributed to organic traffic
- Pipeline contribution — revenue influenced by organic search
- Domain authority — overall strength of your site in Google's view
email & sms marketing
Email & SMS Marketing
7 questions- Platform selection, setup, and integration with your eCommerce or CRM platform
- List growth strategy and opt-in mechanism design
- Automation architecture — welcome series, abandoned cart, post-purchase, win-back flows
- Campaign calendar and content production
- A/B testing framework applied to every send
- Compliance setup (CAN-SPAM, TCPA, state-specific SMS regulations)
- Monthly reporting with revenue attribution tied to specific sends and automations
We work across the major email and SMS platforms — Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Attentive, Postscript, and others. Platform selection is part of the engagement — we recommend the right tool for your tech stack and use case rather than defaulting to whichever platform we prefer.
We build them — full automation architecture including flow logic, trigger conditions, branch rules, timing, and content. If you have an existing automation setup that needs improvement rather than a rebuild, we audit and optimise that instead.
Absolutely — an existing list is a head start. We'll start with a list health audit: engagement rates by segment, deliverability issues, suppression hygiene, and re-engagement opportunities. One note: if your list hasn't been emailed consistently, there's a warm-up process required before high-volume sends to protect deliverability.
Faster than most channels. Welcome automations and abandoned cart flows can be live within the first 30 days and generate revenue from day one. The DiscountMugs SMS program saw its first attributable revenue in week 3 of launch. Unlike SEO, which compounds over months, owned channel automations produce results almost immediately once the infrastructure is in place.
Deliverability is foundational — an email that doesn't reach the inbox has zero ROI. Our approach covers technical setup (DKIM, DMARC, SPF authentication), list hygiene (regular suppression of unengaged subscribers), sending cadence management, and domain reputation monitoring. We treat deliverability as infrastructure, not an afterthought.
Yes — and this is where the real leverage is. Email and SMS are most powerful as a unified owned-channel program. The list growth strategy feeds both. The campaign calendar is coordinated so they complement rather than compete with each other. Cross-channel subscribers (opted into both) are typically your highest-value audience segment.
branding & design
Branding & Design
6 questions- Brand positioning and messaging strategy
- Competitive positioning analysis
- Brand voice and tone guidelines
- Visual identity system — logo suite, colour palette, typography, iconography, design components
- Brand standards documentation
- Collateral templates — business cards, presentations, social media templates
- Rollout support and implementation guidance
We don't design logos in isolation. Every visual decision is grounded in a clear strategic brief first so the identity reflects real commercial intent.
Yes. A brand audit is the starting point either way. Sometimes what's needed is a full rebuild — new positioning, new visual identity, new messaging architecture. Other times the core equity is strong and what's needed is refinement: modernising the visual system, sharpening the messaging, creating consistency across touchpoints. We'll be direct about which applies after the audit.
Typically 6–10 weeks from kickoff to final delivery, depending on scope and decision speed. The process includes discovery and positioning (weeks 1–2), visual direction development (weeks 2–4), refinement rounds (weeks 4–7), and final delivery with brand documentation (weeks 8–10). Three rounds of revisions are included.
We can, but we'll be honest about the limitations: a logo without a positioning strategy, brand voice, or visual system is a graphic, not a brand. If budget or timeline requires scoping down to the visual identity only, we can work within that — but we'll make sure the strategic foundation is at least outlined so the design is directionally coherent.
A positioning and discovery workshop — typically a 90-minute session where we get into your business, customers, competitors, and ambitions. From that session we extract the strategic brief that drives all subsequent design decisions. You don't need to come prepared with a creative brief or visual references — just clarity on what your business does and who it's for.
All primary formats your team will need: vector source files (AI, EPS, SVG), high-resolution raster files (PNG with transparent backgrounds, JPG), and web-optimised versions. Logo variations for light, dark, and single-colour use are all included. Brand documentation is delivered as a PDF guidelines document your team and vendors can work from.
Events & Tradeshows
Events & Tradeshows
7 questions- Brand activations — consumer-facing experiences designed for emotional connection and shareability
- Corporate events — client appreciation, team retreats, conferences, and relationship-building experiences
- Industry conferences — thought-leadership events with speaker curation, sponsor management, and attendee programming
- Tradeshow management — full lifecycle from pre-show strategy through post-show lead follow-up
- Pre-show: Strategy, goals, booth design brief, marketing materials, pre-show outreach, and staff briefing
- During: On-site management, lead capture setup, staff coordination, and real-time problem solving
- Post-show: Lead scoring, follow-up sequence setup, CRM integration, and full ROI reporting
Most brands treat the tradeshow as the end of the process. The post-show follow-up is where the ROI actually materialises — and it's what most teams skip.
We manage the design brief and vendor coordination for booth design, graphics, and production. We work with vetted exhibit houses and production vendors and manage the relationship on your behalf — from spec development through install and dismantle. You get one point of contact rather than managing multiple vendors directly.
Yes. We manage events nationally. Travel is factored into project scope and discussed transparently during planning. For tradeshows at major industry venues — Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, New York — we have established vendor relationships in those markets.
For tradeshows, 8–12 weeks minimum for a well-executed engagement — earlier if booth design and production are involved. For brand activations and corporate events, 10–16 weeks is typical. If you're coming to us with less lead time, be upfront about it on the call — we'll tell you honestly what's achievable.
Absolutely — and this is one of the most underserved parts of any event investment. We build the post-event follow-up system as part of the scope: lead scoring, personalised follow-up sequences, CRM integration, and pipeline reporting. An event that generates 200 contacts and no follow-up plan is a wasted investment.
We set the measurement framework before the event. Metrics typically include lead volume and quality, qualified pipeline generated within 30/60/90 days, cost per qualified lead vs channel benchmarks, brand impression and reach, and revenue influenced by event-sourced contacts over a 6-month window. Every event gets a post-event ROI report within 2 weeks of close.
fractional cmo
Fractional CMO
7 questionsA Fractional CMO is a senior marketing executive who works with your company on a part-time, retained basis — providing the strategic leadership and accountability of a full-time Chief Marketing Officer at a fraction of the cost. The key difference from a consultant: a Fractional CMO owns the strategy, sits in leadership meetings, manages the marketing function, and is accountable to revenue outcomes.
- Growing without marketing leadership — revenue is climbing but there's no senior marketing ownership in the room
- Can't justify a full-time CMO yet — a full-time CMO costs $180K+ before benefits; you need the expertise without the full-time overhead
- Preparing for a big move — fundraise, new market entry, or major product launch that requires board-ready marketing strategy
- Full marketing strategy ownership and quarterly roadmap
- Monthly strategy sessions with leadership team
- Internal team hiring support and management oversight
- Agency and vendor selection and management
- Budget planning and allocation
- Board and investor-level marketing reporting
- Multi-channel campaign oversight and optimisation
- Brand strategy and positioning ownership
- Weekly async check-ins and direct Slack access
Engagements are structured around outcomes rather than hours — the right amount of time to do the strategy and oversight work properly. Always included regardless of scope: monthly leadership sessions, weekly async reporting, board-ready quarterly summaries, and direct access for decisions that can't wait for a scheduled call.
- A consultant delivers a strategy deck. A Fractional CMO executes the strategy and is accountable when results don't land.
- A consultant works project-by-project. A Fractional CMO is embedded with ongoing context and accountability.
- A consultant has no seat at the leadership table. A Fractional CMO is in the room when marketing decisions are made.
Yes — this is one of the most common configurations. We provide strategic direction and management oversight while the internal team handles day-to-day execution. We set the roadmap, run planning sessions, review work against strategy, and hold the team accountable to outcomes. Your team gets better, faster, and clearer about what they're building toward.
- Week 1: Full marketing audit. Biggest opportunities identified. Quick wins mapped.
- Week 2: 90-day strategy roadmap built and presented to leadership. Priorities agreed.
- Week 3: Execution begins. Team and vendors briefed. Reporting framework set up.
- Week 4: First performance report delivered. Leadership alignment session. Month 2 plan locked.
free seo audit
The Free SEO Audit
7 questions- Technical SEO health check — site speed, crawlability, indexation errors, Core Web Vitals, mobile usability, broken links
- Keyword gap analysis — what you're ranking for vs what you should be ranking for, with highest-opportunity gaps identified
- On-page optimisation review — title tags, meta descriptions, header structure, content quality across top pages
- Backlink profile assessment — domain authority, link quality, toxic links, and competitive link gap
- Competitor comparison — how you stack up against your top 3 competitors and what they're doing better
- Prioritised action plan — what to fix first, ranked by impact vs effort
Yes, completely free. No credit card, no obligation to hire us, no follow-up sales calls unless you request one. The honest reason we offer it: it's the best way to start a relationship. If we do a thorough, useful audit and it demonstrates how we think and work, some of those people will want to engage us to act on the findings. If you take the audit and implement everything yourself, that's great — it means the audit was genuinely useful, which is the whole point.
Scott Murphy — the same person who would be running your SEO engagement if you hired us. Not a junior analyst, not an automated tool with your URL pasted into it. A real strategist reviews your site against 50+ SEO factors, maps your competitive landscape, and writes a personalised report for your specific business.
Within 48 hours of submission — in most cases faster. You'll receive a detailed, personalised report in your inbox, not a generic template with your domain name swapped in.
Absolutely. The audit is written to be actionable without hiring us. If you have a developer who can address technical issues, a content team to implement on-page recommendations, and the bandwidth to build links — take the audit and run with it. If after receiving the audit you'd like to discuss engaging Axis to execute the recommendations, we'll schedule a strategy call. No pressure either way.
Just your URL, your industry or business category, your work email, and optionally your biggest current SEO challenge. That's enough for a comprehensive audit. We don't need Google Analytics or Search Console access to do the initial assessment — though if you'd like to share access, it adds context to the traffic data we can include.
You receive it, review it, and decide what you want to do with it. If you'd like to discuss the findings or have Axis implement the recommendations, you can book a strategy call. If you'd rather take it and act independently, that's completely fine — no follow-up pressure from us.
free strategy call
The Free Strategy Call
7 questions- We diagnose your biggest bottleneck — identifying where your marketing is leaking and where the highest-leverage opportunity is right now
- You get a clear next step — a specific channel recommendation, an action to take this week, and a picture of what success looks like for your brand
- We tell you if we're a fit — if Axis can help you get where you're going, we'll explain how; if we're not the right partner, we'll tell you who is
No. The call is genuinely designed to be useful whether or not you hire us. If there's a fit, we'll mention it — but the conversation is diagnostic, not a pitch. You won't leave feeling like you sat through a 30-minute sales presentation dressed up as a consultation. If the call isn't genuinely useful, you should leave.
Scott Murphy, founder of Axis Creative Consulting. Not an intake coordinator, not a junior salesperson. The person you speak with on the strategy call is the strategist who would work with you if you engaged us.
Nothing. Show up ready to talk about your business — what you do, what problem you're trying to solve, what's not working, and what success looks like. We'll bring the framework. You don't need a brief, a deck, or any specific data prepared.
Video call — Google Meet or Zoom, your preference. 30 minutes. You'll receive a calendar invite with the link after booking. If you'd prefer a phone call, mention that when you book and we'll accommodate it.
That's exactly what the call is for. Most people who book know they need help but aren't sure what kind — agency, consultant, fractional CMO, specific service. We'll diagnose your situation and tell you what the highest-leverage move is, whether that involves Axis or not. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you who to call instead.
We'll put together a proposal within 48 hours — scope, timeline, and pricing, specific to what we discussed. You review it, ask questions, and decide. No pressure, no artificial deadlines, no "this offer expires Friday" tactics. If timing isn't right, we'll stay in touch for when it is.
pricing & contracts
Pricing & Contracts
7 questionsPricing is scoped to the engagement. There's a wide range depending on the service, scope, and whether it's project-based or a retainer. We discuss pricing transparently on the strategy call so there are no surprises. Directionally: we're not the cheapest option, and we're not priced like a large agency. We price for the quality and accountability of senior-level work — which, compared to hiring a full-time marketing leader, is almost always significantly more cost-effective.
We don't bill hourly. Engagements are structured as fixed-scope projects or monthly retainers. This means you know exactly what you're paying and what you're getting — no surprise invoices based on how many emails were exchanged in a given week.
For ongoing services, we typically structure an initial 3-month engagement minimum. This reflects the reality of the work: most marketing strategies need 90 days to produce meaningful data to optimise against. Month-to-month arrangements after the initial period are available for established client relationships. Project-based engagements don't have ongoing contract terms.
Retainer engagements: monthly invoicing, due at the start of each month. Project-based work: typically 50% upfront and 50% upon project completion, with specific milestones defined in the agreement. Payment accepted via bank transfer or credit card.
Strategy, execution, reporting, and communication are included in the engagement fee. Billed separately (or handled directly by you): advertising spend for paid media, software and platform subscriptions, paid distribution costs, and third-party production costs. We're explicit about this in every proposal so you have a complete cost picture before signing.
Project-based: once begun, the scope is fixed. Retainer: subject to the notice period in the agreement (typically 30 days). We're fair about this — if something changes in your business that makes continuing impractical, we'll find a reasonable solution. We've never had to hold a client hostage to a contract.
For the right engagement and the right client, yes — we're open to a performance component on top of a base retainer. This works best in eCommerce or lead-generation scenarios where revenue attribution is clean and measurable. Pure performance-only structures don't work for us (or most serious clients) because they create incentives that can conflict with long-term brand health.
results & reporting
Results & Reporting
6 questions- Weekly async performance updates — what happened, what we're doing about it, what we need from you
- Monthly strategy sessions — deep performance review with channel-by-channel breakdown, roadmap adjustments, and next-month planning
- Quarterly executive summaries — board-ready reporting that connects marketing activity to business outcomes
We build dashboards that give you real-time visibility into the numbers that matter — not a PDF attachment with screenshots.
- Email & SMS automations: attributable revenue within 30 days
- Paid media: traffic immediately once live
- SEO: meaningful movement starts months 3–5, compounds from there
- Brand work: intangible clarity immediately, measurable market impact over 6–12 months
We set explicit expectations on the strategy call before you commit to anything.
We can guarantee the quality of the work, the consistency of execution, and the honesty of reporting. We can't guarantee specific outcomes — results are affected by factors outside anyone's control. What we can point to is our track record: $1.2M+ SMS revenue built from zero, 340% organic traffic growth, $2M+ product launches. That's the standard of execution you're engaging.
- SEO: Keyword rankings, organic traffic, organic conversions, pipeline contribution
- Email & SMS: Revenue attributed, conversion rate, list growth, automation performance
- Paid media: ROAS, cost per lead, cost per acquisition, pipeline influenced
- Events: Leads generated, pipeline created, cost per qualified lead
- Brand: CTR on organic listings, conversion rate improvement, referral rate
- Fractional CMO: All of the above, plus marketing-sourced pipeline percentage
We bring it to the table directly — with an honest diagnosis of why and a concrete plan to course-correct. We don't spin underperformance or bury it in reports full of vanity metrics. If underperformance persists despite adjustments, we have a frank conversation about what's driving it — including whether factors outside marketing are contributing. You'll always know exactly where things stand.
Yes — our case studies section covers three detailed engagements: the DiscountMugs SMS program ($1.2M+ revenue built from zero), the Tri-Source Pharma SEO and website redesign (340% organic traffic growth), and the Sunshine Bouquet product launch ($2M+ first-year sales). Each includes the full story — challenge, strategy, execution, and results.