AI-Enabled Marketing & Campaign Strategy

AI-Enabled Content, Campaign, and CMO Support for Fifty & Fifty

A Marketing System Built For Urgent Pipeline & Sustainable Growth

AI-Enabled Content, Campaign, and CMO Support for Fifty & Fifty

Services Offered

For many small-to-mid digital agencies, growth has been a byproduct of qualitative, custom-focused service. For the better part of the last decade, there was a natural, very organic growth trajectory—the type that could sustain proactive hiring and profitability.

Scaling now, especially for the small-to-mid, has to be much more intentional and strategically owned, top-down.

Fifty & Fifty, a mission-driven org focused agency based in the United States, exemplifies the trend. They have an excellent portfolio of recognizable brands (United Way, Susan G. Komen), and had for years grown through recurring work, referrals, and word of mouth. After significant nonprofit funding was cut in the United States at the federal level, they had to make a change.

Organic growth as a customer-focused byproduct of competitive work done well had seemingly met its arc. Fifty & Fifty’s Managing Director and CEO tuned to Axelerant through the “Bureau of Digital,” a professional network of digital agency professionals, and an initial phase of a fractional CMO-powered campaign began in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The Problem

Key Challenges in Scaling Internal Marketing Operations

Fifty & Fifty, despite their industry reputation for delivering mission-driven campaigns, faced internal constraints that hindered their ability to market themselves effectively. Their challenges included:

 


Bandwidth & Leadership Constraints

 

  • Lack of Strategic Oversight: No senior marketing leader to own campaign direction and decision-making.

  • Internal Team Overload: Existing team was overstretched, making it difficult to execute consistent marketing operations.


Inefficient Content Production

 

  • High Production Time: Blog creation required 10–12 hours per post, slowing content velocity and limiting scalability.

  • No Scalable Process: Content development was manual, inconsistent, and heavily dependent on individual contributors.

 


Disconnected Marketing Rhythm

 

  • Ad-Hoc Execution: Marketing efforts lacked cohesion, sequence, or clear goals.

  • Unclear Distribution Cadence: Social content was sporadic, leading to diminished visibility and brand inconsistency.

 


Underperforming Organic Channels

 

  • Slow Inbound SEO: Blog-driven traffic was increasing too slowly to meet pipeline goals.

  • Low Social ROI: Company page posts yielded low engagement; there was no formal advocacy or amplification model.

The Solution

Strategic Leadership, AI-Augmented Content, and Campaign Innovation

 

Axelerant introduced a comprehensive approach combining leadership, automation, and campaign execution to resolve both operational and performance issues.


Fractional CMO Leadership

 

  • Audited Existing Efforts: Identified what needed to be paused, improved, or overhauled.

  • Established Operational Clarity: Defined roles and workflows across blog, SEO, and social media channels.
  • Executive Alignment: Regular syncs with key stakeholders (e.g., Jevan and Nicole) ensured momentum and accountability.



AI + Human Content System

  • Custom GPT Trained on Brand DNA: Infused with brand narratives, tone guides, and audience-specific pain points.

  • Factual Validation Mandate: All AI output was required to link to credible sources, reducing hallucinations.

  • Hybrid Workflow Integration: Combined GPT-driven drafting with human review, resulting in high-quality, on-brand content in half the time.


Lead Generation Campaign: The Nonprofit Peer Report

  • Survey as Content Engine: Designed to collect insights from nonprofit leaders and convert them into lead-generating content.

  • Cross-Partner Distribution: Collaborated with Virtuos CRM, HubSpot, and Community Boost for campaign amplification.

  • Live Activation Moment: Timed launch with CEO Jevan’s speaking event to boost visibility and credibility.


Social Media & Advocacy Program

  • Team-Based Amplification: Rolled out suggested repost prompts and caption templates for internal stakeholders.

  • Validated Results: Rose’s reposts achieved stronger reach and engagement than official company page posts.

  • Maintained Hygiene Posting: Published carousels, single images, and survey content monthly to maintain brand activity.

The Impact

Improved Lead Quality, Faster Content, and Internal Marketing Confidence

Fifty & Fifty experienced significant improvements in lead generation, production efficiency, and cross-team alignment.


Accelerated Lead Generation

  • 165+ survey participants contributed to campaign success.
  • 55 qualified leads (SQLs) generated from the campaign in less than two months.
  • $100K+ opportunity (American Lung Association), as an example.
  • Inbound SQL generation month-on-month after publishing the final (gated) Report.


Operational Efficiency Gains


  • Content Production Time Cut in Half: From 12 hours to ~5–6 hours per blog.
  • Sustainable Editorial Cadence: Enabled a consistent publishing rhythm for the first time in months.


Channel Performance Uplift


  • Blog Traffic Boost: AI-assisted blogs outperformed legacy content by 3x in some cases.
  • Personalized Engagement: Team member posts drove higher interaction rates than official page content.


Strategic Readiness


  • Internal Enablement: Staff became confident using AI workflows and aligned content frameworks.
  • Reusable Systems: Follow-up email automation (using peer benchmark comparisons) scaled post-campaign engagement.

"Working with Nathan (Fractional CMO from Axelerant) was invaluable for me and my team. He brought so much to the table—not just his own deep expertise across different channels and tactics, but the whole breadth of his team’s skills. What really stood out to me was Nathan’s collaborative spirit. He was so flexible, adapting to whatever we needed and jumping in wherever there was a gap. Beyond the day-to-day execution, his strategic thinking stood out. He really gets that strategy is about having an “informed opinion on how to win.” Most of all, I valued his ability to reframe challenges, cut through noise, and uncover strengths that helped us build real value."

Rebekah Walker, Managing Director, Fifty & Fifty