for small and medium-sized DTC brands, e-Commerce businesses, and Creative Agencies

Fractional Marketing & Operations Teams 

A&R Studio builds and manages top-performing fractional in-house teams so your business gets all the benefits of highly effective talent with none of the overhead.

We are not an Agency or a Management Consulting team. We don’t bill by the hour and we don’t reward ourselves with more of your money just for doing our jobs correctly.

We are experienced marketing and operations leaders who have lived your challenges and know how to solve them. We create tailored teams that operate as part of your organization, and we evaluate ourselves based on your business outcomes, not our own. We scale based on the value we deliver, not how much media we can buy, how many videos we can create, how many products we can order, or how many SOPs we can write.

Everything you need.
Nothing that you don’t.

Your in-house fractional team:

Marketing & Operations

…go together like glitter and vacuum cleaners.

But actually, the vast majority of hard-to solve problems at most DTC, eComm, or Agency businesses can be boiled down to either a marketing challenge, an operational shortcoming, or often, a combination of the two.

…even if one is always cleaning up after the other (we’ll let you decide which).

Venn diagram comparing marketing and operations functions with overlapping strategies for strategy, efficiency, GTM planning, CX, and packaging in the center.

What We Do

Fractional Leadership

Whether you need a part-time CMO, an experienced COO, or just someone to oversee a specific project, team, or area of your company, we have the know-how to solve problems, create processes, and operate as an in-house advocate for your business.

Fractional Team Building

You need teams of specialists to compete, but hiring 20 people full-time doesn’t make sense for everyone. We build part-time teams that are 100% tailored to the needs of the business or the project at hand, and work with them to deliver the right outcomes.

Fractional Consultation

Maybe you just need a little advice, or someone to sit with one of your agencies and audit their performance, or to negotiate a new contract with a vendor. We can step in on your behalf and lighten your workload while delivering the results you want.

Go-to-Market (GTM) Planning

We coordinate cross-functional product launches that connect marketing, operations, and logistics. From packaging timelines to campaign rollout, we ensure every launch is cohesive, timely, and customer-ready.

Efficiency Audits

We identify disconnects between departments, processes that are breaking down, and platforms that slow down your business. Then we recommend practical changes that increase clarity, reduce redundancies, and unlock growth.

Customer Experience Mapping (CX)

We align backend operations with consumer expectations. From shipping speed and returns to unboxing and customer service, we help improve the moments that shape how customers perceive and remember your brand.

Marketing Capabilities

Whether you need to build a brand from the ground up or just get a little help dialing in your performance marketing efforts, we build a team that is tailored to you.

  • We craft brand platforms that go beyond their looks. Our work aligns business goals with audience needs, covering everything from positioning and values to messaging and visual identity. The result is a foundation that drives growth, builds differentiation, and supports consistency across every touchpoint.

  • We create integrated marketing plans that connect every stage of the customer journey. Whether the focus is awareness, acquisition, or retention, we align objectives, tactics, timelines, and budgets to deliver measurable results from first impression to final conversion.

  • We plan and manage media across digital and traditional channels, aligning spend with the platforms that matter most. From Meta, Google, and TikTok to CTV, out-of-home, and earned media, we build channel strategies that connect with your audience and support your business goals. Every dollar has a job to do, and we make sure it delivers.

  • We grow your presence where your audience is already active. From content calendars and creative production to publishing and community management, we ensure your social media efforts are consistent, relevant, and strategically driven.

  • We are fluent in all the performance acronyms out there — CPA, CAC, LTV, ROAS, AOV, TTC, CTR — and a few that are our little secrets (NMPDS is a personal favorite). The trick is knowing when to use them and how to take decisive action to drive real growth.

  • We produce creative that informs, entertains, and converts. We take concepts from idea to final delivery across every channel in the playbook, no matter if it’s a CTV spot, a blog post, a packaging design, an experience, or a next-gen retail concept.

Operations Capabilities

Our teams can help you get a product from the whiteboard to the warehouse, or we can help you streamline the operations you’re already building.

  • We help translate customer insights and category trends into actionable product development roadmaps. From early concepting to post-launch feedback loops, we make sure every product aligns with brand goals, customer expectations, and operational realities.

  • We bridge the gap between product vision and supply chain execution. Whether you're working with one supplier or ten, we help manage timelines, troubleshoot issues, and ensure partners are delivering on time, on budget, and on spec.

  • We bring clarity and control to sourcing, production, and delivery. By identifying bottlenecks and improving communication between teams and vendors, we help you move faster, reduce delays, and make smarter inventory decisions.

  • We help streamline pick, pack, and ship operations to support both customer experience and bottom-line performance. Whether you're scaling DTC, wholesale, or retail, we help your backend run as smoothly as your brand looks on the front end.

  • We work with your team to improve forecasting, reduce overstock and stockouts, and ensure you're making informed decisions with your working capital. Our goal is to support growth without the growing pains.

  • We design and refine the systems that keep marketing, sales, and operations aligned. From weekly planning cadences to cross-functional roles and responsibilities, we build processes that scale as you do.

Who We Are

  • Andrew Cagan

    Co-Founder and Lead CMO

    Andrew is a Brand, Marketing, and Advertising executive with nearly 20 years of experience across VC and PE-backed companies and elite creative agencies.

    He has run in-house Marketing departments and teams, repositioned and resuscitated legacy brands, launched new businesses and products, led strategy orgs, and, armed with a formal design education from the Rhode Island School of Design, has worked as a successful Creative Director.

    As the Co-Founder and lead Fractional CMO of A+R Studios, he leverages this wide array of experience to embed himself in his clients’ businesses, investigate their needs, and build teams that can quickly and effectively help them meet their goals.

  • Robin Cagan

    Co-Founder and Lead COO

    Robin is an Operations and Logistics executive with roughly 20 years of experience helping launch VC-backed brands and run multinational businesses, with a focus on the beauty sector.

    As a first-five hire at four different startups, and an executive leader at three global companies, she has led end-to-end operations across logistics, supply chain, inventory, customer experience, and warehouse strategy—working hands-on to solve complex challenges and drive sustainable growth. Known for her collaborative and practical approach, she’s built and managed teams from startup stage to 40+ people, and consistently transforms reactive operations into scalable systems.

    As the Co-Founder and lead Fractional COO of A+R Studio, she is uniquely capable of getting businesses up and running or helping to improve the strategies they’ve already put in place

Who We’ve Worked With

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