Incite Creative, Inc. is a highly regarded marketing advisory firm that blends strategy and creativity to produce positive outcomes for its clients. For over 25 years, Incite Creative has helped brand, position, promote, and grow brand awareness and brand value for over 300 clients. Services include strategy and planning, marketing management, creative direction, brand management, and reporting and analysis. Incite CMOs fill the void when there is no marketing leadership at the table and work alongside others in the C-suite, offering executive-level guidance to help businesses grow. Led by President Dina Wasmer, Incite Creative celebrates 25 years in business this year.
Q1: 25 years is a significant milestone. What inspired you to start this company, and what was the landscape like for fractional CMOs at the time?
Our journey began in 2000 when we launched Incite Creative as a graphic design firm. However, within a year, we realized this label didn’t fully capture our value proposition. In our client meetings, it became clear that our approach was inherently more strategic than others in our space. We weren’t just creating visual solutions; we were asking deeper questions about target audiences and revenue goals and solving business problems. This realization led us to rebrand as a marketing and graphic design firm in our second year.
However, the most significant pivot came around 2010. I have to credit Jonathan Wachs, our IP attorney at the time, who planted the seed for this transition when I expressed interest in shifting toward consulting and advisory services. Following some internal team changes and adding Maria Fuster to head our digital marketing department, we made the decision to streamline the company and reposition ourselves as a fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) firm.
As for the landscape in 2010, fractional CMOs were virtually unheard of. While fractional CFOs had begun to emerge, marketing was still largely divided between traditional agencies and in-house teams. We were essentially stepping into uncharted territory, which allowed us to help define what the fractional CMO model could be.
Q2: You were one of the first fractional CMO firms in the Maryland region. How did you build credibility in an industry that wasn’t widely recognized back then?
While the 2008 financial crisis had opened doors for fractional CFOs, fractional CMOs wasn’t on many people’s radar. Fortunately, we weren’t starting from scratch — we had a decade of experience, strong local name recognition, and several prominent clients in our portfolio.
Our transition to the fractional model was born out of addressing a specific prospect’s challenge. A non-profit organization loved our capabilities but struggled with the traditional agency payment structure — typically a 33% upfront deposit followed by two large installments. Rather than turn them away, we innovated. We took the total project cost and spread it across 12 monthly payments. This allowed them to better manage their cash flow while providing us with predictable recurring revenue. The work pace was slightly slower, but it created a win-win situation that led to a multi-year relationship.
This success story became our proof of concept, demonstrating that alternative pricing models could work beautifully when aligned with client needs. It opened doors to more opportunities and helped establish our credibility in the emerging fractional executive space.
