I grew up between a writer and a journalist, learned alongside people who helped build Nubank, XP Investimentos, Mercado Livre and Itaú Digital, and sat in the key seats of a brand: design, marketing leadership, digital marketing and growth. Today I put all of that to work for companies that are already great at what they do, but still look small in what they show.
I don't arrive with a ready-made formula, and I don't leave after delivery. I step in as your company's brand director: I define what it needs to say, create how it will say it, and follow every piece until the market sees the value you've already built, or the one you want to build.
Breno Côrtes RomãoFractional Brand & Creative Director
Tap the ones that sound familiar.Click the ones that sound familiar.
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None of these is solved with more deliverables. They are solved with direction.
What fractional means
Seniorbrandleadership,sizedtowhereyouarenow.
An experienced brand and creative director is expensive and, for many companies, still doesn't make sense full time. In the fractional model, you get that leadership embedded in your team, taking part in decisions every month, with an agreed commitment and without the cost of a permanent executive hire.
A model growing fast around the world.
I was one of the first to bring it to Brazil, and I work with companies wherever they are.
+313%+313%
fractional professionals worldwide since 2019
97%97%
of fractional roles in the US come from small and mid-sized companies
And it's not just for multinationals. It's the model for companies that are growing and need senior leadership without growing the team.Source: Lightcast, The Rise of Fractional Leadership (2026).
Comparison between agency, executive hire and fractional
Agency
Executive hire
The modelFractional
View of the business
From the outside, one project at a time
From the inside, but stuck in the routine
Continuous, with an outside eye and an inside commitment
Who decides the brand
You, between one delivery and the next
A fixed position
A senior director by your side, every month
Investment
Varies with every job
Salary, taxes and benefits
Monthly and predictable, with no hiring cost
Continuity
Ends at delivery
Depends on who stays
Grows with every month of partnership
Seniority
Varies with the team
Depends on who you can attract
Senior from day one
Getting started
A new brief for every project
Months of recruiting
Straight away, from the first conversation
View of the business01 / 06
●Fractional
Continuous, with an outside eye and an inside commitment
AgencyFrom the outside, one project at a time
Executive hireFrom the inside, but stuck in the routine
Who decides the brand02 / 06
●Fractional
A senior director by your side, every month
AgencyYou, between one delivery and the next
Executive hireA fixed position
Investment03 / 06
●Fractional
Monthly and predictable, with no hiring cost
AgencyVaries with every job
Executive hireSalary, taxes and benefits
Continuity04 / 06
●Fractional
Grows with every month of partnership
AgencyEnds at delivery
Executive hireDepends on who stays
Seniority05 / 06
●Fractional
Senior from day one
AgencyVaries with the team
Executive hireDepends on who you can attract
Getting started06 / 06
●Fractional
Straight away, from the first conversation
AgencyA new brief for every project
Executive hireMonths of recruiting
I'm not a CMO. I don't run media, channels or acquisition. I take care of what makes all of that work: the brand.
Strategy without execution becomes a PDF. Execution without strategy becomes noise. I do both, and that is what turns a good idea into a real brand.
01 / 04
Brand strategy
What the company stands for, who it exists for, what makes it hard to replace and how to tell that story.
02 / 04
Creative direction
Concepts, visual language and campaigns that turn strategy into something people see and remember.
03 / 04
Execution
I create the priority pieces and direct teams and suppliers, from brief to approval.
04 / 04
Ongoing guidance
I review, adjust and reorder priorities as the business changes. The brand keeps evolving month after month, together with the company.
What changes
The value that already exists, finally visible.
BeforeAfter
01BeforeBefore→AfterAfter
Before: The brand kept up with the beginning, but not with the growth.
After: A truly built brand, made to help the business grow.
02BeforeBefore→AfterAfter
Before: The brand looks smaller than the company is.
After: The brand is finally the size of the business.
03BeforeBefore→AfterAfter
Before: Nobody gets what you do the first time.
After: Your offer is understood in one sentence.
04BeforeBefore→AfterAfter
Before: Every piece looks different.
After: A senior identity, recognized before the logo even shows up.
05BeforeBefore→AfterAfter
Before: Clients compare you on price.
After: Clients see the value before they ask the price.
06BeforeBefore→AfterAfter
Before: The founder approves even the posts.
After: The founder gets back to running the business.
How it works
Amethodofmyown.Madeforthosewhohavenotimetowaste.
I developed my own method to take the brand from what it is today to what it needs to look like, with no waste. You don't need to prepare anything: I lead every step, and the proposal makes clear what I produce, what I direct and what stays with your team.
01LISTENING
Conversation
You tell me where the company is and where it wants to go. I listen to what is said and, above all, to what isn't. In the first conversation we already know whether it makes sense to move forward together, and I'll tell you honestly if it doesn't.
02DISCOVERY
Diagnosis
I dive into your business as if it were mine. I talk to the people who sell, look at what competitors are doing and go through everything the brand has ever said. Almost always the same thing shows up: a company that is better than the story it tells.
03DECISION
Plan
With the diagnosis on the table, we decide together what comes first. No endless lists: a few well-chosen priorities, with a beginning, a middle and an end. You know exactly what is going to happen and why.
04BUILDING
Ongoing direction
This is where the brand really starts to change. I take part in decisions, produce what is essential and direct whoever produces the rest. Every piece that goes out meets the same standard, and little by little everything starts speaking the same language.
05CYCLE
Evolution
A brand is never finished, it matures along with the company. Every cycle, we look together at what moved forward, what worked and what comes next. You stop being the bottleneck for creative decisions and gain someone who knows your business better and better.
06PARTNERSHIP
The longer we work together, the stronger your brand.
It's not a project that ends at delivery. It's a partnership that grows with the company: new products, new markets, new phases. The longer we work together, the faster and sharper the work gets, because I already know your business from the inside.
Where the work shows
Where you will see the difference.
01Positioning and narrative
02Visual identity
03Sales presentations
04Websites and landing pages
05Campaigns
06Launches
07Directing designers and suppliers
Work
Brands I have worked with.
Throughout my career, in agencies, studios, companies and independent projects.
Companies
And many other companies and industries.
Projects
+12 years of experience+12+12+12Years of experience
Education
About
Breno Côrtes Romão
The one who will take care of your brand.
I grew up surrounded by words and stories.
I'm the son of one of Brazil's best-known writers and speakers and of a journalist mother. At home, ideas were dinner conversation, and telling a good story was almost a family rule. Creativity wasn't something I chose; it was always there. What I chose was to turn it into a craft.
Along the way, I had the chance to learn and work alongside professionals who helped build brands like Nubank, XP Investimentos, Mercado Livre, Itaú Digital and many other giants. That's where I learned that branding isn't about a pretty logo. It's about making the market see the value a company already has.
I've sat in almost every seat of a brand: I was a designer, design coordinator and marketing director, and I've led marketing, digital marketing and growth strategies. That's why I see the work as a whole, from concept to media, from identity to results. I've never separated branding from results, and that's the view I bring to every company I work with.
Creativity,dataandtechnology,inthesamehands.
Career
Designer
Design coordinator
Marketing director
Digital marketing & growth
Fractional Brand & Creative Director
I learned alongside people who helped build Nubank, XP Investimentos, Mercado Livre, Itaú Digital and many other giants.
What about artificial intelligence?
“But today I can do this with AI.”
“But today I can do this with AI.”
Itcangenerate.Itcan'tdecide.
AI has never paid a bill at the end of the month.
Never hugged someone after a hard day.
Never felt the silence at the top of a mountain.
Never watched a brand win, or lose, people's trust.
It creates a thousand options in seconds. But it doesn't know what your company can't say, or which of those thousand options will make someone choose you. I use AI every day: it researches, explores and speeds up the work. I learn from it, but I don't outsource judgment. Decisions come from my experience, my repertoire and everything I have lived, things no model can learn.
With AI, everyone produces more. That's why what matters now is knowing whatnottoproduce.
AI is the most powerful tool that has ever existed. In the right hands.
Few partnerships at a time
I work with only a few companies at a time.
Real direction requires presence. That's why I keep a limited number of active partnerships. When a spot opens, it is filled through conversation, not through mass-sent proposals.
Booking new partnerships
If your brand is ready to keep up with your growth, the next step starts with a conversation.
Not every brand needs to start with a partnership. For projects with a clear beginning, middle and end, I take on work from brand to technology, with the same level of direction. Many partnerships started exactly this way.
A senior brand and creative director who works inside your company on an ongoing basis, with an agreed monthly commitment instead of full time. In practice, you have someone thinking about the brand, deciding the creative direction and overseeing execution every month, without the cost and commitment of an executive hire. The model is already common abroad and is quickly arriving in Brazil.
How is it different from an agency or a branding consultancy?
Agencies and consultancies deliver projects: a rebrand, a campaign, a website. When the project ends, the brand goes back into the hands of people who have no time to take care of it. I stay. I take part in decisions over time and make sure the agency, designers and suppliers all work in the same direction, so the strategy doesn't die in a PDF. I can even work alongside the agency you already have.
Is it the same as a CMO?
No. A CMO is responsible for marketing as a whole: media, channels, customer acquisition and budget. I take care of the brand and everything it communicates: positioning, narrative, identity and creative quality. If your company has someone in marketing, I strengthen that person's work instead of replacing it.
Do you produce or just direct?
Both. I personally create the priority pieces and direct the rest with your team or suppliers. The proposal makes clear what I produce, what I direct and what requires a separate hire, so there are no surprises along the way.
What is included in the monthly partnership?
The partnership covers brand direction: strategy, positioning, creative direction, oversight of every piece and the priority deliverables agreed for each month. Larger projects, such as a complete visual identity, a website, a media kit, campaigns or systems, are quoted separately, with their own scope and proposal. For existing partners, they are built on the brand strategy already in place, with no need to start from scratch, and come with preferential pricing. Everything is spelled out in the proposal before we begin.
Do you take on one-off projects, without a monthly partnership?
Yes. Besides the ongoing partnership, I take on projects with a clear beginning, middle and end, such as branding, rebranding, visual identity, a website or a media kit, with the same level of direction. Many partnerships started this way: a well-done project opens the door to looking after the brand in the long run. One-off projects are quoted separately, with their own proposal, and partners get preferential terms.
Do you create visual identities and logos?
Yes. I create complete visual identities: logo, typography, colors, visual language and brand guidelines. Strategy comes before design, with positioning, narrative and tone of voice, so the identity expresses what the company really is, and doesn't just look good. It is a project with its own scope and proposal, for existing partners too.
Do you make media kits, company presentations and pitch decks?
Yes. These are the pieces that close deals: the media kit that wins over an advertiser, the presentation that opens a meeting, the pitch deck that reaches an investor. I take care of the storyline, the narrative and the design, so every page reinforces the company's value. Each piece is quoted as a project, separate from the monthly partnership.
Do you create websites, landing pages and campaigns?
Yes. I define the message, the structure and the design, and I build websites, landing pages and interactive experiences, including 3D ones, like this website. I also create campaigns, key visuals, art direction and social media content. Websites and campaigns are projects with their own proposal, outside the monthly fee.
What about technology projects, like systems and automations?
Those too. I bring brand and technology together in web systems, custom platforms, dashboards, automations, integrations and AI agents. The tool has to work well and, at the same time, live up to your brand's standard. Like any technology project, it has its own scope and budget.
Do I need a design team?
No. If you already have designers or an agency, I give them direction, criteria and priorities. If you don't, I produce the essentials and bring in the right specialists when the project calls for it, always under my direction.
How does it start?
It all starts with a 30-minute conversation to understand where the company is right now. If it makes sense to move forward together, the first stage of the work is the brand diagnosis: what the brand communicates today, where the inconsistencies are and what weighs most on the business. From there, we define the plan, the priorities and the monthly commitment.
How long does a partnership last?
There is no minimum term. A brand is built continuously, so the partnership runs month to month, with regular priority reviews, and pays off more the longer we work together.
How much does it cost?
The investment is monthly and depends on the agreed scope and commitment. In general, it is well below the cost of a full-time brand or creative director with the same seniority. Pricing is presented in the proposal, after the diagnosis.
Where does artificial intelligence come in?
As a tool within the method: research, exploring directions, prototyping and production, always with human review and judgment. AI speeds up the process; brand decisions are still mine and yours.
What kind of company is it for?
For companies that already have a product, clients and the ambition to grow, but whose brand hasn't kept up with the business, especially B2B startups and service companies. If your company is bigger than it looks, it's probably for you.
Do you work with companies in other cities or outside Brazil?
Yes. The work is designed to run remotely, with online meetings and in-person meetings when it makes sense.
Contact
Shall we closethat gap?
Every great brand started with a conversation. Tell me where your company is and where it wants to go.
