Unlocking
your marketing
potential
Great marketing
takes more than
a great logo.
It takes strategy. It takes knowing which arena your business needs to play in, and how it’ll win once it gets there. It takes building up your team’s skills and capabilities. It takes doing the groundwork, then going for marketing gold.
That’s what Xennial is here for.
Hi, we're Xennial.
Founded and directed by James Smith.
We are Fractional CMOs and marketing advisers. For over a decade, we’ve helped passionate business leaders turn their vision into marketing momentum— mentoring their teams with the guidance and tools they need to grow.
Experience
Trust trained marketers with decades of experience helping over 70 businesses.
Strategy
Create meaningful business change through proven strategies and research-based thinking.
Partnership
Work together one-on-one to build your marketing team’s capabilities.
What’s a ‘Fractional CMO’?
As Fractional CMOs, we bring your business all the benefits of high-level strategic marketing — without the overheads of an in-house marketing director. We see your business through fresh eyes, so you can spot the opportunities for growth — and together, we’ll create a plan to make them happen.
From big picture
to tiny details.
Our wide skillset covers every angle of your business’s marketing – from broad strategic overview, right down to the finest technical details. Whether you need to create a full-scale marketing plan, transform your customer experience, or build brand awareness, we can help.
“James is awesome! We had marketing ambition and internal talent but we lacked experience and strategy. James took the time to learn our company workings and resources and worked with us to create a marketing plan. It's like he works inside our company. He holds us to plan, mentors our internal talent, delegates some tasks and completes others, all the while opening our eyes to possibilities. He has brought real strength and clarity to Venerdi's marketing and continues to build our competency along the way.”
Venerdi
Tim Grainger,
Founder
"I have worked with James for many years. He offers wise guidance drawn from an exceptional depth of thinking and insight. He is pragmatic and professional and adds tremendous value."
Money Matters
Dr Rodger Spiller,
Managing Director
"I've had the pleasure of working with James for well over a year now and couldn't recommend him more! An absolute go-getter that is consistently delivering with awesome ideas and strategies."
Venerdi
Sam Kelly,
Marketing Co‑ordinator
"We were referred to James by another of James's customers. He helped us rapidly develop a brand and create a suite of consistent, professional and effective marketing resources which have already had a real impact on our business. We would recommend James to any business seeking improvements in all aspects of branding, marketing and related strategy."
Edis Tech
Simon Fortescue,
General Manager
"A chance conversation with James at a business meeting resulted in him coming in and doing a review of our Marketing and Brand Strategy. James was thorough in his review and came back with an easily read and comprehensive report of our current situation and what he recommended. As a result, we are undergoing an exciting full rebrand, something we should have done a long time ago. James is great to work with, he explains his recommendations well at both tactical and strategic levels, and is working with us to achieve our goals. We absolutely recommend James and his company Xennial to anyone wanting advice on marketing, and support in moving their company forward."
Nautech Electronics
Alison Turner,
Director
"James’s expertise comes through gently and easily, but he will still be ready to challenge if he doesn’t think the right decision is being made. He is knowledgeable and experienced in the business world. We have been through ups and downs in our industry and have felt in safe hands with James all the way. We now have confidence that we will continue to develop great marketing assets."
Temple Water
Robyn Lonsdale,
General Manager
"How lucky were we to have been introduced to James and the team at Xennial! Having recently been through a rebranding exercise, he’s been the yin to my yang, keeping me on the straight and narrow with his expert guidance and calm demeanour. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside someone who can so seamlessly balance process and structure with fun and enthusiasm for the project."
Business East Tamaki
Ruth White,
General Manager
"James joined Apex as a virtual marketing director in late 2021 to support our in-house capability and maximise our marketing efforts. He developed a comprehensive marketing strategy to support our transformation and growth. Over the subsequent two years he supported Apex at both a strategic and operational level as we built strong marketing and brand foundations and our client engagement model. He integrated seamlessly with our executives and management team and took great care to understand our business needs and complexities. His contributions were invaluable during a key phase of our business, marketing, brand and client journey."
Apex Advice
Craig Mulholland,
Chief Executive
"James has assisted Ascot Angiography over several years, providing varying levels of marketing support including branding and website development as well as our annual Cardiology Symposium. We have appreciated James's expertise, enthusiasm and flexibility in his approach. We regard James as a member of our team - he is a great resource for our business and we enjoy working with him."
Ascot Angiography
Sarah MacLean,
Business Manager