Fractional Leaders feat. Brook Bateman

Here is our chat with Brook Bateman, a Fractional CMO and marketing consultant with 15 years of experience across global markets. After leading agency teams, Brook transitioned to fractional leadership to focus on strategic marketing and client relationships.

In this conversation, she shares insights from her journey, key achievements, and advice for scaling businesses.

Can you please introduce yourself and your journey to becoming a Fractional Leader?

I’m Brook, a Fractional CMO and marketing consultant with 15 years experience both brand and agency-side, across the UK, Asia and US.

I’ve worked for clients across a range of industries including pharma, footwear, food and beverage, travel, property, IT, professional services – really, the list goes on!

After holding leadership positions in several agencies I decided to take the leap and set up on my own. Being a fractional CMO means I can focus on the bits I love – creating exceptional marketing strategies and strong client relationships that together deliver results. It also means I get to see my young kids more. I now work directly with founders and SLT’s in small businesses and agencies who require senior strategic resource but not on a full time basis.

Let’s talk impact, what achievements are you proud of the most?

Proving the commercial value of marketing to my clients: when they see an uplift in sales and enquiries after implementing work I’ve done, nothing beats it.

On the people side of things, reigniting a founder’s spark that started their business in the first place and giving them clarity and confidence to fuel their next stage of growth is hugely motivating.

I’d also say my year in Malaysia. I led agency-side on a complex set of digital projects for Abbott Nutrition’s portfolio of brands in SE Asia; the rollout was so successful it paved the way for global to follow. I rebuilt the content department and by the end of the year, we were shortlisted for a Content Agency of the Year award. Plus, I set up a new influencer and digital PR service which, due to client demand, became a Dentsu agency in its own right.

Based on your work with start-ups and scale-ups, do you have any pieces of wisdom you could share with businesses in scale-up mode?

1. Your story – why you started in the first place, the gap in the market you were aiming to solve and why your first clients chose you – is a huge strategic pillar that often gets forgotten about as businesses evolve and look too much at what the competition do and say. So much lies in your origins, leverage it.
2. Never stop speaking with your customers / clients, keep seeking feedback. Businesses get wrapped up in what they’re doing and often forget to check in on the thoughts, feelings and opinions of their target. Cocreate your products, services and even content with them. The results are win-win, they get what they need and want, and you grow.
3. Naturally I’m a huge believer in the power of external perspective. When you’re too close to the business, it can give you the clarity and sharpened focus you need to keep moving forward.

If you’re a business interested in hearing more about our Fractional Leadership offering you can:

Find out more here

If you are a fractional leader and would like to be featured as part of the “Fractional Leaders” series please get in touch.