About Clare Watson

Fractional Marketing Director and Strategic Consultant

Connect with me

I’m Clare, good to meet you

Twenty-five years in B2B marketing, almost all of it in or around the built environment.

I’ve run marketing for the trade body that became the industry’s voice on building safety, the software business that helped embed BIM in UK construction, and the testing company behind the world’s largest fire resistance laboratory. Different organisations, same thread - technical sectors where the marketing only works if you understand what’s actually being sold.

Do I only work in AEC? No. But it’s where I’m most useful.

My sector knowledge runs deep enough that I can walk into the room without anyone having to explain the sector first. That changes the quality of the work, and it how fast we get to the point.

How that experience was built

Most of my career has been spent learning these sectors from the inside, in roles where marketing had to deliver something measurable.

At NBS and RIBA Enterprises, I was Director of Marketing and Communications. I built the National BIM Library into a new digital revenue stream, established the NBS BIM Survey as the sector’s annual benchmark for BIM adoption, and won Innovate UK funding for the BIM Toolkit. The brief also covered NBS specification, national CPD programmes, the manufacturers’ network, RIBA Product Selector and RIBA Appointments.

At BESA, as Director of Marketing and Communications, I repositioned the Building Engineering Services Association from a largely unknown membership body into the go-to voice on building safety and ventilation. The thought leadership programme generated £3.5m a year in equivalent media value and 378m annual reach. I launched World Ventil8 Day, which grew to 21 partners and 75 countries in its first year and is now an annual fixture in the indoor air quality calendar. My role encompassed REFCOM the F-Gas certification as well as SFG20 the industry’s core FM software.

At Element Materials Technology, as Strategic Marketing Director for Built Environment EMEA, I led the launch of the world’s largest fire resistance test laboratory, with UK and international coverage, and increased qualified inbound lead value by 172% in twelve months.

Earlier, at 4 Projects (now Viewpoint), I led marketing for a construction SaaS platform entering the UK, US and Middle East markets. And at City Electrical Factors, I ran the research and brand refresh behind the first national product catalogue for one of the UK’s largest electrical wholesalers.

At RPS Group, now Tetra Tech, I lead the UK and European rebrand - the kind of large, multi-market repositioning that’s hard to do well and easy to get wrong.

Beyond the built environment

The early part of my career was in manufacturing, consumer goods and industrial products, with consulting work since across professional services, education, hospitality and technology. Different sectors, but the same discipline - work out what a business actually sells, to whom, and why they should choose it, then build the marketing around that.

And alongside the practice

I run a small B2B publishing imprint producing sector-specific marketing guides for small AEC businesses and other niches. It keeps me close to the questions smaller businesses are actually asking, which feeds the fractional work more than you’d expect.

Based in the North West, working remotely across the UK.

If marketing in your business feels active but not effective, that’s usually a sign the strategy needs a senior pair of hands. That’s what I do.

In their words

“Having had the pleasure of working with Clare over several years, I can genuinely say she bring a rare combination of professionalism, creativity, abundance of energy and positivity to everything she does.

Clare has a real talent for understanding both people and organisations, from shaping strategy through to making the vision a practical reality. She has a natural ability to turn ideas, campaigns and messages into something clear, engaging and impactful, regardless of the size or scope of the project.

Beyond her marketing expertise, Clare is simply a great person to work with, I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for an experienced and trusted marketing professional.”
— Rachel Davidson, Director BESA
“I worked alongside Clare for four years at NBS/RIBA Enterprises. This was a time when Building Information Modelling (BIM) was really taking off. Clare led us through launches of our BIM developments and conferences. In particular, the NBS National BIM Library and joint BIM programmes with major names such as Ecobuild, New London Architecture, Construction Product Association, RIBA and the UK Government’s BIM Task Group.”
— Dr Stephen Hamil, Director Hubexo
“Clare and I have worked together across a number of businesses and what stands out is her mix of strategic marketing knowledge and practical commercial thinking. She is knowledgeable, decisive and willing to challenge where needed to drive the result and the team to success. She’s also fun to work with!

If you are looking for someone who can quickly understand a business, bring clarity and help move things forward, Clare is absolutely someone you should speak to!”
— Victoria Fleming, Director BUZTASTIC
“I was fortunate to work with Clare for several years. Not only does she bring extensive marketing experience to the table, but Clare is also one of the most tenacious and positive people I have ever worked with.

She always gets stuck in to help colleagues out and will think around problems and situations to find new solutions to try. Clare is extremely resourceful, always finding ways to do more with less.

Clare is also a leader that inspires loyalty in her team, taking time to understand them as individuals and promoting their own development and learning. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Clare and would recommend her to anyone looking for a passionate and experienced senior marketing professional.”
— Kirsty Cogan, Managing Director SFG20

FAQs

  • Thirty years in B2B marketing, the majority of it in AEC and building services. The sector knowledge runs deep enough that I can walk into a room with a specification director, a project engineer or a building safety manager without having to explain the industry back to them first. That changes the quality of the work - the interviews are sharper, the competitor analysis is more accurate, and the recommendations are grounded in how the sector actually buys, not how B2B marketing theory says it should.

  • Yes, and I have - professional services, education and training, manufacturing, consumer goods, technology and hospitality. The fundamentals transfer. But if your business is in AEC, engineering, testing, construction SaaS or building services, the sector-specific knowledge adds a layer that a generalist can't replicate. It's worth a conversation either way.

  • Based in Warrington, working remotely across the UK. Most fractional engagements are remote-first with periodic in-person sessions for things that benefit from being in the room - leadership presentations, team workshops, strategy days. Geography hasn't been a barrier.

  • I take on a small number of retained clients at any one time to maintain the quality of each engagement. Current availability is confirmed at the framing conversation. If I'm at capacity I'll say so and give a realistic timeline for when that changes.

  • A fractional marketing director is the right answer when the business needs senior marketing leadership on an ongoing basis but isn't ready for a full-time hire. If you have a specific bounded question - a positioning decision, a rebrand scope, a go-to-market approach - a programme is likely the right starting point. If you're not sure which applies, the framing conversation will establish that before any commitment is made.

  • Retained engagements start at £2,500 per month for the Strategic Advisor tier and run to £9,500 per month for a full Embedded Director engagement at two days per week. Fixed-fee programmes start at £4,000 for a Marketing Diagnostic.