# broden.ai


## Posts

- [The cost of doing marketing has collapsed. The cost of getting it wrong hasn't.](https://broden.ai/cost-of-doing-marketing-has-collapsed/): For most of my career, there was a clear line between what big brands could do and what SMEs could afford.
- [Marketing has never moved faster. Most SMEs have nobody steering it.](https://broden.ai/marketing-has-never-moved-faster/): Two things are true for most UK SMEs right now, and together they're a problem.
- [Curiosity compounds. Expertise expires.](https://broden.ai/curiosity-compounds-expertise-expires/): I have three children. Two of them are now at the age where AI sits quietly in the background of every decision they make about their future.
- [Adoption Is Not the Metric](https://broden.ai/adoption-is-not-the-metric/): Eighty-two percent of CEOs told Boston Consulting Group (BCG) this year that they are more optimistic about AI returns than they were twelve months ago.
- [The tools stopped being the problem](https://broden.ai/the-tools-stopped-being-the-problem/): Claude for Small Business, and the uncomfortable question it raises for SME marketing.
- [Fractional CMO vs Marketing Agency vs AI Tools: What Does Your Business Actually Need?](https://broden.ai/fractional-cmo-vs-marketing-agency-vs-ai-tools-what-does-your-business-actually-need/): Most businesses do not waste marketing budget because they choose the wrong supplier. They waste it because they solve the wrong problem first.
- [The search box is closing. Most SMEs can see it. Few know what to do about it.](https://broden.ai/the-search-box-is-closing/): For twenty-five years, the deal was simple. You built a website, you earned a ranking, and Google sent you traffic. Position one meant clicks.
- [You Didn't Design Your Marketing Setup. You Inherited It - And AI Is Exposing the Cost](https://broden.ai/you-didn-t-design-your-marketing-setup-you-inherited-it/): "Most founders I speak to have never sat down and deliberately decided what their marketing structure should look like. It just happened."
- [The 7 Marketing Workflows SMEs Should Automate First, and What to Keep Human](https://broden.ai/the-7-marketing-workflows-smes-should-automate/): Most SME founders know they should be using AI in their marketing.
- [What Is a Fractional CMO and Why UK Startups Are Hiring Them Instead of Full-Time Executives](https://broden.ai/what-is-a-fractional-cmo/): Your marketing is either growing the business or it isn't.
- [The People and Organisations Behind the Conversations](https://broden.ai/the-people-and-organisations-behind-the-conversations/): Across 2025, I’ve spoken with leaders working at the intersection of technology, people, infrastructure and purpose.
- [Building a Movement, One Book at a Time](https://broden.ai/building-a-movement-one-book-at-a-time/): Another brilliant conversation last week, this time with Liberty Venn, the founder of the Children's Book Project’s.
- [Leadership Resilience](https://broden.ai/leadership-resilience/): For most of my career, I thought resilience was about pushing through.
- [AI Investment Is Surging, but the Real Story Lies in What Could Slow It Down](https://broden.ai/ai-investment-is-surging-but-the-real-story-lies-in-what-could-slow-it-down/): AI investment is rising at extraordinary speed.
- [Smarter Recruitment. Stronger Schools](https://broden.ai/smarter-recruitment-stronger-schools/): Over recent week’s I have spent time speaking with Hermione Thomas, the founder of TeachBack, and it is clear she has built something valuable in the education space.
- [Adobe’s SEMRush Acquisition: Strategic Vision or Expensive Misdirection](https://broden.ai/adobes-semrush-acquisition/): Adobe’s agreement to acquire Semrush for 1.9 billion dollars has landed with a mix of surprise, curiosity and scepticism across the marketing and technology worlds.
- [The Wrong Kind of Lean: How Companies Shrink Themselves Into Weakness](https://broden.ai/the-wrong-kind-of-lean/): Why cost cutting without operational improvement creates fragility, not strength.
- [Beyond the Click: How AI Browsers Are Quietly Rewriting the Internet](https://broden.ai/beyond-the-click/): For the past two decades, the internet has revolved around movement.
- [Rewiring Discovery: How AI Is Changing the Way We’re Found](https://broden.ai/rewiring-discovery-how-ai-is-changing-the-way-were-found/): Search is changing faster than most brands realise. According to McKinsey & Company, AI is now “the new front door to the internet”.
- [The ground beneath you can shift fast](https://broden.ai/the-ground-beneath-you-can-shift-fast/): The ground beneath you can shift fast.
- [Building Smarter: People, Policy, and Progress in the Age of AI](https://broden.ai/progress-in-the-age-of-ai/): Not everything is about AI. But right now, almost everything is being shaped by it.
- [Building Progress Through Policy](https://broden.ai/building-progress-through-policy/): Another great conversation yesterday, this time with Clare Dobson from The Policy Key.
- [Modular AI, measurable Impact](https://broden.ai/modular-ai-measurable-impact/): Last week, I sat by the Thames in Teddington with Robert Webster, founder of TAU Marketing Solutions, to talk about one of the biggest challenges in marketing right now, how to make AI deliver real, measurable value.
- [The Hidden Costs of “FREE” AI Tools for SMEs](https://broden.ai/the-hidden-costs-of-free-ai-tools-for-smes/): Free or generic AI tools often appear to be a small business owner’s dream: powerful automation without any upfront cost.
- [Not Every Job Needs a Giant: How to Pick the Right-Sized AI](https://broden.ai/not-every-job-needs-a-giant/): Most teams hit the same wall with AI pilots.
- [From Shovelware to Signal: How to Use AI to Write Content People Actually Want to Read](https://broden.ai/shovelware-building-human-grade-content-with-ai/): In 2024, over 1.3 billion blog posts were published worldwide (Worldometer).
- [The Agentic Era: Why Multi‑Step AI Agents Will Replace Campaigns with Autonomous Growth Loops](https://broden.ai/ai-the-agentic-era/): The problem isn’t execution. It’s the ground moving under our feet. Retargeting is anaemic, attribution is fiction, and CFOs want ROI, not dashboards.
- [AI in the UK: Growth at the Top, Strain at the Edges](https://broden.ai/ai-in-the-uk-growth-at-the-top-strain-at-the-edges/): Artificial intelligence has quickly shifted from hype to hard numbers in the UK economy.
- [How Google’s New Search Experience Is Reshaping SEO — And Why Your Strategy Needs a Major Overhaul](https://broden.ai/ai-search/): Google ’s AI-powered search evolution isn’t just another algorithm update — it’s a seismic shift changing how brands need to think about visibility, engagement, and conversion.
- [Focus Where It Counts: Why Businesses Get Stuck Debating Details That Don’t Drive Growth](https://broden.ai/focus-where-it-counts/): Many business owners spend weeks perfecting things that don’t really matter: the wording of a headline, the colour of a button, the layout of a landing page, convinced these tweaks will unlock growth.
- [The AI Divide: Who Really Benefits from the UK’s AI Gold Rush?](https://broden.ai/the-ai-divide/): As billions pour into UK AI infrastructure, are we building an AI-powered economy for British business—or leasing it from Silicon Valley?
- [The AI Narrative Won’t Save You From a Weak Roadmap](https://broden.ai/the-ai-narrative-wont-save-you-from-a-weak-roadmap/): Intel is making a big bet, and it’s not on chips. It’s on the power of narrative.
- [Future-Proofing Your Content: Optimising for AI Discovery Beyond SEO](https://broden.ai/optimise-content-for-ai-discovery/): In the last decade, SEO has been the cornerstone of content discovery.
- [Too Much Spend, Too Little Return: How SMEs Can Reclaim Efficiency with Smarter AI Thinking](https://broden.ai/ai-marketing-efficiency-sme/): In today’s hyper-competitive digital world, marketing is often one of the largest line items on the budget for SMEs.
- [Invisible but Critical: Why Measurement Is Your Growth Superpower](https://broden.ai/growth-superpower/): In B2B and B2C marketing, it's easy to chase the visible wins — the clever creative, the new channel, the campaign that ‘pops’.
- [Think Small, Win Big: The Underdog Advantage in the AI Marketing Revolution](https://broden.ai/ai-sme-underdog-advantage/): In today’s hyper-competitive market, the default assumption is that the biggest brands — with the biggest budgets — will dominate.
- [The Bloated Martech Stack: Why You’re Paying for Complexity, Not Results](https://broden.ai/bloated-martech/): It always starts with good intentions.
- [Why Your Next Growth Channel Isn’t Digital — It’s Human](https://broden.ai/growth-lever/): Marketing leaders today are grappling with a familiar set of challenges: rising acquisition costs, shrinking organic reach, and platforms that once delivered results now offering diminishing returns.
- [Doing More With Less: The New Playbook for Marketing Growth](https://broden.ai/marketing-growth-playbook/): Right now, most businesses are under pressure to grow… with less.
- [The UAE's AI Power Move Is a Wake-Up Call for the UK and Europe](https://broden.ai/uaes-ai-power-move/): Last week, the UAE signed a landmark agreement with the United States to build the largest AI campus outside America. A 10-square-mile AI zone in Abu Dhabi.
- [The Feedback Gap: Why Most SMEs Fail to Listen (and How to Fix It)](https://broden.ai/feedback-gap/): Most SMEs don’t suffer from a lack of ideas. They suffer from a lack of signal.
- [Build Once, Sell Forever: The Power of Evergreen Assets in a Reactive World](https://broden.ai/evergreen-assets/): Imagine sprinting full-speed on a treadmill — burning energy just to stay in place.
- [Your 2025 / 2026 Playbook: How to Implement AI in Your Marketing Stack](https://broden.ai/2025-2026-ai-marketing-playbook/): AI is everywhere. From content generation to predictive analytics, there's no shortage of tools promising to revolutionise how marketing teams work.
- [Full-Funnel Growth Strategy: Why Cutting Too Deep Could Be Costing You More Than You Think](https://broden.ai/full-funnel-performance/): In uncertain times, it’s natural to double down on what feels controllable.
- [SMEs vs Giants: Why Agility Beats Budget in the Age of AI](https://broden.ai/agility-beats-budget/): There’s a quiet shift happening in marketing — and it’s not about who shouts the loudest. It’s about who moves the fastest.
- [Are You Designing for Growth — or Just Hoping for It?](https://broden.ai/growth-loops-2025/): In 2025, the most effective marketing leaders aren’t just building campaigns—they’re building systems.
- [Your 2025 Roadmap: A Strategic Guide to Implementing AI Tools in Your Martech Stack](https://broden.ai/ai-marketing-stack-2025/): Your martech stack is no longer just a support system for your marketing—it’s the growth engine, data powerhouse, and decision-making compass of your business.
- [Revolutionising Marketing: From SEO to DEO – Optimising Content for the Age of AI](https://broden.ai/from-seo-to-deo/): Historically, search optimisation was a game played by marketers and search engines. The primary tools?
- [The Decline of Google Search: Strategising Your Marketing Strategy for 2025](https://broden.ai/google-search-volume-decline/): As we move deeper into 2025, Google is no longer the sun around which all digital marketing revolves.
- [Why GroupM’s Restructure Signals a New Era for Agencies](https://broden.ai/groupm-restructure-agency-future/): It's a sign of the pressure to prove ROI, reduce cost, and integrate tech.
- [B2B Marketing in 2025: What Still Works and What Doesn’t](https://broden.ai/b2b-marketing-2025/): "68% of B2B marketers are unsure of their marketing ROI."
- [Is Your Marketing Strategy Actually Customer-Centric? A Diagnostic Guide for Today's Visionary Leaders](https://broden.ai/customer-centric-strategy/): Imagine this: You're a thriving CMO coaching a passionate founder on refining their marketing strategy.
- [Unraveling the Mess: How Your Marketing Tech Stack Could Be Costing You More Than You Know](https://broden.ai/bloated-martech-stack/): Imagine this: It’s 2025, and you, a seasoned CMO, are chatting with a dynamic startup founder over coffee.
- [The 5 Marketing Metrics That Actually Matter for Growth in 2025](https://broden.ai/marketing-metrics-growth/): In 2025, where cookie deprecation and AI-driven insights are the norm, marketing strategies must evolve from the traditional clutches of vanity metrics.
- [Automate Smarter: The 2025 Marketing Playbook](https://broden.ai/2025-automation-playbook-2/): In the rapidly evolving world of digital marketing, automation has moved from a buzzword to a necessity.
- [Marketing is Broken: Here's How to Fix It](https://broden.ai/fix-marketing/): Modern marketing teams are under pressure to do more, with less — and faster.
- [Is Your Marketing Team Too Busy to Drive Real Growth?](https://broden.ai/busy-marketing-vs-real-growth/): Picture this: the conference room is buzzing.
- [Why Chasing More Leads Might Be the Worst Strategy for Growth in 2025](https://broden.ai/worst-strategy-growth-leads-2025/): Did you know that 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales?
- [A Simple Framework for Diagnosing a Stalled Growth Engine](https://broden.ai/diagnose-stalled-growth-engine-3/): In today’s rapidly evolving marketplace, every founder and CMO knows the sinking feeling of witnessing a flatlined growth chart.
- [Growth Loops vs Funnels: Which Wins in 2025?](https://broden.ai/growth-loops-vs-funnels/): In the fast-paced landscape of digital marketing, businesses are constantly seeking the ultimate strategy to drive sustainable growth.
- [AI Prompt Engineering for Marketers: The 2025 Guide](https://broden.ai/prompt-engineering-guide/): As we advance further into the digital age, the convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and marketing has transformed the landscape in unprecedented ways.
- [Harnessing AI: A Strategic Guide to Perfecting Your B2B Value Proposition](https://broden.ai/ai-value-prop/): Every founder and CMO knows that a strong value proposition can be the difference between a hesitant prospect and a loyal customer.
- [5 Common Martech Stack Fails (and How to Fix Them)](https://broden.ai/martech-stack-fails/): As marketers, we like to think that our tech stacks are the golden keys to unlocking growth and success.
- [The AI Stack for Growth Marketers: Your Roadmap to Success](https://broden.ai/ai-stack-growth/): Imagine you are sitting at a round table with your fellow CMOs and Heads of Growth.
- [Understanding Marketing Attribution Models](https://broden.ai/marketing-attribution-models/): In today’s data-driven world, marketing professionals are continuously challenged to decode the impact of various touchpoints within the customer journey.
- [Why Your Marketing Funnel Might Be Failing](https://broden.ai/funnel-failures/): As marketers, we pour our time, resources, and creativity into crafting the perfect marketing funnel.
- [5 AI Tools That Will Reshape Content Production in 2025](https://broden.ai/ai-tools-content-production/): As we venture into the complexities of 2025, the landscape of content production is evolving at an unprecedented rate.
- [Automation Tools Face-Off: n8n vs. Make vs. Zapier](https://broden.ai/n8n-make-zapier-review/): In today’s data-driven world, automation tools have become essential for streamlining processes and enhancing productivity.
- [Unlocking Growth Through Marketing Attribution: A Comprehensive Guide for Growth Leaders](https://broden.ai/marketing-attribution-guide-3/): In an era where data drives decision-making, understanding ‘marketing attribution’ has become imperative for growth leaders.
- [Maximising Efficiency: A Comprehensive Review of the Make Automation Tool](https://broden.ai/maximising-efficiency-a-comprehensive-review-of-the-make-automation-tool/): In the fast-paced world of marketing, efficiency is more than a buzzword; it’s a critical element for success.
- [How Trump’s Tariffs Could Spark Growth for UK and European Businesses](https://broden.ai/how-trumps-tariffs-could-spark-growth-for-uk-and-european-businesses/): If a Trump action figure costs $100 in the US… what would it cost to import into other countries under the current tariffs?
- [Unleashing the Power of Automation: A Comprehensive Review of n8n](https://broden.ai/automation-a-comprehensive-review-of-n8n/): In an era where efficiency can make or break a marketing strategy, automation tools have become indispensable.
- [Trump’s Tariffs Are a Wake-Up Call: Where UK Businesses Should Focus Now](https://broden.ai/trump-tariffs-uk-marketing-focus/): The announcement of new US tariffs yesterday – sweeping, aggressive and immediate – might feel like a distant geopolitical issue.
- [5 Questions Every Leadership Team Should Ask About Their Marketing Plans This April](https://broden.ai/marketing-plans-this-april/): April marks the start of the new financial year for many UK businesses. Sales targets are agreed, budgets allocated, and expectations set.
- [Why would I need you when I can just get a marketing plan from ChatGPT?](https://broden.ai/broden-iq-marketing-diagnostics/): That one question stopped me in my tracks.
- [22 Years in London – A St. Patrick’s Day to Remember](https://broden.ai/22-years-in-london/): St. Patrick’s Day is about tradition, but for me, it’s also about transformation.
- [Making Every Pound Count](https://broden.ai/every-pound-count/): In today’s challenging economic climate, every marketing pound must work harder.
- [Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?](https://broden.ai/end-of-the-tunnel/): Attribution has become a dirty word in marketing.
- [Passionate People Who Make a Difference](https://broden.ai/passionate-people/): When I joined TalkTalk, I quickly realised I had stepped into a company with an identity crisis.
- [What Ultimate Frisbee Taught Me About Digital Marketing](https://broden.ai/ultimate-frisbee-digital-marketing/): For the past 20 years, I’ve chased a flying disc across fields, made impossible catches (and missed a few), and learned more than I ever expected—not just about the game, but about teamwork, adaptability, and strategy.
- [Are Your Competition High-Fiving Themselves?](https://broden.ai/are-your-competition-high-fiving-themselves/): Ever walked into a treasure room only to ignore the jewels? That’s what happens when companies neglect their CRM database.
- [The Marketing Web in 2025: How to Navigate Privacy, Personalisation, and Attribution](https://broden.ai/the-marketing-web-in-2025/): The marketing landscape in 2025 is a dynamic and challenging environment, where data privacy, the loss of third-party cookies, personalisation demands, omnichannel orchestration, and marketing attribution converge into an intricate web.
- [The Marketing Equation: Connecting Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion](https://broden.ai/marketing-equation/): The marketing equation connects the dots between awareness, consideration, and conversion, simplifying your analysis and helping you create a recipe for success.
- [The Future of Marketing: Essential Actions for Leveraging AI in Performance Marketing by 2025](https://broden.ai/the-future-of-marketing-essential-actions-for-leveraging-ai-in-performance-marketing-by-2025/): Artificial Intelligence (A) is transforming performance marketing, offering unprecedented opportunities to connect with customers, refine targeting, and drive impressive returns on investment.

## Pages

- [Fractional vs Full-Time Calculator](https://broden.ai/resources/fractional-vs-full-time-calculator/): Compare the full first-year cost of a permanent C-suite or director hire with a fractional leader on a few days a month.
- [B2B Marketing Framework](https://broden.ai/resources/b2b-marketing-framework/): A founder’s guide to understanding and evaluating your B2B marketing. Eleven parts, one scoring tool, and an honest answer to the question every agency dodges.
- [AEO SME Framework](https://broden.ai/aeo-sme-framework/): A founder’s guide to getting your SME named inside AI-generated answers, the new top of the funnel for B2B discovery.
- [Resources](https://broden.ai/resources/): Practical, evidence-led tools to help you understand and evaluate your marketing, written for the people who carry the decision. Free to use, no jargon.
- [Book a diagnostic](https://broden.ai/contact-us/): Book a free 30-minute video call with Patrick Lynch. An honest read on where your marketing stands and the one thing worth fixing first. No pitch.
- [FAQs](https://broden.ai/faqs/): Straight answers for founders on fractional CMOs, using AI in marketing, measuring what marketing returns and getting found in AI search.
- [About](https://broden.ai/about-broden-ai/): Patrick Lynch has 20+ years leading marketing at Ocado, WorldRemit, TalkTalk and more. He founded broden.ai to give UK B2B businesses senior marketing leadership combined with AI.
- [How it works](https://broden.ai/marketing-growth/): Three steps from a free 30-minute diagnostic call to a month-one marketing review and ongoing fractional CMO leadership. Most engagements run five to six months.
- [Home](https://broden.ai/): Who is actually in charge of your marketing? broden.ai brings senior fractional CMO leadership and AI together so UK B2B founders get more from every pound they spend.
- [Patrick Lynch — Fractional CMO & Growth Marketing Strategist](https://broden.ai/patrick-lynch/): With over 20 years' experience driving growth for ambitious brands, I've led media and marketing strategy across both online and offline channels - from global TV and radio campaigns to performance marketing, automation and digital content.
- [Privacy Policy](https://broden.ai/privacy-policy/): Broden.ai Ltd ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy.
- [Terms & Conditions](https://broden.ai/terms-and-conditions/): Welcome to Broden.ai Ltd! These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of our website, products, and services (collectively, the "Services").
- [Growth Insights: Marketing Strategy and Leadership for UK Scale-ups and Startups](https://broden.ai/growth-insights/)

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