The Build Up

In this episode of The Build Up Podcast, we sit down with Jack and Kai, two in-house creatives at Aspen Group, who create media and social content across up to ten different brands. Their story challenges the traditional agency model: instead of working across categories as consultants, they're embedded in the business, creating consistent visual identity and brand narratives for a portfolio of construction and engineering companies.Jack brings over six years of video production experience, starting from freelance work through property videos and high-end TV production, before joining Unilite (now part of Aspen Group) as their first in-house videographer. Kai's journey is equally unconventional—trained in traditional art and design, he dived into the digital side almost by accident, working through photography, the full Adobe suite, and collaborative projects before landing in-house at Aspen.They talk about the rare thing it is to have talented, dedicated creatives building brands from the inside; why the in-house model costs more upfront but pays for itself in speed, consistency, and understanding; what actually works on social media (and what doesn't); why you need to think like the customer, not the engineer; the myths about algorithms and reach; and how to spot which of your B2B portfolio brands should lean into video, which should stay visual-led, and why one size never fits all.This is a masterclass in embedded creative strategy—what it looks like when your best people stay, own the work, and spend years learning your business inside out. And a reminder that the boring, construction-adjacent engineering space is where some of the most creative, brand-building work is actually happening.Stay connected with dissident creative agency:https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don't miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

In the second half of this 2-part conversation, Simon Bowler — the North Yorkshire carpenter behind one of the biggest construction accounts in the UK — gets specific about the business of being a creator: what a brand deal actually costs you. He explains why he turned down countless tool brands for years and waited for Milwaukee, because once you pick up one battery you're in that ecosystem for your whole career — and why saying yes to one PPE or clothing brand quietly shuts the door on every competitor watching. He's blunt that content creation is a business, that money is most of the point, and that what brands are really paying for isn't the one promoted post but the organic content that keeps the audience there. And he makes the case for sweat equity over flat fees — “I'm sick of not being a millionaire” — admitting the one deal he wishes he'd taken a stake in was Big Wipes.He then flips it round for the brands and marketers listening. His advice: watch a creator for months before you approach them — one brand studied him for six months before the first email — find the post that blew their account up, then check what they actually learned after it, because a big following off one freak viral hit is a red flag. He's candid about what gets the audience's back up: the scattergun approach of posting one product to a thousand small accounts, last-minute turnarounds, and tool reviews that smell of a payday. Along the way he covers why aspirational content beats tips, tricks and hacks (“that's attracting a DIY audience, not a trades one”), the first 0.7 of a second that decides whether anyone watches, and the £50,000 Milwaukee van giveaway he built around a single bleeped swear. It's a straight look at how the brand-creator relationship really works from someone who sits on both sides of it — and a reminder that there's no magic pill, just hard graft over a long time.Follow Simon Bowler:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonbowlerltdTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simon_bowlerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonbowlerltdYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@simonbowler1Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by Big Wipes (bigwipes.com) Stay connected with dissident creative agency:https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don't miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

Everyone in construction marketing tells you to “be authentic” — Simon Bowler is one of the few who’s held onto it with 700k people watching, and this episode is about how he’s done it, and whether that audience actually does anything for the business.A former car salesman turned master carpenter who builds bespoke gazebos and garden rooms — with two Harrogate Flower Show Golds to show for it — he’s grown one of the biggest construction accounts in the UK by doing something simple: filming the work as he does it, and never pretending to be something he isn’t.He’s sharp on why some posts fly and others flop (it’s nearly always the hook), the homage video that bombed and taught him to stay in his lane, and why he still shoots every brand collaboration like the brand’s watching — because it is.He’s also honest about the hate that comes with reach, the people sliding into his DMs to sell him followers, and the paradox that a trade creator with hundreds of thousands of followers still isn’t taken seriously by parts of the industry.He closes on the marketing itself — why a brand needs a vibe, not a personality, the biggest mistake he sees marketers make in construction, and why brands don’t need engagement, they just need to be seen. It’s part one of two: the story and the craft here, the brands-and-marketing one next.Follow Simon BowlerInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonbowlerltdTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@simon_bowlerFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonbowlerltdYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@simonbowler1SponsorThis episode is sponsored by Big Wipes - bigwipes.comStay connected with dissident creative agencyhttps://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don’t miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast.

In this episode of The Build Up Podcast —Tom Milham of TCM Air Conditioning Services opens the books on how a one-engineer business actually finds work. He started his apprenticeship at 16 and went out on his own six years ago; today roughly 70% of what he does is subcontracted, and he is not afraid to say so. There is a stigma about it in the trade, and his answer is simple: he is feeding his family, the money is coming in and the customer gets a good service. What he and Dan pull at all episode is how you market your way out of that dependency when the budgets everyone talks about online are numbers a small business will never have.Tom is refreshingly straight about what has not worked. Eighteen months paying a lead generation service produced nothing usable — the one enquiry he remembers was somebody wanting a hole drilled through a wall for a portable unit’s hose. Dan matches him with the £12k dissident put into Google ads that came back with nothing, and an agency who mentioned afterwards that it takes about twelve months to kick in. A couple of hundred quid boosting a Facebook post was just as wishy-washy. What has worked is the unglamorous stuff: Screwfix Live and the Installer Show, cards handed over and passed on, and Instagram — where at least 80% of his subcontracting work comes from.The idea at the centre of it comes from his tattooist, who fills a feed with black and white work and then wonders why nobody books colour: only show what you want to do. Tom is caught in exactly that trap, because a feed built on his own face on the tools is why contractors ring him and homeowners do not. Along the way he and Dan map what each channel should actually be doing — LinkedIn for facilities management, Facebook for domestic, Instagram for the trade, TikTok for apprentices — and get into the £2k-to-£15k website gap with nothing in the middle, the mismatched logos on the van, why construction’s one-up mentality will get you thrown to the wolves over a detail in the corner of a photo, and the free marketing nobody is doing, starting with the sign-written van most tradespeople are still sleeping on. Plus the two things he would tell anyone starting out: charge what you are worth, and get used to other people making their problems yours.FOLLOW TCM AIR CONDITIONING SERVICESWebsite: https://tcmairconditioning.co.uk/Tom Milham (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcmairconditionigservices/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tcmairconditioningservices/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tcmairconditioningservices/Stay connected with dissident creative agency:https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don’t miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

In this episode of The Build Up podcast, Ryan Jones — managing director of SLG Agency, the construction marketing specialists now top of the CMA agency league table, and The Build Up's first-ever returning guest — comes back two years on to argue that AI is the biggest chance marketers have had to do the job properly. His problem with how the industry uses it: they reach for efficiency and more output, when the real prize is using AI to understand their audience well enough to earn a seat at the board table.Ryan makes the case that efficiency and innovation pull in opposite directions, so cutting time and cost quietly kills the space you need to think — and with only about a third of people who call themselves marketers formally trained, he sees a reset on offer. He and Dan get into synthetic data hitting roughly 90% of the accuracy of six-figure research (SLG won best use of AI at the CMAs for it), the “cost of dull” finding that a boring B2B ad has to spend 600% more to land, and why only about 14% of paid-social spend actually works.Along the way he covers SLG's Horizon 2026 report — four years of data now — where brand awareness has overtaken leads and marketers say buyers are harder to reach despite more channels, the 95:5 rule (nearer 99:1 in construction) that makes the first brand recalled the one that wins, and the post-it note he thinks every marketer needs: “they don't give a shit.” It's a grounded, numbers-first argument for using AI to understand people rather than replace them, and a reminder that whoever can't show their value is the one AI puts in trouble.FOLLOW SLG AGENCYWebsite: https://www.slg.agency/Ryan Jones (LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjonesslg/SLG Agency (LinkedIn): https://uk.linkedin.com/company/slg-agencyHorizon report: https://www.slg.agency/horizon/Stay connected with dissident creative agency: https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don't miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

Hope you enjoy this flashback episode, originally aired 14 Oct 2024.In this flashback episode of The Build Up Podcast, host Dan Moore, Creative Director at dissident creative agency, sits down with Ryan Jones, Managing Director of SLG Agency, to explore the evolving landscape of marketing in the construction industry. With over 12 years of experience at SLG, Ryan shares how his background in PR has influenced his approach to brand strategy and client services, emphasising the importance of positioning and audience understanding.Dan and Ryan dive into the value of research and data-driven strategies to inform creative decisions, the challenges of navigating client expectations, and the significance of brand guardianship. They also discuss the need for adapting to modern marketing practices in a traditionally conservative industry, while celebrating the potential for innovation and creativity in construction marketing. Together, they encourage listeners to embrace bold ideas and strive for excellence in their campaigns.Follow Ryan Jones:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjonesslg/Explore SLG Agency: https://www.slg.agency/Stay connected with dissident creative agency: https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don't miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

In this episode of The Build Up Podcast, Aaron Worrall — co-founder of Weather Wise Solutions, the family-run damp, mould and condensation specialists in Newcastle-under-Lyme — shares how he took the business from £4,000 and a kitchen table in August 2024 to £1.75 million turnover in its first year, now forecasting £3.5–4 million with a team of 33. It started with a £20-a-day Google Ads campaign a friend set up as a favour, on one condition: don’t touch it. From there Aaron leaned into the channels most trades sleep on — Google My Business, Google Local Services and Checkatrade — building a shop front rather than chasing leads.Aaron makes the case that most construction businesses have it the wrong way round: sort the brand, the customer journey and the three things every customer actually wants — turn up when you say, be honest, do a good job — and the work follows. He and his brother Jake have racked up millions of organic views (mostly on Instagram, filmed on a phone), while being honest that they can’t fully attribute what social does for the bottom line — they post for trust and visibility, not vanity. Along the way he covers why he won’t listen to the "experts" in the comments, how reinvesting every penny into better materials protects the reputation, the Checkatrade strategic-account setup that hands the legwork to an account manager, and the conversation with his dad — a mortgage guaranteed for six months — that got him to take the risk in the first place. It’s a grounded, numbers-first look at growing a trades business on almost no marketing budget, and a reminder that the shop front beats the lead chase every time.Follow Weather Wise Solutions:Instagram: @weatherwiseuk_LinkedIn (Aaron Worrall): https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-worrall-cstdb-75593795/Website: https://weatherwiseuk.co.uk/Stay connected with dissident creative agency:https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don’t miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

In this episode of The Build Up Podcast, Lee Fuller — a bricklayer of 21 years turned marketer and founder of Level Up Media (Trade Accelerator) — explains why almost everything tradespeople are being sold about lead generation has it backwards. He tells the story of building Thames Valley Brickwork from a standing start to £3 million of enquiries in year one on organic LinkedIn alone, with no paid ads, and how an accidental detour through film school and content-led marketing turned into a full-blown agency almost by accident. What sets Lee apart is his starting point: he’s a tradesman who learned marketing, not a marketer trying to learn construction — and he argues that difference is the whole game.Lee makes the case that leads come at the very end of the process, not the start — and that turning the taps on before a business has its messaging, positioning and sales process sorted is the fastest way to lose money and torch a reputation. He’s blunt about the two things trades get wrong (starting with talking about themselves — "no one cares until they care"), why every marketing campaign needs a villain, and why you should phone the clients who nearly bought and didn’t. Along the way he covers speed to lead and video sales letters, the fixed money mindset that has owners scoffing at a £12 CRM while chasing another £600k in revenue, and a contractor who fixed his messaging, added a few systems and walked into a seven-figure exit. It’s a refreshing, no-nonsense counter to the "get you leads" agencies flooding every tradesperson’s feed — and a reminder that the real work is knowing what you’re actually trying to build.Follow Lee Fuller / Level Up Media:LinkedIn (Lee Fuller): https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-fuller-3013aa188/Instagram (Level Up Media): https://www.instagram.com/tradeacceleratorltdStay connected with dissident creative agency:https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don’t miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

In this episode of The Build Up Podcast, Luke, the Walsall plumber and gas engineer better known as Blue Bulldog, shares how he turned a one-man plumbing and heating business into one of the trade’s most recognisable names on social media. He reflects on the early days of filming his work — from a boiler swap in the loft to a tap replacement done through the wall that racked up 2.5 million views — and how showing the job as it really is, mess and all, built the trust behind his following.Luke discusses how he’s utilised Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube to grow his audience and win work, highlighting the importance of consistency, authenticity and knowing exactly who he’s creating for rather than chasing viral views that never reach the customers in his area. The episode explores influencer marketing within the construction industry, the value of genuine engagement over vanity metrics, and why he turns down brand deals — including free products and even a free Turkey teeth clinic — when the fit isn’t right. Luke’s insights into keeping his integrity, building long-term brand relationships like his City Plumbing ambassadorship, and why the best brands win by building community rather than listing features provide a fresh perspective on the crossover between the trades and digital marketing.Follow Blue Bulldog Plumbing:Instagram: @bluebulldogukTikTok: @bluebulldogukYouTube: Blue Bulldog PlumbingStay connected with dissident creative agency: https://linktr.ee/dissidentagencySubscribe now and don’t miss future episodes of The Build Up Podcast!

In this episode of The Build Up, Dan chats with Mark Morris, Marketing Manager at Thomas Dudley, recorded live at The Installer Show.Mark shares how the 110-year-old British brand continues to stay relevant through loyalty-building with plumbers, standout product innovation, and bold marketing moves — including sending their Quantum siphon into space.They also talk agency relationships, the power of a great brief, and how Thomas Dudley uses social media and reputation to connect with merchants and end users alike.Whether you’re in-house or agency-side, this one’s full of takeaways for anyone working in construction marketing.