Why branding really matters

Branding is vital for any business. And being clear and consistent with communication is something Paul Duckworth knows all about.

With a 35-year career in the design, advertising and marketing industry, he is Founder and Creative Director of Canterbury-based Brandspace Media.

A flexible team of multi-skilled graphic designers, web developers and digital marketing experts, Brandspace has experience in all aspects of branding and marketing communications.

From brand identity to annual reports as well as design for print, advertising, event graphics, social media, website design and digital marketing – it provides powerful marketing communications across industry.

Paul says in a post-Covid world, where businesses are still feeling the impact of the pandemic, both he and his clients have had to adapt the way they work.

“Industry has changed massively over the past few years, partly caused by Covid,” he explains.

“The pandemic caused a nightmare scenario, with many companies slashing marketing teams and budgets.

“For us 2024 felt like it was the first year we had fully recovered.

Paul Duckworth, Founder and Creative Director of marketing

and design agency Brandspace Media,

tells Karen McLauchlan why it’s crucial for businesses to get their messaging right.

“But we’ve had to become more flexible and cost effective in the way we work.

“Industry is getting tougher when it comes to cost and time. People want things done increasingly quickly and for less.

“But I think for 2025, while businesses are still quite cautious and have learned to exist on smaller budgets during Covid, they are now moving forward again.”

Paul adds: “Covid has also brought some positive changes – such as home working.

As we don’t have a permanent office, we can now employ the right people and the right skills from further afield, which has been a big plus.

“We have built strong and trusted long term relationships with designers, developers and social media experts that enables them to work from home, giving us and them a more flexible work/life balance. Most are in Kent but some are elsewhere in the UK and even as far as Poland.”

Training as a Graphic Designer at art college in Canterbury, Paul’s passion for branding began when he worked for world-renowned agency Landor in London, followed by brand management at BAA and Polygram.

He expanded his expertise to design for print, and in more recent years added digital marketing and web development to his skills.

His 35-year career has seen him work with organisations including Port of Dover, Barclays, ABI, Sony, Argos, World Travel & Tourism Council, bp society, GSK, Family Building Society, the International Faculty of Finance and Canterbury City Council.

And he says his company’s mantra –‘Taking care of your brand’ – is as true today as when he started in the industry.

“At the start of everything is branding, if that’s not right you’re setting yourself up to fail,” he explains.

“That doesn’t mean we want to rebrand everyone, but what we do is bring consistency to a brand.

“How you represent yourself, your logo, the colours you use and the style you present your business with applies across everything we do for a client.

“That’s really our core strength.”

He says while digital marketing has grown exponentially in recent years, there is still a big place for print marketing.

“Some people have forgotten the value and effectiveness of doing things in print, that’s something we have real strength in.

“Brochures, magazines, newsletters, annual reports – they often work better in printed form and also make a statement about how serious you are as a business.”

As a creative business, Paul says it’s so important for Brandspace to work across industry, rather than focus on one sector.

“Specialising can leave you vulnerable and when you’re working in a creative industry you need that variety – it keeps you fresh and passionate about what you’re doing.

“One day you might be working on an annual report for a building society and the next new packaging for a bottle of vodka. It keeps us stimulated as designers.”

Brandspace’s B2B and B2C clients range from small start-ups to SMEs, corporates, charities and the public sector in markets including financial services, logistics, software, wellbeing, retail, construction, engineering, travel and manufacturing.

And while the growth of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) has certainly impacted the world of marketing and media, Paul says nothing can replace the spark of real human imagination.

“AI is a challenge,” he says, “it has its place, but I worry for the next generation of designers and writers if they can’t think creatively.

“AI can kill creativity, and you must train your brain to be creative.

“You might ask AI to design a logo, but it doesn’t consider the personality of a business, what it stands for and what’s important to it. As a designer you know when something just feels right for a particular client, but AI doesn’t have the feel factor.”

“It is crucial people understand and appreciate the value of creative thinking.”

Brandspace has also looked to expand its network via the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, becoming a member in 2021.

“It was important for us for networking and new business,” says Paul, “and I think being a Chamber member gives you greater credibility.

“We had been members of other networking organisations, but last summer became purely focused on Kent Invicta – to improve those local connections and increase business.”

Talking to Paul it’s easy to understand it’s the creative process that has continued to fire his passion for branding during the past three decades.

And while his career has seen him work for large agencies, he says bigger isn’t always better.

“We are a small, but flexible business which keeps me hands-on with the creative work –which is the work that I love.

“The value is in our people, their expertise and their passion to achieve for clients.

“When committing to work with us it is essential the chemistry is right as we want an open, trusted and lasting ‘partnership’ rather than a more distant client/supplier relationship.

“This always leads to greater success for both parties and is one of the reasons why our clients stay with us for the long-term.”