Member Article

Agency MD recovers from sick bed to rebrand marmalade with BBC

The MD and founder of Leeds Branding Agency ALLGOOD suffered a brain haemorrhage in January this year, as a burst aneurysm required complex neurosurgery to save his life. Only a few months later, on his first day back at work he returned to the industry having been called upon by BBC’s Rip Off Britain as an expert food marketeer to explore how traditional foods could be re-marketed to appeal to a younger audience.

The brief was to look at how marmalade, a once family favourite, but the latest food to fall firmly out of fashion, could be saved from extinction. Paul and the team, based in Leeds, were tasked with researching the sector and developing a new concept that couldn’t use the word ‘marmalade’. After a complete rebrand and refreshed packaging concept, the jars were consumer tested in London live on the programme to great applause from the younger generation.

Dad of one, Paul, 38, suffered a Subarachnoid Haemorrhage, a form of stroke, on 27th January - a condition that has a 50% fatality rate. After months of bedrest due to the after effects of extreme fatigue and mental-cognition related impairments, Paul is now passionate about returning to the business he loves and has run for the past 13 years.

He explains: “I’m still suffering problems with short term memory, concentration, not being able to find my words, mixing words up, forgetting names and focusing on tasks, all things that I took for granted when running a busy design agency. I have started coming back into work for a few hours a day, slowly working up towards half days and I’m currently working 9am – 3pm and feeling more like myself again. Looking back at where I was a few months ago it’s incredible really”.

“The BBC project was the first week I came back in. It was such a big opportunity, I got off my sick-bed to come into work for the concepts, the design and the day of filming. It was a real springboard to getting back into things and I’m so glad I did. It was the perfect way to feel valued again and for me to realise that life can get back to normal after some truly scary times for me and my family. Our agency is creatively driven and totally dedicated to branding, that’s a great release for me as I can really throw myself in.”

The brief from the BBC was to reposition marmalade to a younger audience and to make it more contemporary with a ‘rebrand’ of the traditional fruit preserve after statistics revealed that sales of marmalade have been dropping in the last few decades. ALLGOOD were tasked with creating new labelling that would persuade people that marmalade can be just as tasty as Nutella and can be eaten anytime of the day.

Paul said: “It’s been a fantastic dream brief for us to rethink and re-envisage an entire product range and to receive such glowing feedback on the work we did. Seeing it put to the consumer test and the branding changing perceptions was very satisfying, as was hearing the BBC programme declare “It’s job done” at the end - this definitely made it worth getting off my sick bed for!”.

He also added: “ It was also great to hear Gloria Hunniford conclude the programme with “…when it comes to food all it takes to turn someone’s head is a bit of clever packaging” - a vote of confidence in what we do, and this has made me really proud of the team and excited about driving the business forward again”.

ALLGOOD are branding experts who work extensively in the food and drink sector, but also provide branding and design services to many other types of business such as Health and Wellbeing, Software, Schools, Wedding Venues and much more.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .