Georgina Leigh-Pemberton, Managing Director of Turner Duckworth London, joins That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss how design builds unmistakable brands, why restraint matters and how to make the business case for a redesign. You’ll understand how to identify the assets worth protecting, bring stakeholders with you and give a brand room to evolve while keeping what makes it recognisable. From Jim Beam’s porch to McDonald’s golden identity and Maker’s Mark’s red wax, Georgina explains how a brand’s history can provide the foundations for its future. We also explore what newer brands can learn from that approach, even when they have no archive to dig through.
In this episode, we cover:
– How distinctive brand assets support recognition, attribution and marketing effectiveness.
– Why successful redesigns need stakeholder consensus and a clear commercial case.
– The confidence it takes for established brands to resist chasing design trends.
– How global brand guidelines can protect consistency while giving local teams creative freedom.
– Why research means listening to consumers, then applying judgement to what you hear.
– Where AI can help the design process and why learning the craft still matters.
A vital listen for marketers interested in brand strategy, visual identity, distinctive brand assets, agency relationships and marketing effectiveness.
That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
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PARTNER: TRACKSUIT
This episode is supported by Tracksuit, the always-on brand tracking platform. Understand how your brand is performing, follow changes in awareness and consideration, and see how you compare with competitors.
Find out more: https://www.gotracksuit.com
CHAPTERS
03:34 From medieval history to advertising and design
06:27 Jim Beam: finding a brand world on the porch
08:22 Packaging, Yorkshire Tea and the move into design
10:53 The role of design in marketing effectiveness
13:21 Why design takes patience
14:32 Managing a redesign across complex organisations
15:49 McDonald’s: building consensus around the brand
17:46 Making the business case to CEOs and CFOs
19:09 Bringing clients into the creative process
20:10 Protecting the idea through stakeholder feedback
21:28 Why restraint takes confidence
23:24 Building a new brand without a long history
25:54 Reese’s: global consistency with room to play
27:17 Listening to consumers through research
28:35 Why the work continues after the guidelines
30:03 When brand identities become part of culture
31:09 Knowing what to preserve and what to change
33:20 AI, human craft and developing young talent
38:11 Sharing knowledge and learning from other agencies
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