In the heart of London's Soho, amid the creative energy of Wardour Street, Boldspace has established itself as a distinctive force in the marketing landscape since its launch in May 2020. Founded during the height of the pandemic by Nick Ford-Young and his business partner Mike Robb, this integrated agency has rapidly evolved from a modest ambition into a 50 person operation with an impressive client roster including the Post Office, Visa, and TGI Fridays.
What distinguishes Boldspace is their deliberate integration of traditionally siloed disciplines, bringing brand strategy, creative, PR, and data analytics under one roof with a singular focus on delivering measurable results. This approach represents a conscious response to what the founders saw as a fundamental industry challenge: the lack of accountability in brand building and PR activities.
Transforming challenges into meaningful change
No example better illustrates Boldspace's integrated approach than their work for the Post Office on protecting access to cash in society. What began as a public affairs brief evolved into a comprehensive campaign spanning brand strategy, advertising, production, and both consumer and corporate PR.
"This was essentially a comms brief, but we approached it like an ad agency," Nick recalls. “How do we make people understand where cash is needed? That might be victims of abuse, the elderly, people who aren't financially literate."
The campaign positioned cash as essential, not just for vulnerable populations but for everyday transactions with local businesses. They created a microsite which automated letters to MPs and tracked everything through BoldLens, optimising in real time. The result was transformative: a change in legislation enshrined in the King's speech that protected access to cash.
"We understood the end goal the client required, and plugged in all the services we knew it would take to make it happen. We never force it, and many clients use us for just one discipline, but we had the skill sets under one roof for this brief and as an example of the model working - it’s up there," says Nick. "Ultimately, it created incredible, meaningful change."
This ability to solve complex problems through creative thinking is further exemplified by their work for Lovehoney, where they navigated strict advertising standards that prohibited direct promotion of sex toys. Their solution? The "unbannable ad" ran as an OOH campaign displaying playful copy alongside alternative everyday items, demonstrating how creativity can overcome seemingly insurmountable regulatory challenges.
The integration advantage
What truly energises the Boldspace team is the opportunity to bring diverse skill sets together to solve complex problems - whether brand strategy and data science, or creativity and corporate PR. Nick describes the excitement of watching specialists from different disciplines collaborate: "I love when you have a world-class ad agency creative, a PR head, and a data scientist. There's no ego at all... I'm constantly blown away by the variety of skills in one room."
This integration extends to client relationships as well. The most rewarding partnerships, according to Nick, are those where the agency becomes an extension of the client's team: "The best relationships are when you're not working on someone's business but you're working in their business... your goals are to make them succeed in their job."
A recent example is their work with LHH, a global talent solutions provider within The Adecco Group. Boldspace developed a new positioning and tagline - “A beautiful working world" that challenged the traditionally transactional nature of the talent solutions space. Together, we have gone on a journey to challenge LHH to do something completely different in their industry," Nick explains. "They allowed us to push the boundaries, and the results and feedback across the group has been incredibly rewarding."
Data driven accountability
Central to Boldspace's client relationships is their commitment to transparency and accountability through their proprietary analytics tool, BoldLens AI. BoldLens AI is a marketing analytics platform available to both Boldspace clients, and also as a SaaS product in its own right, that tracks all brand communications activity across paid, owned, earned and social, and overlays specified commercials.
This approach has been instrumental in the agency's rapid growth. As Nick puts it: "It's just a bit of a no brainer, it's invaluable for clients to see what we’re doing for them, no fluff, just real time metrics. I think this largely contributed to our rapid growth, because clients have full access to all of the results, and we back ourselves on the ability of our creative to drive results."
Looking toward transformation
As Boldspace approaches its fifth anniversary, Nick sees the agency entering a new phase. "That five years is phase one, and this is the start of phase two," he reflects. The vision includes moving more deeply into the transformation space, helping heritage brands reconnect with contemporary audiences.
"I love the turnarounds," he admits. "I like working on projects where we have to really apply creativity to solve problems rather than work on the biggest, coolest thing. I'd rather be part of something transformative.”
With AI increasingly integrated into their offerings and a growing portfolio of high-profile clients, Boldspace appears well-positioned for this next chapter. Nick believes that independent agencies like his will drive the industry's future: "The indies are the disruptors, that are going to change everything... people are innovating with urgency, and that will be the new world order."
For brands seeking reinvention through the powerful combination of data driven insights and creative thinking, Boldspace offers a compelling proposition, finding that elusive bold space where meaningful transformation happens.
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