GDA Design
GDA Design - a history
This is a 985 word overview of the history of GDA Design. For those reading on smartphones that's a lot of scrolling!
To save your thumbs, here are some quick links:
From small beginnings
GD Associates began in 1996 in the UK when Giles supplied freelance design & marketing services to design agencies to provide an additional revenue stream whilst lecturing in Higher Education and undertaking an employer-sponsored Post Graduate in Education at University.
Within 12 months a rapidly expanding direct client base in sectors such as giftware, automotive, manufacturing and consumer goods necessitated a rapid re-focus as GDA Design Limited, a full service agency complete with with premises and staff.
…a sense of unease grows.
Though now a sustainable growth business there was however, something missing in terms of the returns from the business:
"We were winning clients and the late 1990s were a great time for emergent media such as desktop video editing and, of course, the rise of the internet. What I as director lacked was the same feeling of enjoyment I had when I lectured - the feeling that you were giving back to society, not just selling to it."
The lightbulb moment.
In 2000 Giles was asked to meet with a member of the UK Prison Service. Governor Peter Knapton was unhappy with the reoffending rates amongst young offenders in the custodial system.
The resulting communication campaign entitled: "From Exclusion To Inclusion; the Prisoner's Journey" illustrated the rehabilitation programme in context showcasing its objective to build resilience in released offenders to reduce further recidivism.
The campaign depicted not only the journey back to societal inclusion but also outlined all of the stakeholders; prisoners, staff and parents/carers and their roles and responsibilities within this.
The project was cited as best practice by HMPS and a strong relationship was forged which would last nearly 20 years.
"It was at this moment that I realised we needed to provide the same industry standards of insightful innovative marketing and communication strategy and media to the third sector - those who provide services to wider society. This is where I realised we could balance both social and financial returns."
Over the next few years clients with household names such as Audi and Cadburys were augmented with clients such as the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the National Health Service (NHS), Public Health England (PHE), local Education Authorities, several social housing providers and Government run programmes in areas such as health, cultural engagement and education.
All benefitted from the same levels of strategic insight, public relations support and, of course, media execution across print, video, online and in social media.
That 'itchy-feet' moment.
2008 saw an even bigger expansion, the opening of GDA Design Pty in Australia.
One of GDA's fastest growth sectors was with private social service providers such as Serco, Sodexo and Mitie. Serco had broadened out into the operation of criminal justice contracts and had approached us to help them achieve a specific KPI, a reduction in smuggled drugs, through a strategic communications campaign in their spearhead contract: HMP Lowdham Grange.
Our campaign was a success and the relationship grew to service all of Serco's justice contracts across the UK and their central office with strategic communications and bid support.
Serco's emerging Asia Pacific business, in the form of an initial 2 prisons and 23 Immigration centre contracts in Australia, created an unmissable opportunity for GDA to expand internationally.
"GDA had always maintained agility through the early adoption of technology. Solutions such as Skype, FaceTime and WebEx for video conferencing, Apple's iDisc, Amazon S3 cloud computing and online collaborative project management tools enabled us to service clients from Scotland, through Malaysia to New Zealand effortlessly."
With GDA's co-director Joanna Garner heading UK operations within 12 months Giles Dutfield had established GDA Design Pty Ltd. in Western Australia with satellite office capacity in Sydney.
Agile and innovative
In 2014 it was decided to divide GDA into three operational divisions based on our experience of ongoing evolution in client needs:
- GDA Consult: A strategic consultancy service to help shape For-Purpose organisational service direction and delivery
- GDA Create: The traditional role of GDA as a full service marketing and communications agency
- GDA Educate: Training to help clients up-skill and develop the capacity to in-source enabling them to build capacity and develop sustainability
The following years saw a rapid expansion in client base across Australia with projects being undertaken for business clients such as Coca Cola, BHP Billiton and a growing range of For-Purpose clients such as:
- Outcare
- Hollyoake
- RUAH
- Mission Australia
- Anglicare WA
- Down Syndrome Western Australia
- Foundation Housing
- Youth Legal Services
and a wide range of Aboriginal organisations from private companies, Prescribed Body Corporates (PBC's) and Corporations.
GDA Design Pty Ltd won awards and Giles was invited to speak at conferences in Australia.
Brexit :(
Following the GFC and the UK's decision to leave the EU, GDA's Directors took the opportunity to re-evaluate the strategic direction for GDA Design.
After much discussion Joanna and Giles decided to prepare sell the UK business as a going concern leaving both Directors free to move to other projects. In 2020, after 24 years in operation, GDA Design Limited became part of the Lime Communications Group in the UK.
Push Consulting
For Giles the next logical iteration was to re-brand and re-purpose GDA as Push Consulting in conjunction with Shawn Boyle:
"Push Consulting is the logical next step for the lived experience from GDA Design which always thrived on agility and innovation. Today's clients exist in a confusing maelstrom of media and technology and need an experienced advocate to offer impartial advice. Our experience and credentials allow us to become this 'critical friend.' This position enables us to offer a value-add service operating at both macro and micro level, spanning strategy to execution and evaluation to deliver measurable outcomes.
The days of strategy as aspirational statements and communication that consists of disparate messages and media elements are gone now. Clients want to understand, take control and need measurable results."
How can we help your organisation get to the next level?
Call us now on +61 (0)8 6102 4920 or use the form below to get in touch.
Pro Bono
Every month we allocate a fixed amount of Pro Bono time to help organisations.