DZD has been creating standout festive experiences since 1989.
Over more than three decades, the business has built an enviable reputation, combining specialist festive supply with creative expertise and display services to support venues, retail destinations, hospitality spaces, event environments, commercial settings and some of the UK’s best known brands make Christmas spectacular.
The business has evolved significantly in recent years, but the brand was left behind. DZD came to Prospect 13, not for a re-brand or an attempt to reinvent the brand, but they needed support to better define it. For a company full of creatives who spend their days helping other brands stand out, the team found this tricky, struggling to make time to step back and carefully articulate what makes DZD different.
DZD had become much more than a festive supplier and their strength lay in the combination of specialist products, creative thinking and the expertise to turn an idea into a finished display. Yet the existing brand and messaging didn’t fully communicate that breadth or give customers a clear picture of everything they could offer.
The challenge was to capture what had made the business so successful for many years, while creating a stronger, more contemporary visual identity capable of taking DZD forward. A brand that would retain the familiarity and credibility valued by existing customers, while building greater recognition and relevance with new audiences.
Working closely with the DZD management team, we got under the skin of the business, its customers, capabilities, competitors, where it wanted to go next, what makes the DZD business stand out and how the brand could better reflect the quality of work. This allowed us to bring clarity across the team to provide structure to their messaging around three pillars.
Supply. Create. Display.
From this, we developed a unified message hierarchy and new tone of voice that gave DZD a much stronger way to talk about the business on every level. This helped DZD communicate the value of its combined expertise to bring festive spaces to life.
With the strategic foundations in place, we translated our thinking creatively by evolving the DZD visual identity to create a brand that felt more distinctive, contemporary and confident whilst still feeling unmistakably DZD.
This included the development of a refreshed logo, typography, colour palette, supporting graphic elements and comprehensive brand guidelines to ensure consistency across every application and customer touchpoint.
Finally, we supported DZD to apply both the new messaging and visual identity to its website, creating a much more appealing customer experience to help the business present itself with the same level of creativity and impact that it delivers for its customers.
The re-brand brought its positioning, messaging and visual identity together, giving DZD a much clearer expression of the business it has become.
The new branding gave the team a stronger platform to communicate the full breadth of what they do and the value that they bring.
Strengthening their market position has given DZD the tools to connect on a deeper level with both established and new customers.
Most importantly, DZD now has a brand that matches the calibre of work the deliver.
“Working with the Prospect13 team allowed us to focus on the fundamentals of the DZD brand, identify our key markets and define the offer much more clearly and consistently across all our channels. We see this as an ongoing long term process that was brilliantly sparked with Prospect 13’s help, but our results this year are already showing significant benefits. They were also great fun to work with!”
Peter Guthrie
Marketing Manager
At P13, Lesley brings over 35 years of media and communications experience, with a background spanning journalism, editing and PR consultancy.
After graduating from the University of Aberdeen with an MA (Hons.) in Celtic & English, she started out as a reporter before becoming Editor of a weekly local newspaper in Aberdeenshire.
She later moved into PR as the communications lead at Scotland’s largest farmer-owned group of companies, a role that became the perfect stepping stone into freelance consultancy and writing.
Since 2008, Lesley has operated as a freelance PR consultant, successfully juggling projects, deadlines and engaging copy for a wide range of clients.
Organised, experienced and calm under pressure, she knows exactly how to turn words into results.
Cerri is the Aberdeen quine behind Prospect 13, with a 25-year career in marketing and communications. Before launching P13, she built her career across the energy and tech sectors before climbing to Director level. Then redundancy hit, but instead of crying, Cerri took it as a sign. Very Cerri.
In 2018, she launched Prospect 13 on the belief that SMEs deserved access to strategic marketing expertise without the big agency price tag or corporate bullsh*t. What started as a one-woman mission quickly grew into a team of straight-talking marketers. Now, Cerri leads with strategy, data and insight, with a real passion for getting under the skin of what makes organisations grow.
Outside work, Cerri is mum to Becky and Katy, married to childhood sweetheart Graeme, and happiest eating, drinking, cooking, exercising or planning the next holiday.
Holiday snob? Guilty.
She’s also gone from ‘not the hiking type’ to climbing Kilimanjaro after a knee-jerk decision. Now she’s hooked on Munros and hiking gear. A total foodie, fitness convert, tarot reader, horror fan and crime doc obsessive… and then there is Ness, Cerri’s 3rd baby girl.
Lisa runs Whitespace Studio, a creative studio in Aberdeen specialising in photography and graphic design for brands tired of blending in.
As a Design Manager at Prospect 13 since the beginning, Lisa’s worked across everything from logo design and website builds to marketing campaigns and commercial shoots, helping businesses show up looking sharp.
She’s all about clean design, strong visuals and making the process feel easy,
no fluff, just good work that delivers results.
Outside of work, she’s usually at the gym or playing taxi driver for her two kids around Aberdeen.
A big fan of a cold sea dip (the colder the better), usually followed by a hot sauna at Aberdeen beach.
Runs almost entirely on tea – and it has to be Tetley. No exceptions.
Hannah started her career agency-side as an SEO Executive, building a solid understanding of how people search, what makes content rank and what drives traffic.
After moving in-house into broader marketing roles, she joined Prospect 13 as a Digital Marketing Specialist, bringing a well-rounded, data-led approach to everything she does.
Happiest when digging into user behaviour insights, Hannah is driven by understanding why people do what they do, and how that shows up in the way they move through websites and the wider digital landscape.
Outside of work, she’s into CrossFit, where no two workouts are ever the same.
When she’s not in the gym, she’s out exploring, usually in search of the best oat latte (non-negotiable).
Cara studied Communication Design at Gray’s School of Art for four years, where her love for graphic design really took shape.
She thrives in creative, collaborative environments and enjoys getting properly stuck into a new project – bringing ideas to life and making them look as good as they should.
Cara joined Prospect 13 in August 2024 after a year at DZD… which has now come full circle, as they’ve since become one of our clients.
Outside of work, you’ll usually find her with her dog Obi, out for a walk or enjoying a bit of downtime.
When she’s not doing that, she’s likely planning, or daydreaming about her next trip to Walt Disney World.
Family life is everything, and she’s happiest spending time with the people closest to her.
At P13, Boryana builds and delivers content strategies that get results. Whether is social media, blogs, case studies, abstracts, campaigns or more, she creates engaging content with high performance. She tracks what’s landing, refines what isn’t and keeps it aligned to drive results.
Boryana works closely with clients and the wider team to keep the marketing strategies moving in line with the deadline, contributing ideas from early planning through to delivery
Outside of work, you can catch her with a book in her hand, at the gym or tuned into a health and wellbeing podcast.
When not tracking client performance, she’s analysing her sleep, running pace, and her ever-growing Duolingo Spanish streak.
Safe to say, she’s always optimising something.
Ashleigh has spent over a decade building a career that blends creativity with commercial thinking. Starting out in graphic design, she later swapped Scotland for Sydney, where she took on a mix of roles and widened her experience.
Back on home soil, she worked with global corporate names including Lockton and Cushman & Wakefield in London before joining Prospect 13 in 2024.
Now, she plays a key role in leading the team and shaping client strategies, bringing creative thinking, direction and commercial awareness, which is a pretty handy mix.
Drawn to Aberdeen by the promise of the quiet life and cheaper booze, Ashleigh quickly found her place in the north-east.
Outside work, you’ll usually find her with Mochi, her wee cocker spaniel, exploring Aberdeenshire… and sipping on a wine.
Annie is a Digital Marketing Specialist with three years’ experience at P13, starting out as an intern and working part-time while studying for four years at RGU, where she achieved her BA (Hons) in Digital Marketing.
Now full-time, she’s naturally curious (a bit nosey) and loves that digital never stands still, whether it’s analytics, web builds, or fixing problems that seriously test your patience.
Annie loves a good fantasy romance book, going to the gym, and spending time with her friends and family. She’s a big foodie and, in her own words,
“I wake up thinking about fit I’m gan to eat and go to sleep the same why.”
She loves a holiday, snowboarding, partying in Ibiza, or fantasising over Eeyore and Tigger in Disney.
She’s also currently getting ready to welcome her own wee mini me, roll on July!