The Invest Plymouth Team recently sat down with Paul Burton, Director of pbmedia. This award winning digital marketing agency was created by Paul Burton in 2018, with the mission of creating better digital marketing for businesses, in the belief that all organisations have the power to be publishers with platforms that produce great content & design that people want to consume. All happening right here in Britain’s Ocean City.
What is the name of the company and how long have you been in Plymouth?
We’re pbmedia and we’ve been based in Plymouth ever since the company’s inception around a kitchen table in 2018! Today we’re a team of 7 based at an office at bustling Derriford Business Park.
What is the sector that you specialise in?
We’re a marketing agency that specialises in:
- Website Design and Management
- Social Media Management
- Video Production
- Email Marketing
- Content Writing and Creation
We have a fairly even split of clients across B2B and B2C in both the public and private sectors, and have particularly strong links in the regional B2B world.
Most of our clients know they need strong digital marketing, but simply don’t have the time, expertise or capacity to do it properly, or their existing teams are overwhelmed by the sheer number of tasks involved.
In 20 words, how would you describe the business?
pbmedia transforms your brand with marketing that tells a story people want to follow, buy and interact with. And we’re nice people.
Do you supply to Plymouth/SW/UK-wide/overseas?
Most of our clients are in Plymouth and the South West, but we also have clients nationwide and overseas in the USA, Europe and Dubai. Our processes and services aren’t limited to borders and in 2024, we had a breakthrough with content creation, introducing our Virtual Studio which allows us to create video content from anywhere in the world, recording via the client’s device in 4K.
What would you say was your best-selling product?
Our package of our five core services is by far our most popular and highest value product, and the one which drives the best results for businesses.
How it works changes from one client to another but generally:
We manage Social Media that drives people to a Website, we provide an improved experience and regular content that drives them to either buy, enquire or enter onto a Email Marketing list, which we use to nurture the prospect towards buying. And all of that is supported by our in-house Video team, who make impactful and emotive videos for every stage of that journey.
What would you say is the best thing about doing business in Plymouth?
The community. I’ve worked in several different cities and have never known such a supportive community – we network with competitors and potential customers alike, and the atmosphere is always positive. We had to navigate Covid only a couple of years after incorporation, and it would have been much harder without the community of businesses in Plymouth.
And what of the future … where do you see pbmedia in 10 years time?
We don’t see ourselves becoming a ‘big’ agency – small, agile and personable is part of our ethos.
We also experiment regularly with new services and ideas – last month we launched a sister brand called Case Study Creators, which involves making video and written case studies for businesses both in-person and remotely using our Virtual Studio.
It’s a flexible and in-demand part of what we provide and case studies tends to be something all businesses need to make at some point to progress or to win a tender – but they are difficult to produce.
We look for everyday marketing problems businesses encounter and how we might solve them, and that’s at the heart of our growth strategy.
And how about yourself … how long have you worked at pbmedia and what is your role?
I founded it! So nearly 7 years. I take a strategic role in managing all of our clients’ digital marketing, supported by our team of experts. Day to day, I also lead on new Website Design projects. I also write a helpful free weekly newsletter with marketing advice based on what we’ve been working on lately – you can get it at pbmedia newsletter.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I have two young daughters and they seem to absorb most of my spare time! Other than that, playing football, cycling and getting to the beach and in the sea. I’m also a governor at Manadon Vale Primary School.
If you could have a business lunch with anyone who could significantly influence you/the business, who would that be and why?
Not really business but in the 60s when Bill Nicholson managed my football team Tottenham Hotspur, he did things that had never been done before. I would love to know where that innovation came from and how his leadership inspired on and off the pitch.