Matt Emmott, who joined PSE in early January, has come to the company from advertising firm Go Inspire Connect, where he held the same position.

PSE has made a number of senior hires in recent years to back up its bold growth strategy, including head of HR Helen James and head of strategy Adam Lucas in 2022.

The brand has focused on strong organic growth, according to Lucas, who told Printweek that the company would aim to expand from £7m in 2022 to £20m turnover by the end of 2025.

The growth, he said, would come from further expansion of PSE’s team so that it could bring some of its services in-house and take on more clients.

He said: “The good news is we have numerous ways we can get there.”

By expanding its data team – the firm is currently recruiting for a graduate data analyst – it will be able to add a number of services and metrics to its marketing offering. 

PSE has likewise begun expanding its creative team so that it can bring work in house and offer an end-to-end service for clients.

Printing would remain an outsourced process for the company, Lucas said.

He added: “We want to do it in the most sustainable way possible – not just in terms of growth, but also in terms of the team that we want to employ – and we want to be sustainable in terms of the environmental impact we have, too.”

PSE chairman Phil Newton said: “Our repositioning is all about connecting brands with individuals and doing this in a compelling way.

"We’re pairing creative ideas with data, accounting for every pound invested and we’ve kept our family values at our core. Our new website and brand strategy is something we’ve been refining for a long time now and we’re really proud of the end result.”

Part of this sustainability strategy has been the hiring of an apprentice in the firm’s accounts department and the promotion of an existing apprentice to operations manager.

Lucas said: “I think it's very easy to forget that the value of very junior members of staff can have.

“You have to make sure you think about what the role is going to be – and make sure you have learning opportunities and areas of responsibility for them.

“I’ve heard horror stories in the past, where people have hired at a junior level and things didn’t work out, and typically it’s quite clear that they didn’t have the right framework in place to support that person. As soon as you have that structure in place, they’re able to take on responsibilities and thrive.”

The current economic uncertainty has not troubled the company’s expansion plans, according to Lucas, as many customers come to them to drive repeat purchases from single-purchase customers – an economical, effective marketing stream, he said.

He said: “We’ve already seen, and are expecting to continue to see, brands be more careful with their marketing budget this year.

“We’re fortunate because we’re set up across the board in the customer life cycles, whether they’re a cold prospect or the most loyal customer ever. It’s about making sure we’re set up to read the market and listen to our partners, so that when they are thinking about their budget, we are able to advise them on the best thing to do.”