The importance of communicating one’s beliefs and value systems can be very important in an age where perceptions matter so much. In an age, ie the digital age, the immediate transfer of images and information across the globe, requires a certain kind of mind to help propel this data in a direction that is conducive to one’s interests. The organisations that dominated the business of communication have had to learn to evolve or die out in an age where speed, clarity of thought and innovation in presentation is very important. The space is being increasingly dominated by organisations that are remarkably agile in thought and action.
Goa may seem like a backwater in terms of the larger advertising pie but there are some players that are carving out a distinct space and identity for themselves. Creometric Digital Agency is a home-grown organisation by Goan lads keen on making their mark. Judah Fernandez and Caleb Fernandez are brothers who are steering this agency helping companies find their way in the digital space. This start-up is one of several companies this very talented duo is presently fronting.
The company Kodework was launched in 2014 in Mumbai and focussed on website development and providing ecommerce solutions. The duo stayed in Goa and coordinated work from home. However, as Goans, they felt it made more sense to be here. In 2015, they set up an office in Goa and the market surprised. Billings increased and the size of the market increased to 20 members. In 2016, the brothers decided to launch Creometric because they felt there was a significant gap in the market that could be addressed. Many clients, they realised were looking at agencies in Mumbai, Bangalore and other cities to address their digital communication needs. They also decided to only focus on the Goa market.
The response has been good, Judah who oversees sales and marketing, said.
He said “We are focussed on increasing the client’s revenue and we analytic tracking of every key, where you go on the website, how much time you spend and all this used to drive sales.”
Tito the popular nightspot used their services and Judah says their services helped sales by several lakhs. The Biz Fest which was struggling to attract applications approached the agency. From a mere 200 in 3 months they built a mobile application, created an entire check-in and check-out format and helped register around 4000 applicants. They are currently working in Pernod Ricard. They are also working with the Pai Kane Group.
Like anything in life, there are challenges. In Goa it will have to be the ability to access the Internet 24×7 and having a continuous supply of electricity for the same period of time. Many companies in the State do not understand digital marketing which makes it tough for agencies.
Then there is the problem of being able to get staff who know their stuff. They have resorted to hiring freshers and training them in what they call bootcamp. They are focussed on ensuring the atmosphere in the office is congenial and the infra up to date. This ensures the staff loves coming to work.
The brothers would like to grow the company into a reputed brand which will then allow them to handpick clients. For an agency that has operated under the radar, the brothers confidently maintain the agency is the biggest in the State in terms of billings. They were of course coy when asked how much billing was. The agency works on retainers that could be anywhere from Rs 20,00 and above. They are now looking at pitching for companies who would be willing to pay them Rs 1 lakh and above. They said they were investing heavily back in the business and were keen on acquiring a digital start-up in the near future. The focus would always be on innovation because without it everything just dies out.
As mentioned earlier, the brothers have a total of 8 start-ups with a total employee strength of 110 sitting in Goa. The focus is on IT service web, software, mobile application. Digital marketing, branding and design.
Signing off Judah said “We deal in performance marketing. There is massive potential in Goa. There are companies that have failed which led to people burning their fingers. This led to several people not being in favour of digital marketing companies. Need to stretch boundaries”.
As one walked away from their office in Porvorim, full of millennials focussed on their laptops, one came away with a feeling that perhaps out of Goa shall emerge an organisation that will surprise the country.
