How can a young agency become famous in the advertising world in two years’ span? 5 life hacks from Digital Choo (DC)
Advertising and marketing industry today is very popular. The entry threshold is rather low, and new agencies are really mushrooming. However, “to enter the market” and “to stay there” are completely different things, and to succeed and become one of the best is a whole other story. Nevertheless, there are such cases — for example, the international marketing agency Digital Choo (DC), which, during its 2 years of work, has collected many global awards and has become number 1 in the Ratings of Creativity and Craft of Marketing Services Agencies in 2018/2019 festival season. Iryna Kurochkina, founder & CEO of Digital Choo (DC), shared a few life hacks of the successful launch of a young agency.
- Gather a team that’s ready to shine
Any company, whether or not we are talking about an agency, is its people, first and foremost. A team. Let it be small at the start: DC’s history began with 10 people with the same shining eyes and the desire to apply accumulated knowledge and try to convert it into non-standard solutions to develop client businesses, filling them with new unique opportunities and developing them into improved own working models. This is what we did, gradually expanding our structure and attracting those who are “on the same wavelength” with us.
In only a two years’ span, Digital Choo became a powerful international platform with operational offices in 4 countries. Today we have more than 200 professionals in our lines, ready to meet the demand for diverse tasks of customers around the world, and we continue to grow!
2. Be ready to stand up for any challenge
In our time, emotion is already turning into a kind of cult and is gradually being introduced into every industry as one of the fundamental drivers for the success of many businesses. The bolder customers are, the more effective are agencies that are not afraid to step up to their challenges. In other words, always be ready to turn impossible into possible, and forget about using your expertise with rational persuasion factors and logical arguments to tell the customers why something is impossible and how risky it is to pursue a particular decision. This all gradually fades to the past. We try to inspire clients with our works, and they often come to us specifically for this emotion, thus “breaking” old stereotypes and proving with the example of each new unique decision that in the nowadays world of consumer transformation it is exactly the thing that works and the result a hundredfold. And this concerns not only creative solutions but also methods of their implementation and distribution, formats and ways of media placement and reporting to the consumer. We continue to develop this trend.
3. Be as proactive as possible in profile communities
The life of an agency is not really different from a regular human’s life — I mean, the community means a lot. Interacting with like-minded people, industry colleagues, competitors, potential customers allows not only to follow but to create new trends, catch relationships and manage intuition, which will lead to new solutions that can influence and even change the industry over time. Each new event, forum, or conference is always new ideas, projects, thoughts that can be and have to be immediately turned into effective business solutions and implemented. Otherwise, others will do it instead of you, and you will not be among the leaders, you will not shine with your uniqueness. Retain the recognition and develop it with the trust of new clients is the only way to strengthen your position and develop the business.
We are an international company, so we are constantly attending profile events around the world. Only this year, we attended conferences in London, Stockholm, Prague, New York, Minsk, participated in the organization of the UCA in Odessa, introducing cybersport topics in the lineup of educational sessions. We have no less busy schedule for the second half of the year. And this is paying off.
4. Savor the aftermath of risks that you overcame
Do risks often stop us, given the young age of the agency? No. Never. In any business, complexity is the strongest tempering of the spirit; it is an experience that is never given just like that. And the taste of its overcoming is priceless. It is important to remember one thing: if you cannot change the situation, change yourself and your perception. This way you can find a way out of any difficult situation. In addition, each “wrong turn” can bring you to the new advantages — at least you will see something new, which is usually not noticed on the path of rapid growth. The most important part is to be able to take advantage of the received insights and use them as a starting point for a new takeoff.
Many market newbies do not withstand the pace and the stress of self-development, and after a while, they become part of some larger structures — international networks, capable of supporting them and setting a motion vector. We have never had such plans. Digital Choo’s resource and potential are only reaching its prime.
5. Never rest on laurels and always go on with the development
Agency life is an eternal race; the work is your life, source of energy and inspiration. Stopping for a breather is an unaffordable luxury. While you rest, ten new startups will take your place! Ruthless evolution reigns in the advertising and marketing market, and without it, you may quickly get stuck in stagnation, or drown. Success inspires but does not give you the right to stop. Development is our main driver.
Read also “How to ensure the effectiveness of creative solutions”
