Today we have selected Kivanc Kilicer to take his interview. He is the CEO of Scarlet Media Communication & Consultancy.
First of all, how are you and your team doing in these COVID-19 times?
Marketing, as a business, was severely affected by Covid-19 due to the pause in media investments. Scarlet Media, the leading digital marketing agency in Turkey, maintained its position during those hard times. We attribute this to the long-term relations we had built up with our clients in the past.
Tell us about your career and how you founded or joined this company?
After working for three multinational companies’ leaders in their sectors, I observed that engineering concepts were missing in the marketing sector. I decided to establish Scarlet as a marketing consultancy company with a twist: Data Analytics and User Behaviour Analysis. Fifteen years ago, performance marketing and analytics were still unknown to many sectors, and Scarlet focused on interpreting this data in clients’ favor.
How does your company innovate?
We follow the users. If you are into marketing, you should find new and innovative ways to pursue users’ tracks in the traditional and digital space. All social channels, new apps, and new operating systems should be on your map for growth. We are currently working on Augmented reality marketing applications to develop ad spaces and solutions in the coming years.
How the Coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?
We lost revenue last year, but 2021 was a year of recovery and even growth compared to 2019.
Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons?
One of the lessons we learned was about contracts. We generally do not impose sanctions on contracts if the client leaves before its end date. This was a mistake, and we will not repeat it. A contract is a contract and cannot be treated as I-can-end-it-whenever-I-want logic.
What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?
We are using CRM tools, Semrush for SEO organic growth, and Google Tag Manager for closely watching customer behavior on the web. They all help a lot.
Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?
Our competitors are local agencies with 2-3 branches in our region. We are investing in quality people more than ever and creating new markets like Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, and digital PR.
Your final thoughts
I believe digitalization is beginning to change to another dimension, and marketers who follow the new trends will greatly benefit from this.
- Spokesperson: Kivanc Killer
- Company: Scarlet Media Communication & Consultancy
- Website link: www.scarletmedia.net