Zak Borg | Taking a more digital approach to marketing

Tell us a bit about the company. What services do you offer?

Anchovy Studios, a digital creative agency, was founded in 2012, with the sole intention of filling the digital gap in the global market. Our primary goal is to create viral campaigns and assist clients in increasing their conversion rate by utilising digital media.

We assist clients on two levels, firstly by conceptualising and creating short burst digital campaigns to solve a challenge or achieve a goal, secondly assisting clients on a longer term through continuous management of there digital presence, it being social media, Search Engine Optimisation or any form of digital marketing.

We as an agency help brands and agencies connect with consumers to solve business and marketing problems by telling compelling stories and building engaging worlds, using social, video, digital, web and mobile, all with an extraordinary unified vision.

Who is your target market? Are you targeting big firms with big budgets or do also offer solutions for the little guy?

Our primary target are the big brands with big challenges, such as Lufthansa which is one of our flag ship clients, but recently we have started to take on a handful of very unique smaller companies, such as New York Best, which we feel sell a very unique product.

The satisfaction when assisting a smaller company with a tighter budget is much greater, even more so when you take on a brand's digital presence from the start, such as what we have done with Impact Learning in Libya, taking the Facebook page from 0 likes to just shy of 40,000 in a mere eight weeks - this is the single largest social media presence in all of Libya today.

As an agency we are very selective and work with brands, which we feel tell an inspiring story. The main difference we have seen, is where as the larger brands market for brand awareness, the smaller firms market to make a difference.

Traditional advertising is experiencing a bit of a decline. However, marketing is still an important part of the business model. How has your company taken advantage of the changing markets?

The market is changing, companies are coming to terms with the fact that agencies such as Anchovy Studios have crisp and innovative ideas and are able to provide them a competitive advantage at a fraction of the price through innovative digital mediums.

With the shift in budgets, we have positioned ourselves in the digital marketing arena, which is slowly taking precedence over traditional advertising mediums. A case in point is that companies in this day and age see much more value in creating a one-month Facebook or pay-per-click (PPC) campaign rather than purchasing a print advert.

The bottom line is that digital platforms provide business owners with accurate analytics and reports, which is seldom the case with traditional communication channels.

Although we do not focus on traditional media and strategic level marketing, our affiliates are a pioneer in this field, allowing us to focus fully on utilising the latest digital platforms to the best of our abilities.

What gives your company competitive advantage over other firms?

Being a start-up, the odds are always stacked against us, but with our frame of mind and international exposure to large universal brands we stand our ground in the digital arena and have recently been rewarded by landing two specialised contracts solely for the foreign luxury market.

One of our main advantages is the mentoring team behind the agency, ranging from the likes of Kurt Arrigo, one of the leading photographers in the world to leading international businessmen. With their foresight, knowledge and expertise we are able to bring an international touch to the Maltese island as well as a taste of Malta to the globe.

We strive to think out of the box, sculpting campaigns that are positive, vibrant and viral. Our biggest competitive advantage most definitely is our determination, the team and our experience with life in general, whether leading a professional sailing campaign or working alongside some of the most respectable names in Silicon Valley.

Why do companies hire your firm to look after areas like social media and not do it in-house?

Are you after a fantastic social presence with a great return on investment and conversion rate? Then think big, think external.

Some of the most common mistakes we have come across include handing responsibility of social media to a staff member whose primary role is not social media, who would start off without clear and well-defined goals in mind and undocumented strategy on how to achieve them.

A couple of years ago or even a decade ago most companies felt they had the expertise and knowledge to handle all their company's marketing activities such as booking radio slots and designing adverts. As the years rolled on and companies understood that dedicated marketing agencies were more suited to the task, they went ahead and recruited a marketing agency.

This is also the case with social media. More often than not, companies think it's enough to dedicate an hour or so a day to social media. However as the days go by, more and more companies are coming to terms with the fact that a dedicated external team focused fully on social media is more suited to the task and the conversion rate will be significantly higher.

Social media offers infinite opportunities to interact with existing and potential customers, building a brand, and promoting a company's services and products to the world.

However, the enormity of social media also makes it a slight challenge and could potentially harm a company's brand image if used incorrectly.

Like any other business undertaking, making social media work requires a solid and well-defined strategic plan with the key performance indicators laid out before initiating a campaign.

Some of the most common mistakes we have come across include handing responsibility of social media to a staff member whose primary role is not social media, who would start off without clear and well-defined goals in mind and undocumented strategy on how to achieve them.

When was Anchovy Studios set up and what inspired you to create this firm?

Throughout 2012 we experimented with a few Mobile apps - Zak would do the development while travelling and in the evening after work, while Benji would head to his computer after a busy daily of sailing in preparation for the 2012 London Olympic Games and churn out all the designs. This process dragged on for a couple of months until we released MaltaonDmove our trademark app.

One thing led to another and we quickly found ourselves thinking of creative names for a new company. The company had to be related to the sea, had to be abstract and eccentric, leading onto the little digital fish known as Anchovy Studios.

We quickly began start-up process and before we knew it we were up and running. The inspiration came from many things, in Zak's case looking up to idols such as Sir Richard Branson and creating a new company in which he would learn from mistakes he made with a previous start-up he spearheaded, while Benji's inspiration came from his sixth sense for design and creativity.

In the short space of time the company has been operating, it has received national acclaim. What makes your work stand out from the crowd?

Standing out from the crowd is always the tricky part, but our creative work speaks for itself. Whereas the others churn out the same designs and same ideas client after client, we look for inspiration from international clients and ensure we are unique.

As an agency we strive to be different, and this is visible through our work, such as our most recent campaign for Lufthansa, in which Charlene - a make-believe honeymooner - along with her husband Frank are travelling around the world for six months on their honeymoon. Each month, Lufthansa gives out a free flight to the lucky person that guesses the location in the shortest time possible. After five weeks of the campaign being active, we had more than 2,500 unique people playing the game over 40,000 times.

The company has been in business for a few months, but we have already been selected as a finalist for two very prestigious local awards handed out by MCA for eBusiness initiatives - a finalist as best mobile application for 2012 and best of technology in the tourism industry.

How has the company grown since its inception?

The company started off in a small garage in St Julian's. We went through a very interesting first year, that included a number of high and lows, as in any typical start-up. The first year flew by, and despite the small beginnings we have now made a huge step, moving into a large open plan office, which we feel has the makings of a hub for creativity.

The little fish is slowly making its way out of the small pond and through the doors of large and small companies alike and we are now striving to build a very strong local digital creative team.

How do you see the firm in five years time?

We envision Anchovy Studios as transforming itself into a creative digital hub. We want to grow the company organically and create an agency focused on creating inspiring digital campaigns.