Connecturf, the digital media agency founded in 2000, has been rebranded Ignitee (pronounced ‘ignite’). Based in Mumbai, Ignitee will be a full-fledged digital marketing agency.

Speaking to afaqs! about the rebranding, Atul Hegde, chief executive officer, Ignitee, says, “It's not just about a name change. We have completely revamped ourselves and hired senior resources.”

Hegde was hired by Connecturf in April with the mandate of “re-energising the place”. He claims that Connecturf has doubled its growth in the last six months.           

Elaborating on why the name, Ignitee, was chosen, Hegde says, “The digital business is very vibrant. There is a lot of innovation and passion in everything. Also, we believe we are in the business of igniting brands.”

The extra 'e', which is silent, apparently signifies e-business and also refers to the Ignitees, which is what the employees of the agency now call themselves.

Some of the Ignitees hired by the company are S Dharmarajan, vice-president, online media; Ashok Karnik, executive creative director; and Sandy Pinto, senior vice-president, business development and client services. Harminder Kaur, who has been with the agency for a while, has been promoted as chief strategy officer.           

V Ramani, who is a founder of Connecturf, will continue to be the vice-chairman and managing director.  

While earlier, Connecturf was mostly an online media buying agency, Ignitee will now incorporate search, web development, social marketing optimisation (SMO) and creative functions as well. Hedge says that new teams have been hired for these functions, especially creative, as “online media is no longer about adapting press ads”.  

In a week's time, Ignitee will be hitting the market with online and offline activities. Hegde says the campaign will include hoardings, press ads, online ads and virals targeting the marketing and advertising community in Mumbai and Delhi. It will also be a campaign to attract talent, he adds.

The agency has around 100 people currently and about 50 more will be hired in the next six months. Hegde says the agency is targeting four times growth year on year.           

In terms of billings, Hegde says the agency is currently at Rs 50 crore and expects the figure to reach Rs 125 crore by the end of the year.