Ignitee is among India's most successful digital marketing company. Ignitee enables marketers to reach out to the most dynamic and high potential consumer- The online consumer! The company leverages the power of digital marketing services and technologies enabling marketers to exploit the vast potential of the digital medium thus driving measurable results for our clients. Founded in 2000, the company has its headquarters in Mumbai.

V.Ramani, Co-founder and the Vice Chairman of Ignitee - is the man behind ‘Surf Mashoor Mahal’, India’s 1st ever branded program. He has spearheaded all the growth initiatives of the company with sheer dedication and candid efforts. He has rich experience with the offline media companies on the known brands like Unilever, Nestle, Philips, Bajaj Auto, Intel and Dell. V.Ramani is also the man behind ‘Philips Top 10’, India’s 1st branded program on a satellite channel. He was adjudged as a ‘Media Person of the Year 2000’ and was also the first Indian to be invited to the Cyber Jury at Cannes last year. At Ignitee, he has played a leading role in extending it’s footprints in India. His leisure pursuit includes cricket, quizzing and reading.

Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of India Infoline, V Ramani says, “A few large budget marketers are finding it difficult to afford media like TV and newsprint. They should ideally embrace the web…

Give us an idea of what is happening in the ‘push to consumer’ and ‘pull to consumer’ industry?

The ‘push to consumer’ industry has reached a size of around Rs520 crs. This is much slower than what we had predicted a few years ago. On the brighter side, the Search marketing part which is the ‘pull from consumer’ part is galloping at a fast pace and should be of around the same size as the ‘push to consumer’ part. This catching up has been done at a furious pace over the last 3 years.

The good thing is traditional clients are waking up. Nearby markets are hotting up. Categories like real estate and education to just name a few, are taking a substantial plunge in this area.

What triggered the relaunch of Connecturf?

We wanted to bring within the company changes in the form of new kinds of people, new lines of business, new markets, and new categories. But we maintained one thing – that these changes come first and that is when we will relaunch and rebrand ourselves. Over the last six months, we managed each and every goal that we had set out with. 45+ new people, 2 new offices, 37 new clients, 100% growth in revenue numbers. So we said, time to change. And here we are. Proud Ignitees.

What is your domestic and international reach? What are your plans in expanding each of them?

We have traditionally been lucky with overseas business. These are businesses which came our way without investing in any active business development efforts. However, now things are different. We have actioned our presence in the Middle East and are now handling four businesses. We have some serious plans for Europe, which we plan to unleash by the month end.

What kind of value do you provide to your clients?

We are a service business. Client delight is paramount to us. We have been able to attract the finest talent from across the industry and this talent pool’s singular mandate is to focus on client delight. With our creative quality, we have been able to provide cutting edge work and the industry has accepted this with complete happiness. Media was another area of focus. Same with Search. Our team is also excellent with strategy. Clients have started liking this combination and this is our cutting edge.

What are the new options available with clients to reach the target audience?

The web and mobile offer new innovations everyday. The key for us is not to get lost with so many options but to focus and get clients to adapt to the medium itself. We are very focused in growing the category itself.

How many advertisers do you have?

More than 85

What are some of the recent innovations in Online Marketing?

While there are many innovations, the significant ones which will see traction soon are Social Marketing Opitmisation and Video ads.

Do you think the slowdown in the economy may result in more online marketing?

We hope so. A few large budget marketers are finding it difficult to afford media like TV and newsprint. They should ideally embrace the web where for a fraction of their earlier budgets, they would not only get the reach but also the frequency. I hope some of them are reading this piece and will give us a call.

There are studies which show that shopping may increase on the net given the terror threats etc during festivals. What is your take on the same?

Again, we to have seen reports of some of these studies. While the trend is not exactly visible, I am sure many marketers will see value in this and would go online. Why just terror threats. Take Victoria Secret, they are the largest online sales apparel brand in the world. Women would find this to be a mega convenience option. So there are many opportunities.

Brief us about your financials. What is your revenue and profit? What is the outlook going ahead?

We have grown by 100% in the first six months of the current fiscal. We are targeting to end the year with billings of Rs125crs.

What is the ownership pattern of your company? Any stake sale planned?

Nexus Capital is the major shareholder with three other entities. Key people have stake and an attractive ESOP plan is being launched to include a larger set of key people.

Any plans to get listed?

Not in the immediate future.