Portada interviewed Iain McNamara, Marketing Manager at Headways Media Mexico. Headways Media is an online marketing agency, born in Germany, that has recently opened a new office in Mexico. Mr. McNamara told us about the company's expansion in Latin America and his views about the Latin American on line marketing.
Portada: We know you have opened a new office in Mexico. Could you define the most important characteristics of the Mexican online marketing market?
Iain McNamara: “The Mexican online market is quite young in Mexico. The understanding of online marketing itself is still very low in this country. For example a lot of marketers or managers don’t even know that search engine optimization (SEO) is a form of online marketing and that it can essentially help to position their brand and increase sales.
However, the market is about to change. Statistics show, that Mexicans are beginning to adapt to the internet very fast. Both, the number of internet users and the time spent online have increased rapidly. The hype surrounding social media, like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc, is essentially pushing this change. Additionally, people are also gaining trust and have started conducting eCommerce on regular basis.
Some companies do realize that their clients use different media and undertake the first steps in this new area in order to keep up with their target market. They enjoy unique benefits. Soon online marketing will be a must for all Mexican companies.”
Portada: Which are your strategies for the Mexican ad market?
Iain McNamara: “We chose Monterrey as the starting point for our operations in Latin America due to its economic importance. Here we want to deliver the best online marketing services to the best performing companies in Mexico. From here we aim to develop the Mexican online marketing market. We have planned a series of communication campaigns to educate the market, to create awareness and demand. We plan to expand further in the country before we go further south, into Central and South America.”
Portada: What are your expectations?
Iain McNamara: “Initially we predict that the uptake may be slower as awareness of online marketing is quite low in comparison to other countries. But given the statistics in regards to online usage and increased investments in online advertising, we believe that this slow start will turn highly profitable.”
Portada: Who is your most renowned client in Mexico?
Iain McNamara: “It is a museum of modern art with a high recognition both nationally and internationally. We manage their social media activities and web communications, for them and for their sub projects.”
Portada: What do you think about the increasing budget in digital advertising?
Iain McNamara: “It was overdue. There are a number of statistics indicating that the budgets are increasing rapidly. We are at a turning point right now. Since the change in consumer behavior, companies have finally understood that they need online marketing. It is definitely an excellent investment that companies should undertake.”