Ocean Media Achieves Record Growth in 2010; Billings Up 35 Percent During Recession -- New Hires Support Expanding Business

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.  (January 5, 2011) – In the midst of an economy that continues to struggle, Ocean Media (www.oceanmediainc.com) found 2010 to be a year of record growth and expansion -- results that, from the agency’s perspective, affirmed its analytics-based focus on return on investment (ROI) strategies for client campaigns.

Ocean Media, a leading independent media planning and buying agency, today announced that its gross billings have grown 35 percent during the recession – and 15 percent during calendar 2010.  The agency projects billings for 2011 to grow by another ten percent year-over-year.

The agency landed a record number of new accounts in the past year, including Ancestry.com, ING Direct/Sharebuilder, Ebates.com, Mylife.com and MINI Cooper.  During 2010, staffing at the Huntington Beach agency also surged by more than 35 percent, to accommodate additions to the agency’s client roster. 

According to Adweek’s 2011 forecast for the media industry, growth is expected to pick up compared to 2010 but only at a modest 3.7 percent clip.   A year-end member survey by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) agrees: 64 percent look for “slow, steady growth” in ad spending during 2011.   

“We clearly see growth in ad spending tied directly to ROI,” said Mike Robertson, Chairman and Co-CEO, Ocean Media.  “In today’s economic climate, the need is critical to demonstrate that advertising and marketing dollars are working.”

“In that same vein, we have even seen a shift among more traditional companies, which are now looking to track and analyze ROI for their TV and radio campaigns,” Robertson said.  “Most brick-and-mortar stores have websites that are contributing an increasingly larger percentage of overall revenues.  The data available from real-time web visits and sales opens up a lot of possibilities not previously realized from an analytics perspective.”

According to Robertson, a focus on ROI enables advertisers to do better – and advertising to perform better – especially in difficult economic times.  With proper analytics in place, advertisers spend more efficiently, with less risk, get a bigger bang for every buck, and build brands in smart, sustainable ways.

“We analyze and monitor performance every day with a hawk-like focus on ROI, constantly optimizing campaigns to ensure our media buys hone in on what performs best,” said Jay Langan, Executive Vice President at Ocean Media.  “Proper media attribution is at the heart of every Ocean Media campaign, and ROI is the natural outcome.

“Technology and access to data enable companies to be much smarter with their advertising dollars,” said Langan.  “As Lord Leverhulme, the founder of Unilever, famously said, `I know that half of my advertising budget is wasted, but I’m not sure which half.’  Happily, that quandary is evaporating quickly for today’s marketers.”

Ocean Media is the media architect behind ad campaigns that have helped build such brand names as Priceline.com, FreeCreditScore.com, eHarmony.com, Overstock.com, and Angie’s List, among others.  Risk-averse by nature, the agency employs a sustained focus on comprehensive testing and evaluation, analytics and optimization. 

About Ocean Media
Ocean Media (oceanmediainc.com) is a leading independent media planning and buying agency, founded in 1996 and based in Huntington Beach, Calif.  Adhering to the philosophy that return on investment (ROI) should be at the forefront of every advertising campaign, Ocean Media develops media strategies that reach the right audience, incite action and generate results.  With transparency and a risk-averse focus on continuous testing and evaluation, comprehensive analytics and optimization, Ocean Media has been the media architect behind campaigns that built such name brands as Priceline.com, FreeCreditScore.com, eHarmony.com, Overstock.com and Angie’s List, among others.