Businesses, brands, and corporate entities have evolved their business strategy over the years. Building a strong digital presence has become an integral ingredient in the marketing mix. Today, the key to success lies in adopting the ideal marketing strategy and catering to an ever-evolving audience. Zhenya Globazh, the co-founder of Shiba500 and a marketing leader with more than 12 years of experience in the industry, shares her insights about building a stellar strategic marketing agency in this candid interview.
Zhenya Globazh
Q: Please tell us more about your journey, and how you established and scaled your marketing agency into an industry leader
After more than ten years of leading marketing projects in various Tech & FMCG companies (WPP, Danone, Yandex, Scentbird), I co-founded Shiba500. We’ve started as a boutique agency with tailor-made solutions for B2B technology companies from the US and Europe, and in a short duration, we have built a strong portfolio of clients. We’ve built a comprehensive marketing strategy for the technology platform Hybrid.ai – a leader in programmatic advertising, developed a brand DNA and tone-of-voice for One.com – a Dutch company with almost 20 years history, created various content for the Bitfury Crystal and many more tech companies.
One of the biggest cornerstones to our success is the people we chose to work with. Our team works remotely, and thus we could choose talented and diverse individuals who are experts in their fields without geographical boundaries. Our team is spread across New York, Barcelona, and Kiev.
Q: What was the most significant challenge you faced in your journey?
The greatest challenge we faced was creating the company’s culture and navigating the planning and collaboration for the 100% remote team – and that was before remote working became such a trend as it is now. As a boutique strategic marketing agency, most of our core team members juggle multiple responsibilities. This also means that we draw on many freelance resources, depending on the project. This gives us maximum flexibility and allows us to collaborate with the most talented professionals in the industry. But on the flip side, it also requires a lot of planning and communication on our part. Over the time we found like-minded professionals, each of whom brings something unique to the table and successfully built the culture we are proud of.
Another factor that many businesses tend to ignore is to grow rapidly, but sustainably. We chose to rise gradually, from strength to strength. Each experience taught us something new, and before we knew it, we became a household name.
Q: What sets Shiba500 apart from your competitors?
First of all, we’ve defined our niche and built the right positioning: we are focusing on working with B2B tech companies that are pioneers in their field and significantly contribute to their industries. Such companies are building innovative products and we are experts in developing a strong brand and an effective marketing strategy for them.
We use a strategic approach for our work process: every project starts with a 3-4 weeks of discovery phase & market research. That allows us to build a strong positioning, brand identity and marketing strategy for each client based on the market situation. We understand our client’s needs better than anyone else and offer tailor-made solutions to help their innovative products stand out.
Q: What are your views on the future of marketing and the digital realm?
Marketing has evolved over the centuries, and it continues to do so today more than ever. The digital realm brings with it a sea of opportunities for brands and businesses to evolve, grow, and reach a massive audience. Today, we can experiment, innovate, and implement ground-breaking ideas by harnessing the digital sphere.
Strong brands that reflect values of modern society will emerge often as a direct response to the audience’s needs. Consumers are getting more conscious about the brands they invite into their lives: does this brand is changing the world for the better? What are the brand’s values, mission and footprint? In the future we will see the increasing role of storytelling and content strategies in the brand’s marketing mix.
The future is bright and froths with opportunity. We are limited only by our imagination, and that is what I love most about the work that we do.
