Mastering the art of digital marketing; Startup Ethinos

Wednesday December 19, 2012 , 3 min Read

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The major challenges in digital marketing come from new, disruptive technologies that are being tried, tested and adopted each day. Figuring out which innovation will stand the test of time and which one will become obsolete is next to impossible. And so is defining accurate measurement metrics, budgeting digital media spend across online channels and generating creative content that cuts across the clutter. Yet, the deep penetration of social media and internet in our lives has made digital marketing a must-have in the marketing plan of any company.

This space today is therefore buzzing with people claiming to be masters of the digital land. Ethinos is one such digital marketing agency that’s is trying to bring to its clients the best marketing tactics. ‘Ethinos’ means native wisdom and according to Siddharth Hegde, founder Ethinos, is what the firm promises to bring to the table. Hegde says: “We are all observant natives of the digital world and experimenters of the newest tools or apps that come along. It is this ‘native wisdom’ that we leverage for the benefit of our clients and ensure that they get the best from their digital marketing strategy.” Hedge draws our attention to their logo which consists of the double helix strands of the human DNA and an electrical pulse, designed to convey that everything digital in integrated in Ethinos’ DNA.

During his 14 years as an employee with startups and Fortune 500 companies like GE Capital, Xerox, and Gartner, Hegde secretly nurtured his passion of breaking free. The disconnect between a company’s B2B communication requirements and its agency’s understanding of the same, presented Hegde the gap he wanted to fill.

Ethinos’s growth into the mid-sized agency has been very incremental. Hegde believes in organic expansion and has followed the approach even while building his team at Ethinos. Today the Ethinos team comprises Sameer Shriyan who heads search and design, Nishanth Warrier is Ethinos’s strategy guy, Glynford Machado is part of the social media team, Seenath Kumar belongs to the SEO team, and Priyanka Kulkarni is a content-writer at Ethinos.

The Ethinos team focuses mainly on B2B communication and also works on campaigns for NGOs. Their work for NGOs has made Ethinos proficient in utilising social media to help these NGOs achieve their goals and objectives. But Hegde, doesn’t believe in blowing his trumpet and thinks that the work done by a marketing firm should speak for itself. Ethinos has never done any marketing to attract new clients. “Our efforts have always been directed at sharing our experience and learning, asking questions, and addressing issues that take into consideration the industry as a whole,” adds Hegde.

From all the work that they have done, Hegde’s favourite picks are their campaign for Olympic Gold Quest, which was featured as a case-study by Facebook on their marketing page. And the work they have done as NASSCOM’s digital marketing partners for NASSCOM Product Conclave and the NASSCOM Game Developer Conference.

Hegde has two important rules for all would-be entrepreneurs. “One is, if you really want to do something different, go out there and do it. Let nothing stop you. Like Grayson Marshall has rightly said: If people aren’t laughing at your dreams…then they aren’t big enough! Second is, always challenge your limits and broaden your horizons. Don’t aspire to be the best in what everyone’s doing; aspire to be the only one doing what you’re doing.”