Pioneer and game changer in media industry announces ownership and management change

Friday, 13 March 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Last evening, Mediafactory welcomed Nithiesha Jayasekera and Menaka Liyanage into their fold as Directors. They will be joining Kapila Vidanagamage the current Managing Director to stir the agency to new and greater heights. This move was announced at a cocktail party attended by clients and business partners.

Mediafactory commenced business in June 2005 and was an instant game changer for the Industry. It was the first media independent to be launched in Sri Lanka and it took the media business from the backrooms of traditional agencies to the forefront of the marketing business. People in business were quick to understand the value that we could bring to marketing and within a year and a half we were the largest media outfit in the country

Recounting its history Kapila Vidanagamage mentioned: “The early adopters of our services were the multi-nationals and soon we boasted a portfolio that included Nestle, Reckitts, Caltex and Airtel. The early years were also a landmark because the concept of Agency Of Record or AOR was pioneered at this time.”

The company thrived because it did not adopt global and regional tools and techniques, rather they created their own. These were created with intimate knowledge of the Sri Lankan market and more importantly the limitations of available media research. They were again a pioneer in introducing reach based planning vs. rating based planning which was a revelation to the industry at that time.

The agency is very proud of its work and achievements and named a few examples that they felt particularly proud of. The mega launches carried out in the early days including Airtel to the market which is probably the biggest and most complex launch the country has seen. They also spoke about the creation of Dell studio and the subsequent YouTube channel which has now reached over a 100 million views. The race to a million followers was also won by the agency for Mobitel way back in 2014.

Their proudest moment was the fact that they handled the Presidential Election campaign of one party in January 2015. And six months later was called to handle the main campaign of the rival party for the General elections. This was because the incumbent agency could not manage the complex planning to disperse the various massages in a logical and meaningful manner.

So what does the future hold for this agency? “We understand that media will make a very dynamic change in the next five years. The digital invasion which has already hit the more developed countries is going to gain some serious traction in this country as well. Our services will have to be reinvented and integrated more closely with digital experiences, content and conversation. Creativity and ideas will become even more important to communication going forward. New skills and techniques and tools will be the order of the day,” said Vidanagamage.

It was further explained that the top priority is a partnership with a reputed and future ready global communications network. “This will ensure we not only have the exposure and knowledge of newer tools and techniques, but we will ensure that we use our local knowledge to fine-tune and tailor make solutions for our clients, both in Sri Lanka and the region. The company will embark on a journey of discovery.”