UNLIKE some other medium sized advertising agencies which are contented with their existing scope of businesses, Krakatua Sdn Bhd is constantly looking to expand its range of services to meet clients' growing and fast-changing needs.

Describing itself as a marketing communications company rather than a full-fledged ad agency, its chief executive officer Datuk Johnny Mun says the company is in the midst of looking for a partner to boost its digital marketing business.

Datuk Johnny Mun ... ‘Krakatua is named after the volcanic island in Indonesia.’

“We hope to either tie up or buy into an agency that is strong in digital business. Social media is gaining prominence in line with people becoming more tech savvy and using this medium frequently as an effective communications tool. Digital marketing is becoming a big business and will be a future driver of growth for the advertising industry.

“At the moment, the company is working with two to three associates in digital marketing work as we do not have a digital arm. We want to be holistic and have our own and permanent digital marketing business,” he says in an interview.

The company, established about 17 years ago, is now on an expansion trail and sees this year as a year of growth.

Mun, who was with ad agency Batey previously, joined the company about 11 years ago and feels the time is now ripe for Krakatua to go to the next level as it is on a firmer footing.

“Krakatua is now poised for growth as we have a niche business and have staff who are experienced in different areas. We are quite fairly spread and undertake work in areas like brand building, strategic planning, media buying and managing clients' accounts,'' he adds.

When the company started business, its annual billings were worth RM5mil to RM6mil, compared with about RM25mil now, according to Mun. By year-end, he reckons the figure will hit between RM30mil and RM35mil.

Some of its clients are breadmaker Gardenia, Fisherman's Friend, Olympus, Adidas, GNC (pharmaceutical company) and Mitsubishi Motors.

The company is also working on a number of big projects, of which work with Firefly is one of them, he reveals.

On competing with bigger ad agencies, Mun says it is a matter of the type of businesses or target audience as the company's focus is on the smaller and medium-sized companies, adding that the SME market is huge.

On the main challenges facing the company as a medium-size outfit, he says it is staffing getting the right talent and people to join the company, which is a problem elsewhere in the industry.

“As for me, I am willing to recruit a person from any profession as long as he is willing to learn the ropes of the business.

“Advertising is a lucrative business but one that needs a person to put in hard work too. It grooms one to be an all-rounder as it involves him handling all types of businesses.

“It's unfortunate that many graduates are still hesitant to join the advertising business,” he notes.

On the company's unique name, Mun says Krakatua was named after the volcanic island in Indonesia.

“It signifies the company's Asian values and culture blended with the company's staff who have western knowledge and training,” Mun says.