Lighthouse & Ashley partnership to expand into digital media

The partnership agreement between Lighthouse Communications and the Ashley World Group can lead to a huge expansion of business in Africa and other markets, according to Makis Seriatos, chairman of the Ashley World Group.

"The agreement can offer clients specialised services in media and consumer research, commercial strategies to create demand, production and digital media on an unprecedented scale for Malta, the central Mediterranean and Africa," Mr Seriatos told The Times Business.

"This is what this new agreement is all about," he said, shortly after signing the affiliation agreement at the offices of Lighthouse Communications in the presence of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.

The Ashley World Group is an international communications group of companies headquartered in Athens with a strong market presence in South Eastern Europe as well as Abu Dhabi and Russia.

Mr Seriatos said that under the agreement Lighthouse is to represent all the disciplines of the group in Malta such as research, production, film production, TV production, media and digital marketing.

"We have worked together for the last two years; let's say it was a lazy partnership. Now we have consolidated our partnership. We have found that this agency (Lighthouse) is creative and crazy enough to carry out things that we really believe will work in the future such as digital marketing, meaning marketing via the internet, which is very useful for small countries.

"I also believe Malta can give a lot to other agencies in Africa. So yes, I really believe Lighthouse can expand in this area, and this is what this new agreement is all about. Malta belongs to a big Europe, at the same time it is a small country. It has a nice and mysterious history and it has to export marketing ideas. If it wants to grow it has to look beyond its shores," he said.

Mr Seriatos believes the future is all about "the new democracy of the internet".

In small societies and countries, he explains, the only way out is through the internet's world of communications and Malta has to use the internet to be well known around the world.

"A typical advertising agency will be transformed through a digital agency and this brings us closer to the new economy which is the future economy. Imagine somebody who lives on a small Greek island and makes very good cookies. If he wants to sell these cookies in overseas markets he can't place an advert in The New York Times because he can't afford it but he can advertise on the internet. Ten years ago this possibility did not exist. I really believe this is the future," he stressed.

He believes Lighthouse will expand in Malta and cites the establishment of political and product surveys as new areas of expansion.

"You need people to do these things. I really believe that there will be more opportunities for young people leaving university in this country."