Before getting to it, you might wonder why we have even decided to choose Cypriot digital agencies market to enter and operate in. The decision was tough at the beginning due to the market size, but as we looked into the market further, we got convinced that there are many opportunities here in this beautiful island. Opportunities and positive points like:
- Low competition with few quality-rich agencies in the market.
- Limassol! The city of multi-national companies headquarters. Lots of fish out there!
- Plentiful market gaps and marketing methods that haven’t been tested in Cyprus yet.
- New industries popping up in the island, e.g. upcoming possible marijuana market, cryptocurrency, etc.
- Fruitful young talents with cheaper labor costs.
- Climate, beach, food and the laid-back lifestyle (this was also in our cons list!)
However, let’s get back to the point. Having started working in the market and continuously doing the research, we tried to summarize our up-to-date experience and highlighted the following six impressions.
1. Many Unhappy Clients, Lots of Unpleasant Stories, I Mean…A LOT!
At first we thought, “How could this be?” that clients we’ve been getting have more or less similar experiences with one or another digital agency or a “tech guy”. They got charged a fortune and received a poor quality work or even no work at all! At first, we thought that similar stories should be coincidental; I mean how it is possible that the very first three clients we got all shared the same disappointment. However, after a while, we’ve noticed that this is a pattern somehow and it happens a lot in Cyprus digital agencies market. I believe the reasons are what I have mentioned before – low competition and the high cost of good-quality agencies in Cyprus that can’t be afforded by small businesses.
2. Many High Quality Underground Agencies are IN Cyprus but work NOT FOR Cyprus!
It’s amazing how many underground digital agencies are in Cyprus that produce amazing quality creative content but all of their clients are outside Cyprus! I can name more than a dozen of agencies that we discovered within a month and they all work with small to medium size companies outside Cyprus. I got curious and asked the founders about their motives and they all say that this is happening due to the ubiquitous undervaluation of creative work in Cyprus! In fact, most of the brands who are willing and able to pay for quality and creative content have already been taken by one of the well-known larger agencies. This actually brings me to my next point of…
Some of our agency friends: SeriesEight, Pink Panster
3. Large and Old Agency Doesn’t Always Mean Great and Quality Products
Brand name, size of the company and their popularity amongst locals are the main factors that play a HUGE role in decision making here in Cyprus. And the interesting fact is – those large Cypriot digital agencies were founded back in 90’s and 00’s and due to the low competition in the market were never pushed to innovate, change their methodologies and technologies used so to be compatible with 2019 standards (Some still use Joomla believe or not). However, I believe that in few years, most of these agencies will experience major fluctuations if they don’t adapt to the world’s standards now.
4. The New Generation Sheds Light to the Cyprus Digital Agencies Market
Just spend a day in universities and societies where the new generation of Cypriots hang out and you will realize how many Generation Z’ers there are who are extremely passionate and talented in many aspects of the digital world. One day their pure innovative and creative attitude will change the entire Cyprus digital agencies market. Also, there are many Cypriot Generation Z’ers who are coming back from studying abroad and bringing those innovations and latest knowledge goodies with them. This is really promising!
5. Direct Advertising Still Works in Cyprus
Unlike the global trend of the direct advertising losing its effectiveness, in Cyprus, social and display ads still work! You can still buy sponsored content from different mediums and have leads phoning or messaging you in a zippy! However, I would give it another year or two until direct advertisement will surrender to the digital and inbound.
6. The Delayed Rise of Influencer & Community-Based Marketing
As expected, what happened with Kardashians back in 2007-10 in U.S. is happening right now in Cyprus. Influencer and community-based marketing is slowly taking over direct marketing in many industries such as fashion, cosmetics, food and beverages, fitness centers (shout out to all the fitness influencers and gym owners for their great effort!) and etc. So you’d better be prepared for this huge change!
If you are planning to choose a digital agency to work with, do NOT consider their size, or how old they are or how many well-known clients they have. Consider how creative their teams are and usually the smaller and younger the team, the more creative they get! Trust me, we know!
