Introducing Honchō
Integrated search marketing agency rebrands to reflect its leading experience in retail and automotive sectors
www.honchosearch.com
London, UK – May 2019: Digital agency iThinkMedia – which offers search engine marketing solutions – today announces its rebrand to become Honchō. This change is to reflect its leading status and niche ambition as an automotive and retail agency, and to adapt to changing times in the industry.
“Search has evolved massively over the last 10 years and continues to do so at a remarkable pace. The playing field is just too large to build a fully specialist team for multiple industries,” says Syed Ali, Honchō’s Head of Search.
“We’ve decided to focus our knowledge, strategic approach, and investment in technology within the two sectors we know best. We feel this provides our clients with a truly specialist service that cannot be matched by generalist agencies,” Syed adds.
Founder Chris Ailey believes it is the right time for the agency to evolve and realign its digital expertise within niche sectors. Further background to Chris’ decision to rip up his old agency and start afresh here. Even more so in the wake of Barclays’ recent Adtech Ascendancy report (March 2019) revealing the boom in digital marketing is set to continue to grow this year and exceed £15bn.
After launching the agency in 2008, following a career with DSGi as Search Marketing Manager, Chris has built the agency to its current 25-strong team. It has extensive experience in promoting a wealth of fashion labels, automotive dealerships, e-commerce sites and brands to the top of Google, most notably: eBay, Mothercare, Renault Retail, and Group 1 Automotive.
Honchō develops SEO solutions that improve clients’ organic visibility in search engine results and build larger audiences on social media platforms. It creates content marketing campaigns and establishes relationships on behalf of clients with key influencers, media and bloggers to build brand awareness and gain links and mentions to its clients’ websites.
In the ever-evolving and connected world of digital marketing however, to offer all these services within a hybrid agency is not enough: “One of the key challenges for digital marketing is that it has become saturated with agencies all claiming to be specialists at a group of services for any industry,” commented Chris Ailey.
“Our specialist approach is exactly that with two industry niches, and allows us to fully focus our knowledge and resources on two industries that we already have great experience in. The rebrand signifies that we have been operating at the highest level in this industry for more than 10 years, and felt we needed to reflect this in our positioning. Everything about Honchō will leave our clients feeling that we are immersed in their industry and fully understand the market in which they operate.”
The new enhanced identity is designed with the help of Creative Director Kevin Russell to mirror Honchō’s automotive and retail industry specialisms. The agency’s fresh name, Honchō, aptly incorporates the themes of leadership, influence and specialist expertise to reflect its digital service offering – in Japanese the word ‘honcho’ means leader. The parent company Umbrella Content Ltd also changes its name at Companies House to Honchō International Ltd.
Based just 15 miles north of London in the countryside of Hertfordshire, the agency’s reinvention also sees a full re-fit of its offices, a 17th century barn and stables. Chris committed a significant investment into the rebrand, to ensure the team is equipped with state-of-the-art digital offices.
ENDS
For interviews or comment with the Founder or opportunities for the Honchō team, please contact:
Fran Griffin – Honchō Search’s press contact
M: 07920 260 354
T: 01992 804 601
E: fran@honchosearch.com
About Honchō International Ltd.
Headquartered in Hertford, UK. Honchō provides tailored solutions in SEO, Paid Search, Social Advertising, Content Marketing and Digital Outreach to retail and automotive companies including eBay, Gumtree, Renault Retail and Group 1 Automotive. The company is independently owned and maintains a web presence at https://www.honchosearch.com.
