Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Santana.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started in marketing and branding with Televisa Publishing in the mid 2000’s. I was the Brand Coordinator for three national Hispanic targeted magazines with a combined circulation of over 500k per issue. My role was to work to build the brands through events, partnerships, and digital marketing. It was the digital marketing aspect that really peaked my interest and it was easy to see at the time the impact it was having and how much growth potential still existed.
After almost six years at Televisa Publishing I took the leap and started a digital agency, Digital Zeros Media. I offered many different digital services but focused on SEO, Web Development, PPC, and Social Media. Those were areas that I could show real growth for the customers that I was working with at the time.
I went through two years of steady growth when I arrived at a bit of a crossroads. I was offered a position to lead the digital marketing services for the Sun Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale. I didn’t know it at the time but this decision was the best I could have made since it was during this time that I met my future business partner, Corey Levin.
I became the “big gun” for the Sun Sentinel. There was not a large or important business pitch that I didn’t plan the strategy for and present. I rose through the corporate ranks quickly. Eventually I was promoted to a position working directly for the Tribune corporate office. I was to lead their digital and content marketing efforts for the Los Angeles, San Diego, South Florida, and Chicago Market.
One day I received a call from an ex-colleague, Corey Levin, who wanted to chat after we had spoken years prior about branching off and starting an agency. The opportunity came and we took the plunge. In the beginning it was long nights and hard work to get things done the right way.
Our shared dream was to do right for customers that had been wronged by other marketer’s, agencies, and publishers. We have gotten a good portion of our recurring customers by starting with consulting services to show where they can be more efficient and identifying issues with their current marketing campaigns.
We are at a point now where business is growing rapidly, our customers are getting great results, and we continue to add new members to the team.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest fear you have when you start a business is where the money is going to come from. There were times when things were lean. I think we were fortunate though since we both had savings and other sources of income that we could fall back on. The other thing is that I’ve worked really hard at establishing good relationships over the years which allowed for us to bring in some good customers early on. My partner also had great opportunities that we leveraged which just accelerated the process.
Please tell us about Hardcore Advertising.
Hardcore Advertising is a full service advertising agency. We do everything including digital marketing, media buying, design and branding. The goal of every campaign is to put a strategy together. That usually involves putting several different tactics together. We can create a brand from scratch, put a plan together, and execute that plan.
The agency was founded to be transparent. Everything we do is accessible to our clients. We track all our campaign by establishing what the KPI’s are. We can identify where those KPI’s are coming from and use that data
Of all the services we provide the most important to the clients we’ve worked with are our digital services. We understand digital at a level that few agencies and marketers do. We can grow audiences, generate leads, or just plainly identify inefficiencies. To date we’ve saved clients over $100k in advertising expenses just by looking at reporting and identifying errors.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I am very fond of the ocean and I have several great memories that involve the water and fishing in particular. My favorite will always be spending the night in the Florida Keys fishing off of the Seven-Mile Bridge. There was one special night where we hooked everything, an eel, a lobster, a sunfish, and even a small shark. Thinking back on that time what made is special was the time spent with my parents and my brother.
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 SE 3rd Avenue, 10th Floor, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394
- Website: hardcoreadv.com
- Phone: 786-222-1987
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hardcoreagency/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hardcoreadvertising
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hardcoreadvmktg
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