Leading the way to a digital Holy Grail
WE USED to work in media buying so we know what makes media owners tick,” Henry Rowe tells me. He and his business partner Dominic Finney got the idea for their business, FaR Partners, when they realised that they had the killer combo of media buying know-how and tech savvy. It has been a roaring success. With big-name clients like Channel 4, 118 118 and all of the IPC Media magazines, they have broken a profit since their first month in business. Three years later the business makes £600k before tax.
The business cooks up inventive ways for old-style media to make money from the web. “It’s all about creating new revenue streams. Many people don’t realise how much money there is to be made from e-commerce,” Finney says. “To put it into context,” Rowe interrupts, “UK e-commerce is worth £56bn. There is a lot of money to be made.”
The pair had always had an entrepreneurial streak. Rowe sold fizzy drinks door to door when he was growing up, while Finney designed and sold a video game. But they didn’t meet until they worked together at a media agency buying advertising space for clients many years later.
“We couldn’t let this idea go,” Finney says. “Media organisations are very good at many things, but not great at collating internet data that can help them understand the market,” says Rowe. FaR Partners use the vast swathes of data they have collected on the industry and test potential advertising models for clients.
They also flesh out online strategies for big media organisations. They worked with Channel 4 to entirely change their advertising model. “Channel 4 has such great content and a brilliant user platform that viewers spend a lot of time using, teaching them ways to utilise that model helped them sell different and higher yielding ads,” Rowe explains.
They revamped 118 118’s website to include targeted advertising. If you searched for the phone number for Domino’s Pizza, for instance, next to it an advert would appear with deals from rival pizza delivery firms.
These new ideas have had some startling results for media companies, increasing revenue by seven figures in some cases.
Rowe and Finney made the jump from their corporate life at the beginning of the recession. “You might think that would be the worst time to start a business that worked with advertisers, but actually, it was far better than starting a year earlier. We knew the market we were working with. There weren’t any surprises.”
They started without any clients. “It was a ballsy-slash-stupid thing to do. It was a great idea and I just knew it would be a lot of fun,” says Rowe.
CV | FAR PARTNERS
Company turnover: Turnover has doubled every year for the first three years. Profit before tax this year just over £600k.
Number of staff: 8
Founded: 2007
Co-founder: Henry Rowe
Age: 37
Born: Manchester
Lives: Southfields, SW18
Studied: English Literature, London
Co-founder: Dominic Finney
Age: 38
Born: London
Lives: Battersea, SW11
Studied: English and History, Ripon and York University
Awards: MediaWeek and Campaign Agency of the Year 2007, Netimperative Agency of the Year and Revolution Most Respected Agency 2007