CtrlShift eyes expansion beyond Asia

CtrlShift, a digital marketing company, is eyeing to expand beyond Asia over the next few years, with US and Europe under its radar, as its hopes to tap on the growing demand for digital advertising. The company currently has presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

“We are now expanding to China and thereafter US and Europe. Within Southeast Asia (SEA), we are also exploring opportunities in Vietnam – an emerging market where we see strong growth potential for its digital advertising market. By entering the market early, we will have a head start in tapping on the country’s increasingly affluent and urbanised population as the market grows,” said CrtlShift chief executive officer Deepika Nikhilender (pic above: first from right) in an email reply.

Deepika added that entering into the China market provides CrtlShift with the access to where the bulk of the demand of digital advertising is coming from. “Considering China is responsible for a huge part of digital advertising demand, expanding into China would make perfect economic sense. Currently, China is the second biggest digital advertising market worldwide with digital ad spend estimated to increase by 25.1% to hit US$22.4 billion this year,” she explained.
Plans for next 12-18 months
Prior to joining the company, Deepika lead business planning for Mindshare Asia Pacific, and was also chief executive officer of Growth and Emerging Market Solutions (GEMS). As the company’s new CEO, one of her goals over the next 1.5 years is to grow the number of clients who are keen on embarking on large projects.

“Our aim for the next level is to significantly increase the number of clients that do multi-million dollar business with us and to foster long-term partnerships with them,” she said.

To achieve the goals, she said that she will need to focus on three key areas — people, product and proposition.