One of the stalwarts of Palm Beach businesses is Tailored Media, an advertising and marketing established in 1999 by Brendon and Mel Sinclair.
If you want to hear about different backgrounds of people starting in business, then it doesn’t come much different to this one. Before we spill the beans on that, let’s look at the details.
Tailored Media is a full service award-winning agency employing 14 people in their 8th Ave Plaza offices.
They’re rated the Gold Coast’s best ad agency, they are accredited Google Partners and have hundreds of clients across Australia and internationally. Clients include Laurie Lawrence’s World Wide Swim School and fisiocrem Australia, whilst locally some of our clients include Barefoot Barista, the Palm Beach Surf Lifesaving Club and Sushi Point – so they’re sorted for lunch!
Founder Brendon Sinclair is the author of one of Australia’s most profitable ever business books, he had an ABC radio show talking all things marketing, had a marketing newsletter with 250,000 subscribers, at the height of the ugg boot craze he was the biggest exporter of ugg boots in Australia, he once had one of their web sites make $250,000 in an hour after some national TV coverage.
Interestingly, Brendon and Mel’s career start had nothing to do with business. They were both nursing sisters in Tasmania for many years prior to moving to the Gold Coast and Brendon taking on the marketing for a major hospital prior to starting the company.
What exactly does Tailored Media do?
We’re a full service ad and marketing business and have in-house specialists across a range of areas. We do anything from local advertising to social media to Google advertising to search engine optimisation to national TV ads to billboards to public relations to web design to newsletters to …..well, you get the picture.
What inspired you to start the business?
Easy. The very obvious drinking, cavorting and mayhem creation that the TV series Mad Men promised. Funnily enough it hasn’t turned out like that (who knew that a TV show would exaggerate stuff?!), but with Frida Sol restaurant next door and The Scottish Prince bar underneath us, the drinking part is getting there.
What do you like most about having your business in this region?
The convenience of everything is a joy – close to the ocean, tons of cafes and restaurants to choose from and easy access to transport options. Palmy isn’t as busy as Surfers and Broadbeach and parking, despite becoming more of an issue lately, is still ok.
What makes Tailored Media different?
That’s easy – experience. Which means we’re getting older but, importantly, wiser. We’ve got so much experience across marketing that we’ve started storing the excess in bags under the stairs. Experience makes a hell of a difference because not only have we been there and tried that, we’ve probably done it 20 times. And, despite the fact we’re founded by Tasmanians, we’re pretty smart at figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
Got a marketing tip for businesses?
Sure do. Be amazingly bloody good at whatever it is you do so people talk about you. Awareness is the very first step in marketing. If people don’t know about you, then they can’t buy from you. So get them talking. People spend a fortune on awareness marketing (think TV ads, radio, local billboards and signage, car graphics, etc), when all it takes is a bit of thought into crafting stories that would resonate with your target market.
You can find Tailored Media at Office 34, Eighth Ave Plaza, 1176 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach or give them a call on 07 5534 1228.
Pictured: CEO Brendon Sinclair discusses strategy with PR Manager Emma O’mara and Account Manager Peach Samson