In his time serving as a chief marketing officer and de facto gatekeeper of a multimillion dollar budget, Chris Ciunci was regularly approached by marketing and advertising firms. But he found that they very rarely had his company’s best interests in mind.
Instead of crafting a customized marketing plan, he recalled, many agencies would simply sell to their own self-interests – whether or not those were the best fit for their clients’ needs.
Clearly, there was opportunity in the market.
So, five years ago, capitalizing on this, he launched Warwick-based TribalVision LLC, which strips marketing down to its most basic essence. Whereas other firms, as Ciunci explained, often employ a bevy of designers, coders, copywriters, videographers and other creative professionals and make their money on “self-serving” commissions, production costs and markups, TribalVision is fee-based and essentially serves as a virtual chief marketing officer for its clients, seeing initiatives through from beginning to end.
With that approach, says the firm managing partner, the target market of small-to-midsized companies are “just paying for our time. That’s the essence of our model.”
Ultimately, TribalVision sets itself apart, he said, with its cost transparency and its customized hand-picking of employees for specific projects.
The process begins with what Ciunci described as TribalVision taking a “holistic view” of the client company, followed by an “intensive discovery process,” that ultimately results in the crafting of a comprehensive marketing strategy.
TribalVision then helps the organization execute that plan, with its team essentially becoming a marketing department for hire.
The goal is to help organizations market smarter, seek out cost-effective strategies that meet both short- and long-term objectives, and ultimately make marketing dollars go further.
“Time and again we’re helping companies get to that next level of growth,” he said. •