About the Mobile Chamber
The Mobile Chamber is a private business organization with more than 1,700 members and the economic developer for the City of Mobile and Mobile County. The Mobile Chamber’s focus is to provide members with networking, marketing and professional development opportunities, expand jobs in the area, develop the local workforce, advocate legislative priorities and offer resources to help small businesses grow. Additional information is on the Chamber’s website, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
Blue Fish Takes Colorful Approach to Digital Advertising
The Business View – August 2017 / Small Business of the Month
How did Marcus Neto build a successful digital advertising agency? He used a strength he discovered at a couple of home improvement stores.
“I worked my way through college at Lowe’s and The Home Depot and was good at teaching the how-to seminars they put on,” Neto recalled. “Similar to home improvement, I have found that teaching people the complex concepts behind the internet in simplified terms, and helping them understand how those concepts affect their business, is an excellent tool.”
With those lessons fresh in his mind, Neto opened Blue Fish in 2007 with the goal of creating a digital advertising firm that focuses on solving business problems, from increasing sales to building lead generation systems to increasing efficiency.
“We want to be an investment, not an expense,” Neto said. “We can, and do, brand awareness campaigns, but our leaning is to create tools that are going to be more direct in their ability to win business for our clients.”
Blue Fish is the Mobile Area Chamber’s Small Business of the Month.
Neto’s interest in advertising initially grew from a love for designing and building websites. Along with traditional marketing and advertising solutions, Blue Fish offers strategy, social media engagement, AdWords campaigns, websites and apps, photography, videography, search engine optimization and more.
“I also think our team is extremely authentic and approachable,” said Neto, whose firm has grown from two employees to six within the last year.
Among other projects Neto and Blue Fish are currently updating http://mobileal.com and producing the Mobile Alabama Business Podcast. They’re active in civic and charitable involvement outside regular business hours, as well. Neto serves on the Chamber’s board of advisors and the Eastern Shore Chamber’s executive board, and Blue Fish does pro-bono work for two local nonprofits, Fuse Project and Prodisee Pantry.
“I have three boys. I do not want them to have to move away after college for interesting or rewarding work,” Neto said. “I want to see Mobile continue on its current trend and become a place that offers creative and interesting work. So anything Blue Fish can reasonably do to see Mobile move in that direction, we are going to do.”
Click here to read The Business View – August 2017
