Technology to the Fore as firm trebles turnover
FORE Digital has almost trebled turnover in its latest financial year and ramped up its profits five-fold as it has “pivoted” from being a marketing agency to a technology firm.
The firm also plans to double its workforce when it moves into a new custom-built studio facility in the east end of Glasgow.
Started by Stuart Stott, who has a background in marketing and media, and Neil Winston, a social media expert, the firm was shaped by demand from clients to produce high quality virtual versions of their ideas.
In its first three years the company’s turnover almost trebled from £300,000 to £885,000 by the end of the 2016-17 financial year and is on track to come close to doing the same again with the projected figure for 2017-18 at £2.25 million.
Currently based in Sauchiehall Street, the company says the offering that makes it stand out is its software which it says has taken technologies that had yet to be fully exploited in a marketing context and created working applications.
It uses social media, gamification, and augmented and virtual reality, for example using an interactive virtual tour to showcase how an office space might be transformed, or holding a contest live on social media.
Mr Stott, 31, said: “A lot of our clients challenged us to come up with new technologies that just did not exist in the marketing suite at that time. So we created our own propriety products, which kind of pivoted us from being essentially a marketing agency into a technology company.”
Mr Stott said: “Last year we made a small profit of just under £100,000, but this year we are on track to make £500,000 of profit, which for a three-year-old business is very unusual and in our sector is unheard of.”
Mr Stott said the company is developing new ways to use social media as one of its key strands of the business for clients such as entertainment giant Global, TGI Fridays and Scottish Friendly.
He said: “There’s plenty of social media out there but we’ve created our own product suite that sits on top of Facebook and other social media platforms, and that allows people to interact with the platform in real time.
“The only way I can describe this is that in the future if you were watching I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, instead of you answering via Twitter or phoning in what you would do is you would go on to Facebook, you would stream it live and then as the votes come in real time you can pick what animal comes out of the box.”
In another project Fore Digital held a contest for a car with Arnold Clark online.
Mr Stott declared: “We ran this for three days and on the final day we had over 100,000 interacting to try and win a car live on Facebook.
“This is the one that kind of sent the shockwaves through the agency world.”
He said: “Whereas before we were being asked by clients to create products, we are now being asked by agencies to license our software to them.”
The company is looking to expand out of Scotland but maintain its base in Glasgow.
It is moving into an 8,000 sq ft studio, which will have an augmented reality suite, virtual reality studios and film studios.
Mr Stott said augmented reality software has been another key product, adding: “This year we have taken on the two largest commercial properties in Scotland, and what we are going to do is build them in front of people’s eyes at full size two years before the building is built.
“So you will be able to stand there with your ipad and watch the building build.
“Even better than that, at the click of a button it will take you inside the building and will show you every single room; how it is going to look, how it is going to feel and how it is going to sound.”