Richard Syme: Photo: Paul Hewitt

A Norwich-based affiliate marketing firm which already has an operation in India has expanded into Australia and New Zealand, opening offices in Sydney.

OMG (Online Media Group), which is based in Colegate and Muspole Street in Norwich, was founded in 1999 and specialises in online marketing for the finance sector.

This recent move represents the latest in a series of successful offshore ventures for OMG, whose UK clients include Eurostar, RBS, NatWest and HSBC.

In 2011 OMG opened offices in Delhi, and has already turned over more than £2m in revenue in the Indian market, with a client list including Vodafone, Jet Airways, Expedia and American Express.

OMG employs 90 staff – around 60 at the headquarters in Norwich, and a further 30 in satellite offices across continental Europe and Asia-Pacific – and has a turnover in excess of £25m.

Chief executive Richard Syme said: “OMG’s growth has significantly improved since our launch in India last year:

“Our Indian business has achieved over £2m in sales in its first full financial year, and is set to grow considerably over the coming years. We are progressing well with our plan to become the leading Affiliate Network in Asia-Pacific, with our launch in Australia.

“We have also launched client campaigns in Malaysia and Singapore, and are set to widen this activity to include Thailand and Indonesia this month.”

He added: “We wanted to capitalise on fast-growing markets in the Asia-Pacific area, and apply our successful model in new territories.

“We give clients the opportunity to develop their brands in Asia and Australia with low-risk and innovative campaigns that offer them a great ROI.

“At OMG we offer technology and solutions that haven’t been seen in the Asia-Pacific region before – revolutionising the online customer’s experience and improving sales for clients.”

Mr Syme said the business needed to expand into new territories in order to remain competitive with other firms providing online marketing services on a global basis.

He said that the UK-side of the business was not growing as fast, but was still improving.

He added: “The margins are much more competitive as a business in the UK, but we have just won Eon as a client in the UK.”

Heading up the Australian operations is Chris Barron, who has more than eight years’ experience in the UK and Australian affiliate industry.

His previous roles include director of marketing and strategy for Viva9, one of Australia’s largest affiliate networks.

As reported, in the year ending August 2008 the firm saw turnover of £19.9m, which rose to £21.9m during 2009, but fell to £16.9m in 2010.

david.bale2@archant.co.uk