Downturn drives up sales for Miroma

by Catherine Woods - Tuesday, 30th September 2008 -

The floundering economy has helped barter company Miroma to more than double its turnover to £9.1m during the past 12 months, and founder Marc Boyan says conditions will probably push sales above the £30m mark next year.

Miroma, which was established in 2003, enables corporates to pay for a percentage of their advertising with their own products or services. Its clients include companies such as Clear Channel, Sky and Kia Cars.

Boyan says: “We’ve gained far more credibility in the marketplace, we’ve expanded our team and have created a risk-free transaction for clients to undertake our model.

"The state of the economy also means there are a lot of companies out there who are cutting marketing budgets and who can’t sell their product. We say: ‘Use your product and create a new revenue stream out of that.’”

He admits that Miroma’s business model requires some clients to take a “leap of faith”, particularly during the boom times. “When business is going well, people don’t tend to listen to concepts or models outside of the box,” Boyan says. “When business is going badly, however, they look at all different avenues. Once clients start working through this model, they that rather than protecting marketing spend, they can increase it.”

Boyan believes the growth of the company will be sustained as the economy recovers. For now, though, he’s taking advantage of the downturn. During the past 3.5 months, Miroma has already recorded £10m worth of sales and has increased staff numbers to 17.

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