Who Is Emerging Networks? And What Is Their Secret?

Tom Marsillo and Phil Estevez of Emerging Networks

While the nation and the economy continue to flounder in the throes of the worst pandemic in a century, one media company has been experiencing record-breaking growth throughout the pandemic. Emerging Networks LLC has just recorded its 11th-consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. Best of all, the exponential growth shows no signs of slowing in the future. How has the company managed to outperform the industry in a time of economic contraction and shrinking media budgets?

Emerging Networks is America's largest multicultural television platform, representing the full spectrum of new and emerging markets in all their diversity. Emerging Networks is the only multicultural media platform serving the South Asian, Arabic, and Filipino markets — as well as numerous other emerging ethnic segments in the United States — with national and local commercial ad insertions and event marketing.

Emerging Networks provides an efficient one-stop shop for clients and agencies looking to tap into the fastest growing and most affluent ethnic segments in the country.

Here’s a brief overview of Emerging Networks’ success:

Tom Marsillo, CEO, and Phillip Estevez, executive vice president, have more than half a century of multicultural sales and marketing experience between them, and they’ve held executive positions at numerous blue-chip media companies. Emerging Networks was their brainchild — an idea that had been fermenting for years — and in 2013, they finally launched it. It has been a runaway success since day one and has surpassed their own expectations.

‘We have always kept the emphasis on delivering results.’

At Emerging Networks, we have always kept the emphasis on delivering results, and during this pandemic our team really came together to make things happen. We always give credit where it's due — especially with our clients and agencies, who have really been there for us from the start. Expressing gratitude to them is important, especially in these surreal times where a lot of business decisions are not 100-percent rational or consistent. Far too many business decisions are being made subjectively rather than objectively.

‘Sitting on the sidelines and keeping your powder dry is tantamount to marketing malpractice.’

One of the biggest problems we continuously face is agencies not practicing what they preach when it comes to inclusion and diversity. People are often prone to the path of least resistance, meaning they ’ll go with whatever option requires the least amount of work or pushback.

We are going through a scary and unprecedented time. Admittedly, taking risks can be intimidating — but taking smart, calculated risks can have big payoffs. By taking a smart, calculated risk, we mean considering the expected outcomes based on historical performance, determining the potential of success, and if the payoff is worth risking the investment.

At Emerging Networks, we have always made it clear in any new business situation that the risks in working with us are virtually non-existent, since the initial investment levels are so minimal while the return on investment can be huge. In our experience, we’ve seen far too many agencies afraid to leave their comfort zones resulting in missed opportunities for their clients.

Appearing principled in your efforts is a lot easier than adhering to strict principles. We have seen quite a bit of that during the pandemic. People are far more likely to sit on the sidelines, try to wait it out, and hope to return to normalcy — but they’ve already lost three quarters of a year — with no end in sight. Sitting on the sidelines and keeping your powder dry is tantamount to marketing malpractice. Agencies who support this strategy are not doing their clients any favors. More often than not, taking a small calculated risk is the only way to achieve greater success.

‘Doing nothing is actually losing money.’

In fact, we can point to numerous examples — in virtually every category — where doing nothing is actually losing money. The past six months have seen exponential growth in the DR industry and, frankly, opportunity for savvy marketers like we have never seen before.

Unfortunately, many panic-stricken marketing directors have suffered decision-making-paralysis and have really missed the boat. Simply staying fact-based and data-driven has paid big dividends for Emerging Networks’ clients.

Here are a few of examples of the dramatic success Emerging Networks’ clients have experienced:

A lot of things jump out in these slides. First, there appears to be no single category that benefits most from investing with Emerging Networks. You could not find four more disparate categories than internet hosting, online trading, telemedicine, and not-for-profit — yet all have seen exceptional growth and have subsequently increased their investments accordingly.

‘This evidence is 100% performance-based.’

So, this begs the question: what’s the secret?

“I wish I could tell you something deep and mysterious, but the secret is there is no secret,” Marsillo says, with a laugh.

Simply staying the course, and in most cases increasing investment, has paid big dividends. Our viewer base has shown itself to be largely impervious to the effects of the pandemic. The growth we’ve experienced in the past few quarters is far greater evidence than any ratings book could ever deliver. Our evidence is 100-percent performance-based — not some numerological mythology — that is reflected in greater sales, not in CPMs.

Emerging Networks’ top-rated platforms include Sony Entertainment Television, Willow Cricket, The Filipino Channel, Myx TV, the MBC Group, TV Asia, Diya TV, NDTV Networks, Aaj Tak, Jus Broadcasting, Sahara TV Networks, Soundview Broadcasting, Times of India, and the Asian Variety Show Network. Other new ethnic segments and networks will be announced in the upcoming months.

Emerging Networks tends to work far more intimately and on a one-on-one basis with their networks than most sales reps. Our commitment to our advertisers’ success speaks for itself.

We spend a lot of time analyzing results in order to optimize network performance. With a portfolio of 80 television networks, we have the flexibility to offer a variety of programming genres that deliver different demographics.

Whenever we share our accomplishments in a medium like this, we must focus on recognizing the support of our networks, agencies, and client partners — without them, we would be nothing. We are enormously grateful to the companies that have given us this opportunity, and motivated that so many people are interested in hearing our message. We are genuinely excited about our company’s achievements thus far and look forward to sharing it with as many clients as we can.

With so many companies struggling just to stay alive during the pandemic, we realize just how lucky we’ve been to experience such success during this time. It motivates us reach out and offer to provide support and guidance to any clients who seek it. A big part of our business is gathering information and insights into our consumer audiences — and it is information that we are happy to share. At unique time in our in our industry’s and our nation’s history, it is important to remember that we are all in this together and we need each other’s help and support more than ever.

For more information on Emerging Networks:

Tom Marsillo

President

tom@emergingnets.com

(732) 492-8559

Phil Estevez

EVP/Managing Partner

phil@emergingnets.com

(646) 460-2446