Honolulu-based marketing and communications firm Olomana Loomis ISC is looking to expand beyond Hawaii using the Islands' cultural history and diversity to create connections between North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Alan Tang, who founded Olomana Marketing in 1996, told Pacific Business News that being a Hawaii-based company is actually beneficial in working with clients from both sides of the Pacific.
"I’m proud to say that the Hawaii element, the inter-cultural perspective that we bring to the global space is very important," he said.
Over the past 24 months, the company has established partnerships with agencies in some of the world's most important cities, including New York, Seattle, Tokyo, Shanghai and Sydney.
Tang said that these agencies offer similar as well as complementary services to those of Olomana Loomis allowing his company to service a larger and different type of clientele.
Establishing relationships with agencies in the Asia-Pacific region has been no easy task, according to Tang. While the cultural differences between the various North American cities are fairly small, in Asia, each country, each culture is very unique, he said.
"That's why I've been spending a lot more time in laying the groundwork in how we build the cultural connection to better serve businesses that are ready to do more cross-border type of opportunities," Tang said.
What Olomana Loomis hopes to provide to these clients is a unique skill-set that will help bridge the cultural gap. "Right here in Hawaii, with our diversity, our background and our history, we have 'East meet West' right here. That's part of the benefit in terms of working with both sides of the map," Tang said.
Olomana Loomis, which was created when Tang acquired the Loomis-ISC agency in 2012, has about a dozen active clients from a broad spectrum of industries, including Hawaii Gas, Kamehameha Schools, Maryknoll School, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, HPM Building Supply and Shriners Hospitals for Children Honolulu.
In May, Honolulu-based Central Pacific Bank selected the company as its agency of record for marketing and advertising services.
“Olomana Loomis ISC has acquired a deep understanding of our bank’s culture, heritage and customer service philosophy in a very short period of time,” Wayne Kirihara, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Central Pacific Bank, said in a statement in May. “We look forward to a fruitful partnership and appreciate their commitment to helping us achieve higher levels in our marketing efforts.”
CPB represents a "fairly large" account for Olomana Loomis, Tang said, adding that both companies are currently in the midst of the onboarding process.