Alexis Rollin (1993) is anything but a simple dreamer. For the last ten years, he has been running his own digital marketing agency, RnD, which has made real inroads on the net. What’s the secret of his success? Read the interview below.

Can you tell us something about your background?
I was lucky enough to begin my internet career at just the right moment in 1994. At that time, it was called multimedia! It was a key moment when internet jobs were just beginning to be created. I made my first website in ‘95 – it was for the EDF – and after that, it was all go. I worked for the leading industry agencies, TBWA and Havas, up until 2000. That was when I teamed up with 3 other Edhec alumni: Romain Achard, David Lerman and François Dejaeger, who launched the start-up 404 Found, one of the first digital marketing agencies. The internet bubble burst at the same time as 404 Found! reconverted to publishing, which wasn’t really my cup of tea. So I left, and after a short spell in another agency, I decided it was high time I started my own business. That was back in 2002. Internet was emerging from a major crisis but it was the right moment to jump on the bandwaggon. My partner, Walfroy Dauchy, an engineer, and I decided to launch a digital agency and to build a bridge between marketing and informatics. Our engineering/marketing tandem worked well and gave our agency real legitimacy.

What’s your main area? What’s your vision of it?
Digital marketing combines strategic consulting, production and e-marketing. The idea is to develop mechanisms that create traffic and develop loyalty. We work for key accounts like Deloitte, Orange, Cadremploi, Jean-Paul Gaultier Perfumes, ADA, Charal, Nexity and Gaumont. We created Deloitte’s entire recruitment platform (deloitterecrute.fr). It’s a huge project that we’ve been working on for the last 18 months. We don’t just create the tool or the site. Once the site is up and running, it’s just the beginning of the story. We follow every aspect of the site’s evolutions: the editorial side, audience, changes to end user functions, etc.
In this field, the challenge is to create strong links and relationship between the brands and their clients.   

What are your company’s future prospects?
We’re continually trying to be one step ahead of changes in the sector. It’s a fast changing industry and we have to improve the agency skills in several areas: social networks, site performance measures (web analytics), web-connected TV…while, at the same time, we need to keep our eye on costs.
When we look back, the results are positive. But what’s interesting is what comes next. The digital agency model is changing; it’s a sector where you you’re continually calling yourself into question as the areas dealt with are increasingly cross-functional and complex. It’s no longer just about making a website.

RnD key figures:
2 million euros turnover
17 employees
Company created 10 years ago
One of the Top 10 independent digital marketing agencies
25 active clients
250 projects a year

What links do you have with EDHEC and Edhec alumni?
Still very strong. Vice president of the BDE student union, one of the founders of Etna, then delegate and later on, Vice President of Edhec Alumni, I’ve always loved getting involved. And now we’ve got to get moving pretty fast as we’re organising the Class’s 20th anniversary in October 2013. That’s tomorrow!

The web is a growing sector. What posts are available for experienced and/or young grads?
We’re looking for digital project managers to join work-and-study programmes (junior posts). Prerequisites: to be a web geek. It may seem obvious but the sector is moving so quickly that you really need people with a vision of what the media is all about, who’re open-minded, curious enough to want to talk to people from different horizons and who understand the difficulties of each area. They have to be autonomous and able to manage a budget, a team and a schedule.  In other words, they have to be responsible.
More information on: http://www.rnd.fr/