Ever sit there and wonder how the graphic design, social media and event marketing world operate in Haiti? Karl Jean-Jeune—the CEO and Founder of Ayilo, one of the fledging social media marketing firms based in Port-au-Prince—gave Kreyolicious an overview of these two industries.
At the top of his game, Jean-Jeune not only runs Ayilo but heads Partying in Haiti. Partying in Haiti is self-explanatory. It’s an event marketing and promoting firm that reaches out to twenty and thirty-somethings to assure that local events are packed with them. Using his strong network and social media pull, Jean-Jeune is able to bring them in droves to events either promoted by him or his clients. Looking at the photos posted on the site’s galleries, it would seem that Partying in Haiti even has a local tourism aspect to it. Flamboyantly dressed boys and girls look to be having a grand ‘ole time at everything from casual parties to musical concerts and carnival masquerade balls. Oh, my. Partying in Haiti is certainly doing its share in Haiti’s international makeover. Young professional partygoers looking very content and self-satisfied. No burning tires in sight—or trash piles.
Ayilo and Partying in Haiti are both less than five years old, but their CEO clearly wants to build them into something big. With his right hand, Jean-Jeune is pulling the strings to make sure clients are adequately represented on social media, and with his left, he’s using his marketing-know-how to think of the best strategies to bring warm bodies and diversion-searching minds to events all over Port-au-Prince and its surrounding suburbs.
Kreyolicious: How did you initially become interested in marketing?
I was only a graphic design student when I landed an internship at the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority’s office. I was working with community events, promoting and coordinating. From there, my love for marketing grew and I found myself getting involved in all marketing or communication related aspect of the projects I work in.
Kreyolicious: I think the name of your company is cute. Ayilo…Does it have a story behind it?
Actually, I had a previous project which involved blogging and I wanted to call it Alo Ayiti. Someone told me about another company or organization with the same name. Therefore, I decided to combined Alo and Ayiti. I got Ayilo. The project never took off. Loving the name, I decided to use it for my company.
Above: Karl Jean-Jeune, the CEO of Port-au-Prince-based marketing and event company Ayilo.
Kreyolicious: As the CEO of Ayilo, how do your days start and end?
My day usually starts with meetings and putting final touches on projects. I work best at night—therefore you will find me late at night starting on a new project or working on an old one. However, being in that line of work, my days are unpredictable from start to end.
Kreyolicious: What’s the world of social media and marketing like in Haiti from an agency point of view?
It is relatively new. Businesses are starting to seriously pick up on it because of how easy it is to reach their target market. It is also cost-effective. But it is hard to convince “old management” that social medias are great for business.
Kreyolicious: In terms of challenges…what are some that you have faced?
My biggest challenge human resources. In Haiti, freelancers are either too expensive or cheap freelancers are not able to meet standards. I believe in paying for quality work, but I also believe in not tolerating overly-exaggerated prices. I find that proper training to up-and-coming designers are the best way to cope with this situation, and that is what I am starting to do.
Kreyolicious: What advice would you give to a company outside of Haiti who wants to reach out to the masses in Haiti?
Be bold, be innovative and creative in your campaign.
Kreyolicious: Do you think that the fact that Haiti is a small country gives marketers an advantage in terms of reaching out to influencers?
No. I don’t believe so. I think it makes it a little bit harder to keep the hype up for the product you are trying to market. You have to always go the extra mile. Haiti has a very complexed population. What works for one-sixth, the following one-sixth, so on and so forth. And don’t be surprised if what worked this morning for one category doesn’t work in the afternoon. I don’t think it is a small country issue though. It’s a Haiti issue.
Kreyolicious: Reading your bio, you also have an event marketing firm, and other companies. How do all them come together?
I am also the co-founder of Partying In Haiti and HaitiUnder40. I am a party lover and I am fascinated by great events. I believe that they all come together in helping the nightlife in Haiti to grow and showcase itself to the world. HaitiUnder40 is not launched yet and should be soon. It is a networking event for professionals under 40. PartyingInHaiti is an event listing company. It also organizes events at certain periods of the year.
Above: Partygoers in Haiti pose at an event organized by Ayilo’s sister company Partying In Haiti. Photo Credit: Partying in Haiti.
Kreyolicious: And how do you keep yourself sane, while balancing all the responsibilities that come with running multiple companies?
Someone once told that you have to do everything you need to do. I guess I just create a little time for everything. I have also great partners in several of these projects. Responsibilities are shared—and because we have the same visions—I don’t worry about the results.
Photo Credit: Partying in Haiti
Kreyolicious: As for Ayilo, how do you plan on pushing it forward as a firm?
So far we are relying on social media and word of mouth, but most importantly, our work is the biggest client magnet. We keep our prices lower then the competition while providing great services with innovative thinking. We are now exploring other aspect of the industry such as advertising and publishing. We shall see what the future holds. We are very hopeful.
FOLLOW AYILO ON TWITTER | AYILO ON FACEBOOK | FOLLOW AYILO ON INSTAGRAM | CLICK HERE TO VISIT PARTYING IN HAITI
