Connections

Ray Wali is at the forefront of a marketing revolution. His company, Mango Moose Media, provides marketing solutions that generate interest in ways that traditional marketing companies do not.

To understand what Mango Moose Media does, Ray says you have to think about why people are tuning out on traditional marketing tools like TV ads: "consumers are spending less time watching TV and more time on the Internet because TV is just too boring and conventional." That's where Mango Moose Media comes in - it helps businesses find new ways to market their products that are unique and unconventional. In Ray's words, "we create innovative products to generate buzz and fill the marketing gap."

One of Mango Moose Media's most innovative marketing strategies was to create customized car wraps: highly durable, removable plastic wraps that cover cars with a company's logo and other information. Whether parked or driven, the vehicle becomes a 24/7 message board. Since car wraps, Mango Moose Media has branched into other guerrilla-style marketing campaigns as well, sending up to 50 people into the streets to market specific products on a one-to-one personal basis.

MANGO MOOSE AND HUMBER

So how did Ray Wali get to the forefront of the marketing revolution? It started with a decision to enrol in Humber's Business Management program. "Humber felt like a great fit right from the start - it had all that I was looking for." Over the course of the two-year program, Ray was able to acquire the skills and knowledge he needed to start and operate Mango Moose Media. "I learned everything from proposal-writing skills, to sales management techniques, to strategic marketing - all very important elements of operating a media sales firm."

The idea for Mango Moose Media also came about at Humber. After finishing the first year of the program, Ray began thinking about starting his own business and began exploring opportunities. His first business was a small marketing company that eventually grew into what Mango Moose Media is today. (The name, incidentally, is designed to reflect Ray's Guyanese heritage, Canadian entrepreneurism, and the company's focus of operations).

Humber also prepared him to go beyond business basics and take risks: "At Mango Moose, we're always in unchartered waters, and we're setting the trends as far as non-traditional marketing is concerned."

Since 2002, Mango Moose Media's portfolio of clients has grown to include a diverse range of internationally recognized companies like Visa, Labatt's, Nike, Adidas, Toyota, and Brother Canada, as well as many local niche companies. All have looked to Ray's expertise and unique vision to fulfill their marketing objectives.

IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN YOUR FUTURE?

Thinking about starting your own business? Ray has some advice: "I hate to use this cliché, but the first thing you have to have is drive and determination. There's a ramp you've got to climb to build your company. You got to have drive and determination or you are going to burn out."

A second thing Ray says you have to have is the right education: "You need to know everything - from computer skills to project management, you have to know how to delegate, and you have to provide leadership. You have got to stick to it, do what you like and love, enjoy it, otherwise you are going to have big problems down the road."

If you would like to learn more about Mango Moose Media and the marketing revolution, visit Ray's website at www.mangomoose.ca. To learn more about what it takes to become an entrepreneur, contact Pierre-Pascal Gendron, Program Coordinator of the Business Management program at Humber's Lakeshore Campus, at pierrepascal.gendron@humber.ca, or Bob Bolf, Program Coordinator at the North Campus, at robert.bolf@humber.ca.