Western Influences has a colourful history, dating back to the mid 1990s. Its first iteration was a tiny marketing company with two offices built in the backyard of Tracy Wilkinson’s home. Inkata Market Concepts was created in response to rapidly changing technology – the world wide web was entering businesses and homes, and nobody really knew what that would mean for them.
Tracy had been operating import / export company Acirema Associates and, the emergence of the internet changed the way international trade was facilitated. Her expertise in making connections and building relationships was superseded by email conversations and file sharing. Long-term clients wanted to do their own importing so the business died a very fast death. Tracy was not interested in the mundane paperwork and Customs clearances that the internet couldn’t take care of at the time
Inkata Market Concepts was relatively new thinking:
- How could businesses learn more about their target market using internet technology?
- How could internet technology be used to increase market share for small businesses?
The company performed market research for a diverse set of clients, including Monsanto, before glyphosate was a dirty word. The project investigated farmers’ responses to introducing “Roundup-Ready” wheat and canola into their crop rotations. Monsanto wanted to know what would be the uptake of Roundup as the preferred herbicide in food production.
Inkata also did research for small companies, such as Hotham Valley Wines. The project investigated the feasibility of promoting a new agricultural region as perfect growing conditions for wine-making grapes, a region known for wheat and sheep, not vineyards. Inkata also tested branding and labelling concepts to ensure the wine would be perceived as equivalent quality and value to Margaret River wines.
The service industry also took up Inkata’s services. For example, Leeuwin Medical Group wanted to know how they could attract patients that sought preventative healthcare or more innovative solutions to their medical issues, as opposed to attracting people with generic cold or flu symptoms. They aimed to build a reputation for whole-of-life care, so needed to reach young people who were starting families. Inkata performed the market research and provided recommendations for a new promotional strategy.
Over time, Inkata Market Concepts built a reputation for business incubation – partnering people to turn their ideas into a sustainable business. Often the work entailed learning about a product or service that was so new to market that there was no historic data or competition to learn from. Flameguard fire retardant was a simple concept, but new to Australia. It presented a unique challenge in that all manner of licensing and permits were required, plus extensive personnel training, before the product could be brought to market.
Inkata was all about innovation and problem solving. It’s clients often told stories of working with other agencies and becoming frustrated because they presented a cookie cutter plan for development. Most were delighted by the new thinking Inkata brought to their ideas.
Not everyone took up the advice and recommendations from Inkata’s research though. During the rollout of digital television in Australia, one of the major players had an opinion on the age of Inkata’s Managing Director and suggested she got her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing out of a cereal packet.
The business owner declined to act on a recommendation to pay all its overseas debt as quickly as possible. Tracy predicted a dramatic fall in the value of the Australian currency and warned the company that it was exposed as its accounts payable was primarily in US dollars. In April 2001, the Australian dollar plummeted 26 per cent to 47.75 US cents and the satellite technology company was bankrupted.
Inkata Market Concepts morphed into a variety of interesting businesses over the years, each with a unique or niche target market. Watch this space for articles about Free Spirit, Natural Order, Trace Elements and, of course, Western Influences.
