After the crash of its Green Gold Economy (in bananas), Saint Lucia became one of the fastest developing markets in the English-Speaking Caribbean. In similar fashion, in 1998, founder of Accela, Agnes Francis began meeting the growing Public Relations and Marketing needs of the private sector in the newly competitive tourism destination.
When the telecommunications monopoly of Cable & Wireless ended, an upstart, Irish Mobile Company, Digicel entered the market in 2002 and chose Accela as their agency for the OECS during the thick of the mobile wars. Accela provided unflappable crisis communications, revolutionary CSR Platforms, strategic sponsorships and solid support for their marketing and promotions which helped Digicel become the market leader in the region within three years.
Then came the financial crash in 2008! Much like COVID-19, it would be a turning point moment. Clients cut their Marketing budgets, despite the tested industry adage; “When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad you must advertise.” Accela saw that it was time to innovate and ready itself for a new kind of industry. It needed to be simultaneously boundless and more efficient. It required a team with a wider dimension of core competencies to serve clients beyond its base and more technology to do so. Accela then set up hubs in Toronto and the USA and invested in its digital infrastructure.
Today, whether it is region-wide research for Heineken, Courts or Digicel or launching Republic Bank EC Limited in several Caribbean islands with Public Relations and Event Planning or producing detailed print material with sponsored ads for Caribbean Association of Banks’ Annual Report or doing Public Education work for the OECS Commission, European Union (EU), UNDP and more, we have our feet on the ground and our finger on the pulse and continue to deliver the best value-added service for our clients large and small.