Catalyst Employee Spotlight: Yannis Granas

You can have the best data and most sophisticated tools, but it doesn’t mean anything without great people. Fortunately, at Catalyst, we have no shortage of great people. From Search Associates to Search Directors, and from Project Managers to Managing Partners, each member of the Catalyst team is committed to maximizing client business results and making Catalyst a world-class agency. Read our Employee Spotlight series to meet some of the team members responsible for making Catalyst an all-star agency partner and a great place to work.

Meet Yannis

Name: Yannis Granas

Title: Senior Partner, Paid Search Practice Director

How long have you worked at Catalyst?

I have worked at Catalyst for almost 10 years.

How long have you worked in search and what type of clients have you worked on? 

I’ve worked in the search and digital space for over 13 years and have supported clients across many verticals, including CPG, travel, ecommerce, car rental, logistics, home appliances, electronics, apparel and finance.

How did you get your start in search?

While I was doing my master’s degree at Northeastern University, I took a few courses in digital marketing followed by an internship at a small marketing agency in Boston doing SEO and paid search. Given my undergraduate background and interest in marketing, I immediately felt that this was the area I wanted to focus on for my professional career.

What do you like most about working at Catalyst?

My team is full of bright people who are very talented. I love the support from leadership and the great clients we get to work with.

What has been your greatest achievement or success in search?

I’ve led the paid search efforts for many complex, global clients. I helped them achieve their revenue goals with strong paid search plans.

In your opinion, what is the most important search trend or change for 2020?

I think the most important trend is audience targeting, tailored ad copy and data privacy. We’re entering an era that has more and more solutions available for audience targeting via search, but at the same time the rules for data privacy are constantly changing, making it challenging to plan ahead for cohesive strategies. Being flexible and tech savvy is going to be key in 2020.

If you had to give one recommendation to an advertiser who wants to use search or social marketing to achieve business results, what would it be?

Establishing measurable KPI’s. Often times clients come to agencies without specific KPI’s, benchmarks, or correct data tracking. Having these things in place early helps advertisers to hit the ground running with new campaigns and be more successful faster.

Share a fun fact about yourself

I recently made a school bus out of cardboard boxes for my three-year-old daughter and 20-month-old son.