How to build a media empire? Or e-Commerce business worth millions?

For over two decades, we excelled in passionately building online businesses, and helped many clients in driving unprecedented growth. Our success lies in the synergy of data-driven market analysis and deep understanding of human psychology, with focus on emotional connection and action.

In e-commerce, that action is – conversion.

In the media, we focus on – attention.

And for every brand, we strive for the ultimate goal – loyalty.

Here’s why & how I, Dean Lockhard, founded Art of Next.

Australia

My journey started with a magazine company that I transformed into an omnichannel media powerhouse. As Art Director, I led the expansion into digital platforms, building comprehensive media websites and vibrant social communities. Our automotive vertical quickly reached 500,000 visitors each month. I always remember when we received an email from a user who admitted that he wakes up one hour earlier each day, just to spend that time on our website before going to work. Loyalty we built.

The business evolved into a diversified digital empire spanning automotive, leisure, craft, and home decoration sectors. We expanded from media and magazines into e-commerce, growing to 230 employees and achieving $60M in annual revenue. The first sponsorship I secured was a Toyota partnership, worth US$120,000 for a 4 months promotional period. This success led to collaborations with industry leaders including Nissan, Valvoline, Bridgestone and others.

Unfortunately business separated and media websites do not exist anymore.

Our media team still operate YouTube channels with 1.2M subscribers: Youtube.com/@4WD247

And e-commerce team open its own business, worth millions of dollars: 4WDsupacentre.com.au

USA

From there I built an online shop that successfully introduced Australian fashion brands to the US market, which led to consulting roles, supporting Australian businesses with my paid and organic media strategy. I helped the biggest Australian fashion retailer CottonOn ($4B revenue) in market expansion into the USA and Europe. And collaborated with Adore Beauty ($250M revenue) on their paid media strategies.

Through many months working and living on the East and West Coast provided invaluable insights into the U.S. market and fostered lasting business relationships. I fell in love with the entrepreneurial spirits of Americans and their approach to rapid growth.

Europe

As Marketing Director, I guided a local clothing manufacturer to start an e-commerce business, resulting in millions in revenue. We developed a low-cost platform specifically tailored to mature female consumers.

Achievements in 5 months campaign:
+197% more visitors to shop
+236% consumers new to the brand
+81% increase in online revenue

Fashion-Luna.com

Asia

My friend and business partner Dan founded a successful travel and lifestyle content production company based in Hong Kong and Singapore – Insider TV. https://insider-tv.com

Dan brings deep expertise in partnerships and media, and together we created successful marketing strategies for both established companies and emerging brands.

Together, we decided to start Art of Next, agencies that operate as a strategy and execution partner for several businesses. We are committed to working with people, brands, and businesses we truly admire and share values with.

team

We were lucky to have other talented marketing professionals to join us, including:

Olivia: 15 years of experience as Account Director for prestigious marketing agencies including Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Mirum, and BBDO Taiwan, managing major clients such as IBM and Qualcomm with their expansion into Asia.
Manny: Our PR expert from Washington DC, with 20 years in PR and Marketing, including 7 years at Reuters covering the intersection of U.S. regulations and finance.
Maja: German-born growth marketer who fell in love with Taiwan. She is focused on content, social media, and LinkedIn strategy and exclusion.

Our focus on innovation

Web3

Dan and Dean are co-founders of web3marketing.network, a platform led by Gen Z talent that has attracted thousands of newsletter subscribers and features interviews with Web3 industry leaders.

We are currently developing AI agents, based on Google Vertex and OpenAI LLMs. The project is based on our experience with building AI-based sales systems, including a collaboration with Porsche Holding to optimize sales strategies for Volkswagen’s $30 billion annual vehicle inventory.

Could Your Business Be Our Next Growth Success Story?

Eighteen months ago, we initiated a strategic partnership with a family business whose customer-centric approach aligned perfectly with our values.

Together we developed high-impact content that genuinely connected with their target audience. Backed by our world-class SEO optimization, we achieved compelling results:

Over 110% growth in visitors in the trailing 12 months, resulting in the significant increase in multimillion dollar revenue
We now hold a top 3 position for 78 keywords in the industry, compared to just 2 keywords at the start of the project. (Yellow color on the chart on the left)
We achieved #1 ranking in Google for the top industry keyword, searched by 40,000 customers each month.

Ready for takeoff?

Every day brings new opportunities from visionary entrepreneurs.
We partner with those who share our values and vision for creating profitable businesses that contribute positively to the world.

Yes, sometimes we are dreamers…
But, everyday, we are hard workers.

Ready to discuss your next venture?
We offer complimentary initial consultations.