Auckland-based, online marketing agency First Rate has entrenched its status as one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing companies with its winning of the fastest growing Media, Advertising and Communications category in the 2007 Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 Index, published today.

First Rate has recorded spectacular revenue growth over the last two financial years of 304%, and was ranked in 21st place in the latest Fast 50 Index.

Fast 50One of only 16 companies to have made the index in two consecutive years, First Rate was ranked in 40th position in 2006, with revenue growth of 184.97%.

Commenting on the rankings, First Rate Managing Director, Mr Jon Ostler, said: “Our entry in the Fast 50 Index two years in a row is confirmation of the culture of excellence we have built at First Rate, giving our broad range of clients great confidence in the unmatched talent and experience of our entire team.”

First Rate is the largest online direct response marketing agency in New Zealand and the fastest-growing in Australasia, employing 22 staff in Auckland and seven in Sydney.

The company was founded seven years ago and works at the cutting edge of online marketing.

First Rate offers a full suite of tactical and strategic online disciplines including search engine marketing and optimisation, email marketing, performance marketing, internet advertising and web design and development. The company also operates the Performance Network, a trans-Tasman ad network serving more than 55 million ad impressions each month.

First Rate’s clients include Progressive Enterprises, Yellow Pages, RaboPlus, APN Digital, ACP Digital, Ezibuy and Yahoo!7.

The Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50 Index is published in October each year and lists the 50 fastest-growing public and private companies registered in New Zealand. All entrants must have been in business for at least three years and all financial information they supply must be independently verified.