Our Company

Ceemi Agency’s Story

The concept behind Ceemi Agency is simple; offer small & medium-sized businesses access to quality digital marketing services that don’t break the bank. There is no shortage of expensive advertising agencies. In fact, this is a popular industry to get into because of the lack of education most people have about it.

Many agencies will use fancy lingo to justify their outrageous prices. More often than not you’ll find agencies telling you they can “optimize” your site or “optimize” your accounts to yield “greater ROI” through “optimization.” What does this even mean? That is exactly the point, use big words, and attach an even bigger price tag to it.

The reality is Digital Marketing, if managed appropriately, doesn’t need to be expensive and shouldn’t sound like a foreign language. What have we done to offer such great pricing? Nothing. We don’t outsource like MOST agencies you talk to; you can meet our talented team below. We don’t use bad techniques or cut corners. We simply reduce our profit margin to a reasonable place. Both owners, Michael & Cristina, know what it’s like to be a small business which is why we take your business personally; so much that we even stop billing if we don’t reach the goals laid out.

Collectively, our team has over 300 years of sales and digital marketing experience. Don’t just take our word on it, check out our Rockstar team below.

Our Digital Marketing Team

Ilan Dayan, Dealer Owner – Ceemi Agency of San Diego

Hailing from São Paulo, Brazil, Ilan seamlessly blended his South American roots with the energy of Orange County since 2015. A former professional water polo player, he carries his competitive and results-driven nature into his professional pursuits. Armed with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, a Master’s in Business with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship, and a Doctorate focusing on leadership, Ilan’s academic journey underscores his commitment to excellence.

Starting with grassroots door-to-door sales, Ilan swiftly ascended to managing sales teams for Fortune 500 giants. Recognizing the transformative power of sales, marketing, and customer acquisition, he redirected his expertise to help small businesses flourish. Ilan, a Dealer at Ceemi Agency of San Diego, embodies a win-win mindset, poised to propel your business through strategic marketing initiatives and foster sustained success.

Michael G, CEO

Michael is an east coast, crab loving, Marylander. When he wasn’t eating crab cakes and watching football, he was working on his first business at the age of 17. His competitive drive didn’t just come from running a business; he also wrestled his entire life, which ultimately landed him at John Carroll University. With a degree in Business Administration in 2009, Michael started his career by going door to door selling cable services where he learned the art of sales, management, and leadership. By 2011 Michael acquired several contracts with large Fortune 500 clients. By 2015 he had started and managed over a dozen locations throughout the United States. Michael has a reputation for hitting all sales goals put in front of him. As CEO of Ceemi Agency, Michael brings his experience to help businesses of all sizes to increase their revenue through online marketing. Not only can he help build an advertising campaign that will increase leads, he will help you turn those leads into revenue using proven sales techniques. He is excited to be on this adventure with his wife, Cristina Contreras, who also comes from a strong professional background. Together, they look forward to helping you build your empire.

Cristina C, VP of Business Development

Cristina Contreras is a dog loving, beach going, SoCal professional. Cristina wasted no time after graduating from Cal State Fullerton. She relates her work to a quote by Marlanne Williamson, “Success means we go to sleep at night knowing that our talents and abilities were used in a way that served others.” She is fueled with passion and is committed to performing a job well done. She has helped drive new business for companies such as Redbull, Jarritos, 5-Hour Energy, and H&R Block. She has had many roles that make her an expert in gaining new business. Marketing, advertising, B2B marketing, product and service marketing are just a few skills that she will bring to your business. Most recently, she worked with Anthem Blue Cross, where she developed core markets by creating community partnerships that focus on education of services and marketing. She exceeds all expectations set in front of her. She loves to empower those on her team to meet their goals with strategic activities that generate results. As VP of Business Development, Cristina will help take your business to the next level through digital marketing. She has partnered with her husband, Michael Gross, in this venture and is excited to share her experience and knowledge.

Grace is an easygoing, southern girl who lives off country music, a good cup of coffee and spending time with her dog.
She graduated from Biola University with a BA in Psychology. Her education continues to help her understand people from different backgrounds.

She started her career going B2B selling office supplies, where she learned the art of sales and honed her ability to connect with people. Her experience with business owners and interpersonal skills allow her to connect with small to medium-sized businesses and understand their desire to grow and achieve target goals.

Grace started off as one of Ceemi’s first advertising consultants, and has built her way up to our in-house operations manager. In addition to graciously handling communications with clients, she makes sure that things around the office work as smoothly as possible so that we can meet and exceed your business’s marketing goals.

Erin W, Client Development

A South Bay native, Erin attended local CSU Dominguez Hills, where she graduated with a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in International Studies.

She’s an avid reader, and in her spare time she loves joining her friends and family in pursuit of the best local restaurants and binge-watching Netflix shows such as (but not limited to) dramas, K-dramas, and anime.

Erin’s favorite musical artists include Paramore, Taylor Swift, Alt Bloom, Montell Fish, and BTS.

Erin quickly has worked her way up from bright-eyed advertising consultant to Head of Client Development, your point of contact when it comes to your company’s numbers and overall digital marketing advising.

Mathew H, Business Development

Mathew is an active guy hailing from Miami, Florida, who loves spending his free time scuba diving, fishing, skiing, and playing basketball. He also has a booming social life, in which he enjoys hanging out with friends and family.
Mathew made the move to Los Angeles after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder with degrees in Environmental Science and Business. Here is where he began his career as an Account Executive in a business-to-business sales role in which he learned the art of sales, leadership, and team-building.

As an Advertising Consultant at Ceemi, Matthew applies his extensive sales, business, and customer-care knowledge to every opportunity—making sure that all clients exceed their business goals.

John K, Website & Design Senior Manager

John is a 90s and 80s music loving Bostonian who gets a kick out watching his two daughters grow up into strong, independent women.

With more than 25 years of experience as a creative and marketing professional, John’s curiosity and need to understand how things work brought him to the top of his field.

John attended art school in California and got his start in the world of web design back in the early 90s. Since then he has been one of the first to master all the working parts of websites and digital marketing, from coding and networking, to analytics and functionality. As John says, “A website is like a machine.” It’s up to John to keep your business’s machine in tip-top shape.

Success with category leaders such as 4over, Inc., Cerwin-Vega, KRK Systems and ProSound and Stage Lighting have made John adept at anticipating and capitalizing on opportunities to help clients grow their business.

As the Senior Manager of Website & Design, John is crucial to the Ceemi team and has his hand in all things related to SEO, Web Design, Email Marketing and Creative Content.

Our Vision

We value the local community, and our vision is to see it grow and thrive. We won’t stop working until this becomes a reality. Our goal is for every small and mid-sized business in the area to “make it” and become successful. With affordable rates, years of experience, and exceptional customer service, we genuinely believe that our vision can become a reality.

Our Insights

If we told you that you could find a local and real business that provides high-quality work and quick turnaround times, would you think this is possible? What if we mentioned that the company’s rates were the most affordable in the industry? Sounds too good to be true, right?

While we feel that this should be the reality with every company, the sad truth is that it is not the case. However, when working with us, we guarantee that you’ll receive all three of these things. With a professional office and in-house design team, we’ll work to provide small and mid-sized business owners with a custom marketing solution that fits within their budget. Our team of experts has years of experience in the marketing industry, providing you with valuable insights that cannot be found elsewhere.

Our Digital Marketing & Advertising Awards

• Rising Star 2013 – Leadership Magazine
• Promoting Owner Bonus Recipient – 2013
• Lowest Cancels Award – AT&T – 2012, 2013
• #2 U-Verse office in Country (106 locations) – 7 months in 2013, 3 months in 2014
• BBB Accredited – 2013 – 2017
• Finalist – 2014 Best Places to Work – St. Louis Business Journal – 2014
• #1 Ranked Sales Office in St Louis – 8 months in a row
• #1 B2B Sales Location – Vonage – 1st Quarter 2017
• 2018 – Record Highest Sales Year – 147% of Quota YTD
• 2020 – Expertise’s Best Social Media Marketing Agencies in Torrance, CA