Tantramar Interactive Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Last updated 2020-09-21.

Celebrating 10 years in business this month, Tantramar Interactive Inc. is one of Atlantic Canada’s leading web site development firms. Co-founder Christopher Mackay says that “we’re proud to have such a long track record of success in an industry that’s not much older than Tantramar Interactive itself.” Mackay and his partner, Choleena DiTullio, began the company in 1997 after noticing a need for web design/development services in South-Eastern New Brunswick.

“Certainly there were companies in the region building web sites, but we felt there was room for a different kind of web company — one that valued ease of use, speed and professional graphic design”, said Mackay. “Focusing on these areas rapidly distinguished us from the competition. The fact that we were web developers first and foremost meant that we could offer real advantages over others who did it on the side.”

With backgrounds in advertising, fine arts, physics, psychology and English, the pair was well-equipped for a rapidly-changing field that called on their skills in design, illustration, photography, usability, coding, and communication. Over the years, staff have rounded out Tantramar Interactive’s services with programming, client service, production and marketing skills. Today, the firm also draws from a stable of freelancers and suppliers, which keeps them fast and flexible.

Over the last 10 years, Tantramar Interactive’s reputation has grown to the point where many of their clients are outside New Brunswick. Their client roster includes Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Mello Jones and Martin in Hamilton, Bermuda, and Big R Manufacturing in Colorado

“Something we’re very proud of”, adds DiTullio, “is that we’ve consistently had long-term relationships with our customers. Past clients, such as Milk Maritime, Fox Harb’r Resort, Tourism New Brunswick, the Atlantic Association of CBDCs and Pays de la Sagouine, are clients we had the privilege of working with for three to five years.” Many current clients — including Business New Brunswick, Queen’s Faculty of Education, the Bay of Fundy Tourism Partnership, Mount Allison University, the Town of Sackville, and Thaddeus Holownia — are clients the firm has worked with for years, in some cases since 1997.

Tantramar Interactive’s work has won many awards, including silver at the Summit Creative Awards in Oregon, the first New Brunswick Tourism Technology Award from ACOA and multiple awards from TIANB/TIANS.

As members of the business community, Mackay and DiTullio have received Merit Awards from two New Brunswick premiers and have been named recipients and finalists for the New Brunswick IT Rising Star awards. Tantramar Interactive was one of only 16 firms honoured by ACOA at their Partnership Outreach Summit in 2006, and DiTullio was named the first CBDC Westmorland Albert/Enterprise South East Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

While the company’s success has looking growth beyond the region, the owners maintain the business locally. DiTullio, hailing originally from the Ottawa valley, explains that “we like the people, the landscape and the lifestyle that the area has to offer. We won’t be giving that up anytime soon.”