Sales is all about relationships. Whether you’re trying to convince someone to make a one time purchase or enter a ten-year contract, you need to build a certain level of trust and empathy (the level is much higher in the latter case). Sometimes it only takes one conversation, but it often takes many more. A sales person has to be organized to ensure that his or her communications are continuously moving towards a sale. The tools for doing that used to be a rolodex and a notebook, but that has obviously changed. What hasn’t changed is the need for mobility in a customer relationship management system, and that’s exactly what Base CRM offers. They are a Chicago, IL based company that “is paving the way by building the next generation of CRM software.” They realized that most competing software is a burden (not a useful tool) for salespeople, so they decided to build something that people would actually want to use.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
administrative,
blogging,
community management,
customer service,
design,
Illinois,
international,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
Poland,
sales,
social media,
software development,
user experience,
web development,
writing
As a job or internship seeker, you’re constantly being assessed. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in an interview or meeting someone new in an informal setting–when you identify yourself as someone who is looking for a position, people start sizing you up. The problem is that most people (even the ones who make hiring decisions) aren’t all that great at parsing the information that you give them. It’s almost comforting to be evaluated in a more formal process (like school). That’s what PeopleAnswers offers employers. They’re a Dallas, TX based company that has developed a “web-based assessment tool [based on] proven and validated Industrial Psychology principles to extract the Behavioral DNA® from both job applicants and existing employees to provide an unprecedented level of insight into their future on-the-job capabilities.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
analyst,
data,
human resources,
Internships,
product management,
psychology,
recruiting,
sales,
software development,
systems administration,
technical support,
Texas,
web development
When social media marketing first started getting serious attention, I was all about it. SEO had been huge in helping me grow this site, so I thought that social would be the next big thing. But as I started working on using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites to drive traffic, I realized how ineffective they were. I’ve recently decided to give social another shot because I see a lot of companies making it work for them (though I fear that the Careers space will never be as social as it should be). Most companies that take social seriously use a platform “to measure, engage and advertise across social media.” Unified is a New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Chicago, IL based company that offers exactly such a platform. Unified’s software is especially focused on “activating social audiences and impacting consumer actions.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
business development,
California,
design,
engineering,
Illinois,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
online marketing,
paid,
social media,
software development,
web development
Amy and I are headed to Japan for our honeymoon, but not yet. We decided to take short, domestic trip to relax after the wedding, and we’ll do the real honeymoon sometime early next year. Japan isn’t the most traditional destination for a romantic trip, but we’re excited by the prospect of experiencing a country that is radically different in terms of culture, but relatively similar economically. While experiencing the difference between Eastern and Western culture makes for a great adventure, it can be a huge business challenge. btrax is a San Francisco, CA based company that helps clients overcome those challenges as a “cross‐cultural consulting, branding and marketing agency focused on the US and Asian markets.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
bilingual,
business development,
California,
China,
design,
international,
Internships,
Japan,
marketing,
project management,
sales,
software development,
web development
I’ve been working for myself for the past six years, so the only perk that I get is flexibility. But when I interned at Orvis, I got a 50% employee discount. It was a big part of the reason that I went back for another summer (and spent most of the money I made from the internship). While many companies have unique perks that only they can offer, there are all kinds of perks that are available to pretty much any company that wants to make them available to their employees. AnyPerk is a San Francisco, CA based company that puts all of these perks into a single package that employers can get access to for $5 per employee per month. AnyPerk’s goal is “to help businesses attract and retain top talent while providing a rewarding work environment,” and they’ve found that perks are a great way to do that.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
business development,
California,
human resources,
Internships,
paid,
sales
I downloaded my first MP3 from an AOL chat room. I was an extremely early adopter when it came to “file sharing,” but after the lawsuits started and some of my favorite services were shut down, I gave up. Torrenting became all of the rage, and I missed the boat. I’ve heard a lot about BitTorrent, but I never realized that they are a real company with more than 100 employees. They’re based in San Francisco, CA, and they are “passionate about building a better, smarter Internet through distributed computing.” That may sound like an unattainable mission for such a small company, but it’s not. BitTorrent’s protocols account for 20-40% of the Internet’s traffic, which means that the company has a ton of influence..
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analyst,
California,
copywriting,
creative,
design,
Internships,
marketing,
mobile,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
software development,
user experience,
web development
I enjoy when companies include essentially useless numbers on their websites. It’s fun to see how many cups of coffee they consumed last year or how many left-handed employees they have, but it doesn’t really tell you much. Capstrat has one really important figure mixed into their “a few things you should know” section–they’ve increased employee headcount by 23% over the last year. That’s a big number in any industry, but it’s especially impressive at a full-service ad agency. I’ll bet it has a lot to do with being a leading name in the growing Raleigh, NC market. Capstrat calls itself “the agency helping companies succeed at critical moments,” which lines up perfectly with their top billed skill of finding the perfect way to say exactly what needs to be said.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analytics,
copywriting,
design,
Internships,
marketing,
North Carolina,
online marketing,
production,
social media,
unpaid
As an online publisher I understand how difficult it is to balance ads and content. I’m lucky in that the job search space allows a little more flexibility–most job postings are technically ads, so people don’t really differentiate between “editorial” and paid placement (though I still try to). The toughest part for most publishers is that ads perform best when they blend in with the content. This is really hard to do in an honest and unobtrusive way, but that’s exactly what Vibrant Media tries to do. They are based in New York, NY, and they are “the world’s leading provider of in-content contextual technology that gets brand content and advertising discovered across platforms.” With a network of more than 6,000 publishers they are able to reach upwards of 300,000,000 unique visitors every month.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
California,
creative,
customer service,
human resources,
Illinois,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
recruiting,
sem,
seo
I made a big mistake in sixth grade. I decided to take French instead of Spanish. In the time since, the Spanish speaking population in the United States has skyrocketed, while whether the French speaking population has grown or shrunk is pretty much irrelevant. Here’s a stat that tells you all that you need to know: almost 10% of all U.S. based Google searches are done in Spanish. Bilingual marketing is becoming a huge business, and we all know that local marketing is already huge. YaSabe is a Herndon, VA based company that is brining the two together. They are “committed to connecting businesses, Latino culture, and community allowing users to be ‘in the know’ and confidently make choices about how and where to spend their time and money.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analyst,
bilingual,
business development,
customer service,
Internships,
local,
marketing,
project management,
sales,
sem,
seo,
software development,
unpaid,
Virginia,
web development
My soon to be wife and I are planning on moving to a new place in July, which means that we’ve been spending a lot of time on real estate websites. One thing that I’ve learned in the process is that many real estate agents have no idea how to use the Internet. The web is an amazing medium for showing off a property, yet time after time I come across terrible listings for really nice places. Why would you make the first photo in the slideshow of the bathroom? I have no idea, but real estate agents do it all the time. Apparently, they need all of the help that they can get, and that’s exactly what Market Leader offers. They’re a Kirkland, WA based company that provides agents with “tools to effectively generate, manage, and close more transactions.” They even go so far as to guarantee leads for their clients.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
analyst,
Colorado,
customer service,
finance,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
real estate,
sales,
Washington
In my day… Macs and PCs used completely different file formats. Writing a paper on my Mac (I was one of the few back then) and printing it on one of my school’s PCs was always a risky proposition. If I didn’t convert the file properly, I might end up with no homework and a really lame excuse for my teacher. We’re well past those days, yet many people still struggle with PDFs and other files. A simple request to sign a form and send it back can lead me down a half hour process of trying to find any way possible to avoid buying a new ink cartridge for my printer. Next time I’m going to try Nitro. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that builds “easy-to-use products that help people work smarter with digital documents.” Whether it’s for personal use or for a corporation with thousands of employees, Nitro offers a simple, affordable solution.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
Australia,
blogging,
California,
customer service,
engineering,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
seo,
software development,
web development,
writing
Advertising has changed a lot over the last century, but it’s also stayed the same. While the media, tactics, and trends are always evolving, the general premise of creating an emotional response in potential customers hasn’t changed. Few companies know this better than Campbell Ewald, a Warren, MI based advertising agency that was founded in 1911 and continues to “create game-changing solutions that drive [their] clients’ business.” Despite their centenarian status, Campbell Ewald doesn’t show their age. They’re still coming up with edgy campaigns like the Zipcar ad on their home page that says, “No booty call should go unanswered.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
California,
copywriting,
creative,
design,
Internships,
marketing,
Michigan,
Texas,
user experience
One of my favorite episodes of The Office is when Michael Scott tells his employees to pack a swimsuit for a leadership training trip, and then takes them on a “booze cruise” on Lake Wallenpaupack in January. The staff are obviously pissed at Michael, but for the most part end up having a good time. I’ve been on a few evening cruises, and I’ve always had a great time. I guess that is why Entertainment Cruises is doing so well. They’re a company with “26 vessels serving eight cities with six unique cruise products.” Entertainment Cruises’ offerings range from fine dining and dancing to speedboat tours, with a lot in between. They currently operate fleets in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New Jersey, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
culinary,
customer service,
entertainment,
events,
food,
hospitality management,
Internships,
marketing,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,
New Jersey,
New York,
operations,
paid,
Pennsylvania,
recruiting,
restaurants,
sales,
training,
transportation,
travel,
Virginia,
Washington DC
In the world of marketing, it’s easy to get distracted from the end goal. Increasing sales. There are a number of commercials that repeatedly make me laugh, but I can’t name the brand of the advertiser even 5 seconds after the commercial airs. It’s easy to get caught up in the vanity of marketing, but the only thing that really matters is results. G2 is “a marketing communications agency created with one purpose: to help [its] clients sell more.” They have offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL, and Philadelphia, PA, and they “have serious experts in every communications channel delivering fresh, compelling work that creates greater awareness, consideration, sales and loyalty for our clients’ brands.” G2 is yet another company that has consolidated its entire website to a single page. It’s definitely a recent trend, and I kind of like it. It makes it easy to get a quick overview of the company.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analytics,
animation,
arts,
business development,
California,
communications,
creative,
flash,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
paid,
project management,
promotions,
software development,
statistics,
strategy,
user experience,
web development
I went to a funeral for a friend’s relative yesterday. It was lovely service in memory of a long, full life; however, the only thing that identified the service as being in 2013 and not 1995 (or 1972 even) was that the minister did all of his readings from an iPad. There isn’t a lot of innovation in the funeral industry. I thought online obituaries and guest books were the state of art, but I learned today that Platinum Innovation Group is a Detroit, MI based company that is bringing new ideas to the industry. They’re also working in “the areas of telehealth, telemedicine, health and beauty, film industry, real estate, and genealogy.” They do this by operating “a diverse set of businesses that are powered by innovation and change.” I also found the company using the brand Hello Innovation, so I’m not sure what that’s about. Maybe they’re in the process of rebranding or something.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
administrative,
business development,
copywriting,
creative,
engineering,
innovation,
Internships,
marketing,
Michigan,
paid,
sales,
web development,
writing
Lately it seems like we’ve looking at companies with previously trendy business models. We did the subscription gift box (Glossybox), the flash sale site (Rue La La), and now we’re doing the daily e-mail (obviously my favorite model). What usually happens when a business model gets hot is that a ton of copycats come along and quickly oversaturate the market. Most of them eventually fail, and people see that as evidence that the original business model was unsustainable. It’s really just that most people who copy other business aren’t very good at running businesses. PureWow is a lot like DailyCandy or even Thrillist (they even have the same backers), but they’ve chosen a distinctly different market. The New York, NY based company realized that most women-focused online content was made for the under 30 crowd, so they decided to change that.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
blogging,
design,
e-mail,
editorial,
fashion,
food,
graphic design,
interactive media,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
New York,
online marketing,
operations,
sales,
social media,
style,
unpaid,
writing
One Day One Job is hiring paid Growth Interns/Apprentices/Hustlers! Help us help more student find their dream jobs.
The group buying craze really got its start here in Chicago with Groupon, so it’s not surprising to see a new take on the model come from a local upstart. How can you make the most of the Groupon model without being one of the the thousands of copycats? You can focus on collective corporate purchasing. That’s what OpenMarkets is doing. They’re an Evanston, IL based company that has created “a network of healthcare providers joined together to create cost-savings for capital equipment.” It may not be nearly as fun as $20 for $40 of Thai food, but it has the potential to significantly impact the healthcare market.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
business development,
health care,
Illinois,
Internships,
medicine,
procurement,
purchasing,
sales
About 10 years ago I walked into a random McDonald’s in upstate New York and was shocked to see that the menus were on flat screen TVs. I’d never seen that before, and this was the last place I would have expected to see it (I’m pretty sure this was a test McDonald’s or something). Today digital displays are cheap and everywhere, as they provide an easy way to communicate messages that might change over time or require interactivity. At least it’s supposed to be easy, but technology often gets in the way of itself. Industry Weapon is a Pittsburgh, PA based company that offers a platform called CommandCenterHD that makes controlling digital media simple by centralizing and organizing it.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
animation,
communications,
customer service,
engineering,
flash,
interactive media,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
online marketing,
Pennsylvania,
quality assurance,
sales,
social media,
software development,
web development
I didn’t watch the Oscars last night. (I can’t stand award shows, and I rarely go to see movies in the theaters.) But I hear that advertisers are treating the event like the Super Bowl for women. Entertainment is a massive industry that only keeps growing, and what I find most interesting about it is how much attention begets attention. Argo probably wouldn’t have won Best Picture without Ben Affleck’s name attached to it, and nobody would read stories about a drug addicted mess if her name wasn’t Lindsay Lohan. That’s how Hollywood works, and that’s why marketing and advertising are so important. Trailer Park is a Hollywood, CA based “entertainment marketing agency” that serves “a broad spectrum of clients, including theatrical, television, home entertainment, videogames, publishing, music, brands and more.” They work with huge names and know how to keep the attention flowing.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
animation,
California,
design,
editing,
entertainment,
film,
flash,
graphic design,
information technology,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
media planner,
mobile,
movies,
photography,
production,
social media,
software development,
strategy,
technical support,
unpaid,
user experience,
web development
If there’s anything that the Internet is perfect for, it’s finding hotels. Whether you’re looking for a place off the highway to stop for the night or a luxury vacation, you’re going to be better off if you use the web. Since so many people go online to find hotels, the competition for attention is getting really tough (especially now that Google has entered the market and inserted their product at the top of search results). Most hotel owners aren’t Internet marketing experts, so how do they make sure that people find them? They use buuteeq, a Seattle, WA based company and “easy-to-use web application that improves your hotel’s online marketing on the web, on mobile devices, and on Facebook.” It gives hotel owners everything they need to compete with the major chains who have huge teams dedicated to online marketing.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
business development,
customer service,
design,
finance,
hospitality management,
human resources,
information technology,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
product management,
production,
quality assurance,
quality engineer,
sales,
seo,
social media,
software development,
travel,
user experience,
Washington,
web development
Traditionally the goal of marketing has been to get someone to take an action at some point in the future, but that has changed a lot over the past decade. The web has enabled businesses to push consumers to take immediate action, which is why online marketing has taken the best ideas from traditional marketing, direct marketing, and sales. 90octane calls it “conversion-driven marketing.” They’re a Denver, CO based agency that executes “online marketing campaigns including online advertising, email marketing, microsite and landing page development, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.” They were founded in 2000, and have held on to many of their clients for quite a long time–that is pretty unusual in performance marketing.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
Colorado,
copywriting,
Internships,
marketing,
online marketing,
paid,
public relations,
sem,
seo,
social media
Yesterday was a big news day with the State of the Union address and the culmination of the Dormer drama. For online news outlets that means pageviews, and pageviews equal revenue. Unfortunately for journalists, they aren’t supposed to create the news (except through investigative journalism), but they’re still pushed to drive more ad revenue without jumping the “Chinese wall” between advertising and editorial. To do that, you need to know what readers are most likely to respond to. Visual Revenue is a New York, NY based company that helps editorial teams figure out what that is and react to it in real time. They do this through a “predictive analytics platform that makes human editors the most powerful force in today’s data-driven newsrooms.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
data,
editorial,
engineering,
Internships,
journalism,
New York,
sales,
software development,
web development
What was your favorite Super Bowl ad? Mine was definitely the GoDaddy spot with Bar Rafaeli and “Walter”. It was shocking, completely unforgettable, and it actually explained what GoDaddy is all about… kind of. I hear the ad took 65 takes–that poor guy. If that ad grossed you out, what did you think of the Taco Bell Viva Young ad, the Volkswagen Get In Get Happy ad, or the Morning Milk Run ad? They all came from Deutsch, a Los Angeles, CA and New York, NY based advertising agency that is “a group of hard-working, independent-minded, and passionate problem solvers who live to build brands and make businesses grow through creativity and technology.” You’ve probably seen their Chairman Donny Deutsch on tv at some point. His dad started the agency in 1969, and he took over twenty years later.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
California,
creative,
interactive media,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
New York,
software development,
web development
What would you do if you got $3.8 million tomorrow? If you didn’t answer “Buy a Super Bowl ad,” then I’m a little disappointed in you. That’s the going rate this year, and many of the usual suspects are expected to pay the price. The word on the street is that the E*Trade talking baby will be making another appearance. That’s good news for Grey because they’re the ones who taught the baby how to talk. Grey (also known as Grey Group) is a New York, NY based marketing and advertising agency has been “famously effective since 1917.” Their football street cred goes way beyond a talking baby–they also do work for the NFL. Want something more socially conscious? TED is a client. It’s hard to believe how many major brands hire Grey; in fact, Grey works with a quarter of the Fortune 100.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
accounting,
administrative,
advertising,
business development,
communications,
community management,
creative,
finance,
interactive media,
Internships,
marketing,
media,
media planner,
music,
New York,
production,
social media,
software development,
strategy,
web development
I made it through my first two years of college with entirely bare walls. At some point during my Junior year (probably when I got a girlfriend), I decided that I need to take interior design a little more seriously. I nailed my old Club Baseball jersey to the wall, and that was that. One of a kind pieces like that are hard to find, but if you’re looking for something similar, you may want to check out Vedere. They’re a New York, NY based company that offers “an online design community and global marketplace unlike any other.” They’ve created a place where “architects, interior designers, craftsmen, lighting specialists, sculptors, and textile and accessories designers” can offer their wares to a broad audience of people interested in art, design, and decor.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
analytics,
architecture,
arts,
design,
events,
graphic design,
interior design,
Internships,
New York,
online marketing,
sales,
social media,
web development
Yesterday we looked at WCG, a strategic communications firm that helps brands embrace “the positive future of communications.” Today we’re going to look at another company that helps brands achieve similar goals but with a very different approach. Percolate is a “thoughtful technology company that’s building a new kind of technology platform.” They’re based in New York, NY and they provide software to “help brands create content at social scale.” I have enough trouble keeping my own Twitter feed interesting, so major brands are able to develop compelling content for dozens of profiles across dozens of networks. Percolate takes a lot of the busy work out of community management while providing tools that spark creativity. It seems like a huge win for companies that do social media on a major scale–brands like IBM, GE, American Express, Ogilvy, and Budweiser (all Percolate clients).
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
communications,
community management,
design,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
online marketing,
sales,
social media,
software development,
strategy,
user experience,
web development
It used to be that brands communicated, and you listened. There was always the 1-800 number on the back of the product for you to share your thoughts, but I’ll bet that .1% of consumer made 99.9% of those calls. Today communications is like one of those place where six highways come together and people are merging all over the place. Brands can no longer control the conversation–they can only hope to guide and influence it. WCG is a San Francisco, CA based “independent strategic communications firm” that is embracing “the positive future of communications.” The company also has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Austin, Los Angeles and London, and they specialize in “branding, design, digital, interactive, social media, traditional marketing, corporate and product public relations, media relations, investor and advocacy relations, clinical trial recruitment, location based marketing, and grassroots direct-to-patient consumer campaigns.”
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
analyst,
analytics,
California,
communications,
consumer products,
creative,
design,
health care,
international,
Internships,
New York,
pharmaceuticals,
public relations,
Texas,
united kingdom,
user experience,
Washington DC
I’m dying for the sixth season of Mad Men to start. There’s no date set yet, but the season should premiere in about three months. One thing that I find funny about the show is that they make it look like everything that happened in advertising in the 50s and 60s happened in New York City. Oddly enough, the Don Draper character is partially based on a guy named Draper Daniels, who was “the creative head of the Leo Burnett advertising agency in Chicago, IL.” Leo Burnett was a huge name then (the company was founded in 1935, and it still is). Their client list is about as high end as you’ll ever see with names like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Altria (those first three kind of scare me from a health/social responsibility standpoint, but they’re still impressive names) General Motors, Kellogg’s, Hallmark, Nintendo, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, and Fiat.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analyst,
animation,
bilingual,
creative,
design,
e-mail,
finance,
flash,
Georgia,
Illinois,
information technology,
Internships,
marketing,
media planner,
paid,
production,
research,
software development,
strategy,
user experience,
web development
I don’t put a lot of stock in business awards (though the lists can be great ways to learn about new companies) because so many of them are total fluff. But when I see that over the past three years a marketing agency was named one of Forbes’ Ten Great Ad Agencies 2012, one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Advertising & Marketing, and OMMA’s Agency of the Year, I take notice. Mullen is a Boston, MA based agency with offices in San Francisco, CA, Winston-Salem, NC, Pittsburgh, PA, Detroit, MI, and New York, NY that is “on a mission to work with the world’s most innovative marketers.” They offer the full range of services including brand planning, content development, design, PR, analytics, user experience design, and much more.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
advertising,
analytics,
arts,
brand management,
California,
copywriting,
creative,
design,
interactive media,
Internships,
marketing,
Massachusetts,
media,
media planner,
Michigan,
North Carolina,
paid,
Pennsylvania,
project management,
public relations,
social media,
strategy,
unpaid,
user experience,
web development
Today is the last day to order something with “regular shipping” and get it in time for Christmas. It took a while, but we’re finally at a point where logistics can keep up with the speed of the Internet. Free shipping from most sites often used to take more than a week. Now I swear I’ve had things delivered the same day from Amazon. Amazon is on a completely different level from most other e-commerce companies, but more and more companies are able to offer Amazon-like delivery because of a not-so-well-known partner. Quiet Logistics is an Andover, MA based “pick-pack-ship operation (fulfillment) that uses an elegant mix of technology and branded packaging to complete the eCommerce experience.” If you’ve ever ordered from Bonobos, Gilt, or Nasty Gal, your package probably originated at Quiet Logistics’ distribution center.
Read the full article →
Tagged as:
account management,
customer service,
Internships,
Logistics,
Massachusetts,
shipping
