The envisionit media brand is now alive and well on the mobile web. If you haven’t seen it yet, get out your fancy phone and take a look (the new mobile site is currently limited to iPhone and Droid visitors only.) The site features a mobile-optimized version of this here blog, a teaser-style version of our portfolio, and the basic nuts and bolts about who we are and what we do. So, go check it out–and let us know what you think!

Blog readers, meet Ari Franklin. He’s the new Associate Project Manager who joined our team last month.

Ari comes to us from the account team at a large branding agency here in Chicago, and he’s now helping to coordinate and streamline the production of envisionit media’s interactive projects. Since he began, Ari’s experience and strategic thinking has been upping the momentum of our projects and helping to cement our many new client relationships. As he continues to settle in here, we look forward to the ways in which he’ll help our team create work that stays on schedule and on strategy.

When asked the old “what do you like most about being here” question, Ari mentioned the supportiveness of the envisionit media team. When asked him what he does for fun, he sort of blanked out in that way people do when asked to talk about themselves.
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My father has a real knack for taking photos of people while they’re eating. And then he posts those photos on his Wall. I don’t object to dad-friendly social networking, nor do I care too strongly about the less-than-flattering photos. But, generally, I like to keep these photos safely away from the eyes of my colleagues and exes.

With the passing of another 4th of July, another family event, another unfortunate photoshoot at Famous Dave’s, we at envisionit thought it would be a great time to point you towards our friends at Chattertree.
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It’s the end of my second month here at envisionit media, and I’m proud to say that as the weeks pass, the learning curve continues to become steeper than ever before.  I stated in my last post that, “I’m only at the tip of the iceberg”, and let me tell you that statement was more dead-on than I could even imagine. During my first month I learned an abundance of different media and techniques (SEM, SEO, PPC, and Social Media to name a few) that could be applied to client accounts, but through my second month here I’m really beginning to delve deeper under the water by learning how to utilize these techniques to provide maximum gain for our clients.

With that said, let me give all of you local/nationwide/global business owners out there one small tip of advice I’ve learned while interning here: Use Social Media!! Unless you’ve been living under a rock (no offense if that’s your preferred living space), you’ve probably heard about Twitter and Facebook.  So you have heard about it? (I hope so) Are you using it? (Most likely) But the real question is; HOW are you using it?  Facebook currently has 400+ million users and Twitter is at 75 million, and botH can be great for promoting your business.  But on the other hand, there are already many other businesses being social, so it can be very hard to stand out amongst the crowd.
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There’s no telling what could happen inside Wrigley Field anymore. Brawls? Drama? Defeat? Gasp…Victory? Yes, those lovable losers are at their MOST lovable this year, but the good news is, no matter what’s going on inside the ballpark, you now can always, at any time, see what’s going on outside the park.

Our friends at CubWorld.com have recently added a cool, new, live-streaming Wrigley Field web cam to their site. Perched at CubWorld.com’s brick & mortar location, Sports World, across the street from and with a full view of the front entrance of the ballpark, the camera gives you a live feed of all the action! Visit it the day of a game to check traffic, weather, crowd level, or just to get a taste of the action when you can’t make the game. Oh, the stories it would tell if this camera could only talk….
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envisionit media enthusiastically welcomes to our interactive agency: Marquette Companies!

Founded in 1983, today Marquette serves as private real estate company committed to investment excellence in real estate assets across the U.S. Marquette Companies is involved in a number of local real estate properties, including the Ponds of Naperville and Lemont Lofts. The company also just moved their operations to a new office in Naperville, IL.

envisionit media has extended a warm, summertime welcome to one of the newest clients to our interactive agency, the ROOF at theWit in Chicago. The new relationship may require more than a few “user experience” visits on our part. Or, we hope so, anyway.

Sitting atop theWit, ROOF is Chicago’s unparalleled stargazing destination. A glamorous, 7,000 square foot, year-round indoor/outdoor lounge, ROOF offers stunning city views, roaring fire pits, handcrafted cocktails, live music, and–get this: a suspended, glass-enclosed table for eight that literally dangles 27 floors above the city. Rounding out this perfect experience is acclaimed chef Todd Stein’s menu of Italian-inspired small plates—American cuisine he created during his time as Executive Chef at MK restaurant.

We at envisionit media are raising our glasses high–very high–for the work ahead on this one. Welcome to our team, ROOF!

Today marks the first month of my internship here at EIM, and to say I’ve learned a lot since I started working here would be an understatement. When EIM declares themselves an “interactive agency”, they aren’t kidding, they really do live and breath interactive, and for some reason (although interactive is at the cutting edge of advertising) I was never taught these techniques in college.

After working here for a month, I’ve already learned various “new” advertising tactics (SEO/SEM, PPC, Social Media, and the list goes on) that leave those “old-school” techniques (my professors spent months talking about) in the dust. Don’t get me wrong traditional forms of advertising can be extremely beneficial to your business, and a great foundation for a campaign, but these days it’s about integrating both modern and traditional forms of advertising to create that perfect cocktail that tastes like nothing other than success!
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This past week, we cleared off a few desks, secured some stray computers, and welcomed two new team members. Let’s get to know them, shall we?

Account Supervisor Lisa Cardarelli—on the left—worked for the largest full service interactive agency in Tampa before leaving for the balmy shores of Lake Michigan. Now that she’s here, she’ll be helping envisionit media grow new and existing business while further amping up our SEO/SEM capabilities. When she’s not in the office, Lisa will be hard at work discovering all the best shopping that Chicago has to offer her and her little Yorkie, Coco.

Copywriter Holly Grigalunas—on the right—comes to us with years of experience in marketing writing for a number of industries, across a variety of channels. She’s excited about contributing her skills to both our clients and to our internal envisionit media team. When she’s not writing for work or pleasure, Holly’s either at yoga class or a gastropub.
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