Time to Harvest
No one likes to do timesheets, but it is a necessary evil of agency life. But maybe, just maybe if you have a slick time management system, you could learn to like (not…
Explore our world_
From Branding to Analytics.
We live to make everything count for more: hatching the freshest concepts, kicking up your numbers, and turning consumers into loyal fans all on the tail of asking ‘why’. We leave no question off limits, and fearlessly look inside and outside your business, and ours. Discover eROI.
Ryan Buchanan Wins AMA Marketer of the Year Award
eROI CEO and Founder Ryan Buchanan wins the 2013 AMA MAX Marketer of the Year award. Check out 2-year AMA member Keely McKay’s post honoring him.
Single-serving of fun
I have a pretty badass job.
Not only do I get to create interactive experiences with a talented team, I get to have fun while I do it.
My first week at eROI many moons ago, a few…
Gamification of Learning : Level 2 – Team Treehouse
Many features of Team Treehouse, a technology education website, share similarities with some old school video games, and—taken as a whole, the experience can emulate the journey of starting at level 1 in a game to becoming more powerful and able to conquer the most difficult challenges in the game.
Gamification of Learning: Level Up the Brain
The first part in an exploration of gamification and how it works it a learning environment.
TriMet Should Partner with Portlanders More
We live in a creative-mecca filled with amazingly talented thinkers, designers, and developers yet they seem to keep us at arm’s length.
This morning I received…
Meet Kim Pearson, Our New Account Coordinator!
We’re proud to announce Kim Pearson joined eROI as Account Coordinator! She has superb customer relations experience and is also a social media maven, a runner and an…
Envelopes.com Features eROI’s Movember Stache Seeds Campaign
Details matter in marketing campaigns.
An envelope choice for our Movember Stache Seeds initiative inspired Envenlopes.com to interview eROI for their Customer…
The Importance of Face-to-Face Client Meetings
In my day-to-day life the telephone, email, digital connections and GoToMeetings reign supreme.
And while I value and appreciate the digital communication methods…
Snipe Hunting for the Perfect Job
Snipe hunt. I first learned that term as a Boy Scout on an overnight. A “snipe hunt” is essentially an impossible or an imaginary task given to people to make…
We Value Fun, and It Helps
Years ago, I received an email from a friend letting her contacts know she was changing her email address. It started with, “Dear Friend, remember that time when…
eROI 3-Year Painted Picture – A look to Our Future
I’m opening the kimono with this presentation, letting the world see a specific picture that I have of what eROI looks like and acts like in exactly 3 years from now…
The Era of Digital Craft (By Jody Turner + Ryan Buchanan)
It’s 2013 and society is a study in contrasts, from superficial technology quickly flowing in and invading our lives, to a trend toward more slower, more meaningfully-crafted…
Meet Colby Wilson, eROI Account Services Director
We are really happy to announce Colby Wilson has joined the eROI team as Account Services Director.
We wanted to welcome him in the usual manner–shining an uncomfortably…
Logo Madness Championship
A champion is crowned. After three weeks of madness, Nike restores order and balance by being voted the greatest logo of all time. Matt Grantski also complains about Happy Meals.
Asana Task Management
We use Asana for task management and have geared a lot of our processes for the checks and balances that Asana handles miraculously well.
Here’s a shortlist why_…
Logo Madness – The Stage Is Set
And there were two. The Logo Madness finalists have been determined. Read this post to check out how the semi-finals played out, and what we have to look forward to.
Email Subject Line Deliverability
We’ve all seen the subject lines from our inbox screaming “SPAM!” at us. “Free iPad!” “Bajillions of dollars are waiting to be claimed, grab…
Logo Madness – Only Four Remain
Only four logos remain in the Logo Madness tournament. Who will advance to the final game?
Logo Madness – Sweet Sixteen baby!
Logo Madness is down to only eight logos. We breakdown the match-ups and history of the remaining logos, determined by your votes on eROI’s Facebook page.
Logo Madness – Round 2
The Logo Madness competition to determine the greatest logo has been reduced to the Sweet 16. Matt Grantski recaps the round and looks ahead to the next match-ups.
First Impressions of the (Latest) Facebook Redesign
Since eROI creates websites, email and Facebook campaigns, as well as a plethora of integrated digital efforts for clients in the publishing (The Baltimore Sun, for example) and technology (Intel, for example) realms, it made sense to poll the Creative, Strategy, Development and Account teams for their take on Facebook’s impending design overhaul.
Logo Madness – Round 1
Matt Popkes and Matt Grantski break down the results of the first round of Logo Madness, the 64-logo tournament to decide what’s the greatest logo of all time.
64 Compete. One Wins it All. This is Logo Madness.
Similar to a conveniently timed college basketball tournament, Logo Madness is a 64-logo tournament featuring the most famous, recognizable and iconic brand logos.
Navigating the Fiefdoms: Email Deliverability
Email. Everyone thinks it’s as reliable as the post office. “Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, nor a nation challenged,…
Collaboradabra: Our Journey in Designing a Multi-Device Email
We pride ourselves in designing creative solutions for our clients. We look at analytics, we devise strategies, brainstorm and create campaigns that we test repeatedly…
Trust Your Designer
The feedback process between client and design has always been plagued with miscommunication and a lot of hand motions from the other side of a GoToMeeting screen, but…
Marketers, Tag Your Links!
If you have an email program or you use social media for your company’s marketing strategies, you have no excuse for not tagging your inbound links to optimize results…
Breaking the Paid Digital News Subscription Code
Print media publishers still can’t find their footing, 23 years after the first newspapers went online. The slippery, fluid Internet keeps them reaching for the elusive…
Slideshow: Wrap Your Brand’s Mind Around Content Marketing
Keep your voice true to your audience, develop a cohesive strategy across the channels that matter for your brand, and find a space to add value. These tips and more, live-Tweeted…
Portland—The Mecca For Craft (Part 1)
There is a new trend toward the old-school where there are no short-cuts. No easy outs. It’s human-scale from human brains down to execution with human hands on keyboards,…
Forget 2013. Is Your Company 2016-ready? (Part 2): Retail
In part 1 of this post I promised a follow up focusing on the retail and publishing industries as technology is dramatically changing the face of business in these…
Prop Bets, Baltimore Sun, and a lot of Beyonce.
Towards the end of the summer The Baltimore Sun, the largest newspaper circulation in Maryland, came to eROI to create a campaign to increase the number of digital subscriptions…
Forget 2013. Is Your Company 2016-ready? (Part 1)
Now that we’ve all consumed our fair share of 2013 predictions—year of the tablet, RTB (real-time bidding) grows up, augmented reality goes mainstream, big…
A new American
I want to like it.
We flew American Airlines when I was young. I remember staring expectantly through terminal windows at the shine of the unpainted fuselage. I still have…
4 Ways Facebook Graph Search Will Transform User Behavior
It will be uncomfortable for some.
But, the introduction of Facebook graph search on Tuesday sets in motion an entire new standard in the way people approach…
Pin to Win in the “Words With eROI” Game on Pinterest!
Friends, word pundits, and industry professionals: eROI would like to invite you to play our latest, greatest, Pinterest game: Words With eROI!
The goal of the game is…
Kim Kardashian, Accidental Tweets, Microwave Pizza and other Predictions for 2013
I’ll admit, I’m about a week late on the “Predictions for the New Year” blog post. By now you’ve undoubtedly been exposed to countless articles, blogs,…
Keeping Analytics Simple
With the holidays approaching, we are all out and about shopping which can turn into a very frustrating experience. In The Paradox of Choice-Why More is Less, Barry Schwartz…
6 Tips For Surviving Your Office Holiday Party
Surviving your office holiday party can be a tough task if you don’t have a game-plan or if you’re not John McClane. Our party-expert Matt Grantski lays out some essential tips to help you win at office parties.
Barbara! What’s that in your hand?!
About a week ago, Larry Hagman died of cancer. He’s a man who lived a long and rich life, and within the past week, many articles have popped up online covering his…
Christmas Past
My father has always taken everything about Christmas extremely seriously. As far back as I can remember, he was always completely happy up until, and through, December…
Create Honest Relationships
We all know the acronym. ABC, “Always Be Closing,” the infamous words of Alec—ahem, I mean, Blake from Glengarry Glen Ross. But for a moment, I’ll ask that you suspend…
eROI is celebrating “Movember.”
We are celebrating Movember this month at eROI. Movember is a global campaign and cause that began in Melbourne, Australia in 2003 to bring attention and awareness to men’s…
Paid for by Citizens Against Terrible Advertising
In our modern age of political divisiveness and partisan bickering, it’s nice to know we can all agree on one thing; political advertising has become an unbearable…
SEO white and black hats
Have Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson reconciled? Want to find out how to lose all the weight you want and eat 24/7? How about working from home stuffing envelopes for…
Setting Records – for Marketing?
Sunday morning, Red Bull set multiple records. Over 40 television networks in 50 countries aired the live feed and over 130 digital partners streamed it on the internet.…
The Latin Kitchen
I am pleased to announce the launch of another eROI digital success story—The Latin Kitchen (TLK).
We handed over the final design files to our development partner,…
A Pinteresting Debate: To Pin or Not to Pin
As we do regularly, our agency is currently analyzing its social presence, the channels we engage with actively, and the strategy around these channels. The big question…
Download the Deck – #PDXChat @ eROI
How to Use Social Media to Optimize Your Brand and Create Loyal Ambassadors.
At October’s Social Media Club Portland event, we had the chance to present a …
OSU New Media Design Class
This term I will be teaching the New Media design class with Christine Gallagher, at the Oregon State University. I was able to work with Christine on the structure of the…
You gotta FIGHT for your RIGHT to be an Entrepreneur
In Oregon, entrepreneurs are no joke. It can be a thankless job – battling in the trenches day after day, overcoming challenges and living our roller-coaster ride…
Digital Marketing Nurture Strategy on Nature’s Terms for Restaurants + Hotels
I was asked to make a keynote presentation to Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association to lay out a scenario where marketers need to stop…
The $18 Million Website. Really? Really.
Apparently I missed this gem in the feeds this January: “Four Seasons Unveils $18M Website.”
I recently came across it while doing some research on hotel…
Newspaper, Digital Media and Football – featuring Omar Little
August 2012 brought together three of my favorite things; creative marketing, NFL football and The Wire.
(Note: If you don’t know what the Wire is, I need you to stop reading…
Marketers are overwhelmed. What is the root cause?
Every day, I talk to Marketing VPs, Directors, and CEOs about their business goals and marketing strategies and 9 out of 10 times, I see the same body language – nodding…
Google Analytics Part 2 – Social
Last time I talked about the structure of Google Analytics and how to set up a basic filter so that you are only seeing customer traffic . I had some good feedback from readers…
Google Analytics Part 1- The Basics: Structure and Filters
For some this will be the junior league, but for others just getting started using analytics it can dispel some of the worried questions people sometimes ask me. We can get…
Socially-challenged? Try something different.
I consider myself a social person. I like to go to my friends’ DJ gigs (shut up Gerry!) and grab coffee with coworkers. I also enjoy spending some quality time on Facebook…
Add big personality to your big-brand
I flew this week to Oakland for work. I have not been on a flight for over three years and that was a whirlwind, family trip to meet my brother’s newborn son, with my grandmother,…
What IS a Content Strategist?
The Meetup group, Content Strategy PDX recently brought in Scott Abel, “Content Wrangler” to speak about what he calls, “The Content Strategy Silo Trap.” Scott…
Social Media Fatigue: Can The Future Save Us?
Check out my social feeds lately and it’s like a cricket convention. Aside from the occasional Foursquare check-ins, which are inconsistent at best, there’s not…
Ryan Seacrest, I @ U
World records are being broken. Badminton players are behaving badly. And Olympic commentator Ryan Seacrest is gushing over the number of Facebook and Twitter likes/followers…
Links to Interesting Things? Yeah We Do that.
I’m so glad that I have unlimited access to the tubes of the net. Without them how would I know about such things like Calvin Broadus Jr. nee Snoop Dogg has gone reggae?…
Responsive Web Design And Search Engine Optimization
Editor’s Note: This guest post is written by Mike Arnesen, Senior SEO Analyst at our search partner, SwellPath. SwellPath is a digital consulting agency specializing…
Tell my eyes…Tell my ears
The adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image.
It also aptly characterizes…
A week in eROI’s Social Life
In case you missed it, we wanted to recap our social life over the inter web. Here is a list of our favorite things that happened this week:
Everyone loves lists.
Top 10 ways…
How Last Year’s Holiday Campaign Can Improve This Year’s Holiday Revenue
I was going to write about eliminating holiday stress. A simple “start prepping your campaign now and be more relaxed come the holidays” message. That’s not, however,…
Dining on Mobile
It’s Portland Dining Month so let’s talk about food. Portland is a city on the go. We walk and ride everywhere. Our feet, bikes, street cars, and insanely tall and impractical…
A Hater’s Perspective on Facebook and Lebron James
Haters, man. If there’s one downside to achieving tremendous success, ascending to the pinnacle of your field and standing out as one of the greatest to do what it is that…
Deal fatigue will spell the end of Daily Deals… right?
Ah the morning routine. Shower, shave, news, breakfast, coffee, open email, delete 14 new daily deal emails and then it’s off to work!
Purging my inbox of the multitude…
Adding stable shadows + calendar invites to your email
Google Calendar allows users to share calendar events in HTML links without attaching a file or using javascript. Using their public calendar function and a little clever…
Fashion and Tech as Predicted by LeVar Burton
LeVar Burton, you continue to impress me. If you’re unsure who LeVar Burton is, it’s time you wise up and show some respect. Not only is this the man who spent his afternoons…
How Shazam Ruined Christmas
Holiday season, 2011. This is when I first began to see the Shazam logo appearing in the bottom corner of 30-second television commercials. The idea being that, while watching…
Facebook, General Motors and Curious Timing…
After one of the most thoroughly discussed, highly analyzed IPO processes in recent memory, Facebook stock will hit Nasdaq this Friday for public trading. In a week that…
Optimize Your Site for Pinterest
If you’re thinking of jumping into Pinterest.com, here are a few tips that can help you optimize your site and content:
You + Pinterest
Your brain is wired to process…
Green vs. Xylene
The last time we ordered office supplies, we ended up with triple berry smash fruit-scented whiteboard markers. It sounds good until you’ve got a blueberry xylene…
Are You A Tactic Zombie?
Proactively asking and answering the question ‘why’ may be the most effective tool in every marketer’s toolbox. However, this simple but powerful…
Missoni—still out of reach.
The new Target + Missoni collection, launched yesterday, had the sweeping power of an iPhone release.
High-end designer does affordable line for Target. That’s…
Creating An ExactTarget Email: A Step-by-Step Guide
Trouble creating an email in ExactTarget? Follow this step-by-step guide from our support team!
Creating an email will be done in the Content section of your account.…
CSS3 and Progressive Enhancement
I recently attended a seminar about CSS3, all the cool new features, and how to use them. There are many exciting advancements including:
Shadows
Strokes
Text Wrapping…
Vision for Oregon’s software community
As Board Chairman of the Software Association of Oregon (SAO), I gave the following speech last Thursday at SAO’s Annual Member Dinner about the vision for the software…
Content Strategy
Content Strategy is the planning, and in this case designing, for future content. Have we forgotten this crucial step in our clients marketing campaigns?
In print design…
eROI + ExactTarget
If you haven’t heard already, eROI has become ExactTarget’s sole Northwest Platinum Partner.
With our recent decision to focus our services primarily on online…
Google web fonts.
You have heard of Google web fonts right*?
Google web fonts is in beta testing and has been for quite some time. Google web fonts is a free, robust web font directory that allows…
Leveraging The Mobile Web
Are you ready to build a mobile web presence? Get a look inside the mobile website projects of 3 unique brands, and see how digital strategy and technology come together…
Icebreaker: Driving Holiday Sales With Email Marketing
Partnering with eROI, Icebreaker successfully executed an 11 part email marketing campaign promoting the New Zealand-based clothing brand and untimately driving…
Current State of Social, Mobile & Email
Discover how marketers are integrating social, mobile and email together in their programs and what opportunities exist for improving your own.
INTRODUCTION: Email,…
Email Marketing, On The Go
Learn about the new, mobile inbox environment, take a glimpse at how the subscriber bases of 20 big-brands are interacting in it, and get some simple steps you can take to…
Magento Template Development Cheat Sheet
After spending some time working with Magento (an open-source ecommerce platform that’s been on the development scene for a few years now), I have determined that…
Is There a Best Font Size
A thought I often have when seeing so many email campaigns everyday is: “Is there an ideal font size in email?”. Now I know that some browsers and email clients…
Good Example of the Address Change
Update [March 18, 2013]:
Read about the latest tools to optimize email deliverability here: Navigating the Fiefdoms: Email Deliverability
Original Post [Published…
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