The Land Of Small Giants
Sometimes bigger isn't better. In Ann Arbor the "small giant" movement is catching on. Their philosophy? Profit is good but the bottom line should not be the be-all, end-all of your company's existence.
PR/Marketing
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Gerald White International moves HQ to Ann Arbor
A former University of Michigan Football player is returning to his alma mater and expects to begin creating jobs in Ann Arbor.Gerald White has relocated his media firm, Gerald White International, from Miami to downtown Ann Arbor. The move brings two employees right away and four internship openings that will be filled by this fall. The company hopes to expand its staff to eight people and a few interns within 18 months, growth that could include promoting some of those interns into full-time employees."That's one of the main reasons I wanted to get back to Ann Arbor is because of the talent," White says. "The more kids we keep in Michigan the better off we are."Gerald White International provides marketing, public relations, digital and social network marketing media services. It has strategic relationships with Sourcebits of Atlanta and Bangalore, India, a leader in mobile/social and gaming apps and digital solutions, and Eiler Communications of Ann Arbor, a public relations firm. Some of its clients include the National Athletic Association, The Ludacris Foundation, Melange Bistro and Don Modesto Tequila.White, who played fullback for U-M between 1983-7, plans to take advantage of the opportunities created in the current Michigan economy to grow his 8-year-old company.Source: Gerald White, CEO of Gerald White InternationalWriter: Jon Zemke
New Pure Michigan focus on Ann Arbor
Two of the latest Pure Michigan ads are focusing on Ann Arbor and how Tree Town is one of those special places that help makes the Great Lakes State great. The ads are currently playing on radio across the nation.Excerpt:In a world that tries so hard to look and feel like everything else, there is a place that knows exactly what it is -- Ann Arbor External Link, External Link Michigan. A place that embraces the unique and unusual. Where the art challenges the mind as much as it engages the eyes. And where trying a new taste is always on the menu. The storefronts, cafes and artists of Ann Arbor do it up a little different.Read the rest of the story here.
Michigan announces Pure Michigan Living winners
Is it any wonder that the two winners of the Pure Michigan Living contest come from places in the heart of the state?Excerpt:The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) today announced the winners of the "Why I Choose Michigan" essay contest. The contest helped kick off the recent launch of PureMichiganLiving.com, a new Web site featuring the people, places and things that make Michigan a great place to live, work and play.The recipients are: Gerry Callison of Jackson, who chose to relocate in Michigan last year after his job was eliminated in Wisconsin and now works at Commonwealth Associates in Jackson, an engineering and consulting firm that specializes in electrical transmission and distribution projects; and,Rita Noel, of Howell, was born and raised in Michigan and has chosen to raise her family in Howell because she believes Michigan is one of the nation's most attractive places to enjoy cultural and recreational opportunities. "The essays submitted by Rita and Gerry exemplify the reasons why Michigan is retaining and attracting the people our state will need to succeed in the new knowledge-based economy," said Joe Borgstrom, a Division Director with MSHDA. "We are delighted to reward their efforts with free weekend getaway packages to two of Michigan's most outstanding resorts."Read the rest of the story here.
Sesi Midwest to showcase Ypsilanti entrepreneurship
Eastern Michigan University is working to encourage more students to dip their toes into the entrepreneurship pool with it latest offering Sesi Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference. Joe Venuto, one of the conference's speakers, has already been swimming laps.Venuto graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2008 with a degree in communications and a minor in entrepreneurship. He started several small businesses in Ypsilanti, ranging from Mobile Consulting (which saves people money on their cell phone bills) to SoPlat, a start-up that runs social media for Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor and Ferndale.Venuto, 27, credits Eastern Michigan and Ypsilanti with giving him "the platform to be great" when it comes to running his own business. Those institutions helped him go from a dead broke student with little to direction in life to becoming a business owner with five independent contractors under him."There are so many resources in Ypsilanti and Eastern Michigan," Venuto says. "SPARK is over in Ann Arbor. They provided all of the resources I needed to be great as a serial entrepreneur. Everyone had an open door, too."The conference will spotlight other local entrepreneurs and their successes, including people from well-established firms like Zingerman's to new start-ups run by students, like IMU. The conference will be held at Friday in the EMU Student Center. Call (734) 487-0902 for more information.Source: Joe Venuto, serial entrepreneur and recent graduate of Eastern Michigan UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke
Is Domino’s mea culpa gaining traction?
Sorry seems to be the hardest word. But not for Domino's Pizza. So, how many ways can one make amends before consumers believe a business has changed its evil ways? The Ann Arbor-based pizza company is finding that out right now as it makes the public-improvement of its principal product a significant cog in its business plan.Excerpt:Domino's Pizza, ubiquitous as it is, had become more of an inescapable phenomenon than a viable pizza joint. "They" said it was more of a logo in an endless blur of logos than a place of sustenance. It was rarely at the forefront of pizza-centric brains, rarely a first, second or third choice when ordering pizza, always a pizza of last resort. The crust was famously cardboard-y, the cheese tasted processed, the sauce lacked distinction — in the event of famine, a jar of Prego slathered across a Domino's box itself might serve as a respectable imitation. Indeed, ordering Domino's pizza had become the culinary equivalent of wearing sweat pants to work — something you do when you no longer care.They said worse.But so has Domino's."They" were a handful of Loyola University students rounded up with the promise of free pizza. Albeit, free pizza with a catch — they had to eat Domino's pizza, a (cheap) pizza they only order, they said, when they are feeling especially strapped for cash. Specifically, they had to sample the new core recipe that Domino's Pizza recently rolled out. If you haven't heard, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Domino's, the second largest pizza chain in the country (behind Pizza Hut), decided to scrap its often-maligned standard pizza and reinvent its most basic product "from the crust up." As incoming Chief Executive J. Patrick Doyle explained, the goal was "a pizza dramatically better than the old pizza."Admirable, but not remarkable.The remarkable part is Domino's marketing campaign, which is centered on the startling admission that its pizza has been profoundly lousy — in fact, lousy for a very long time. The TV commercials, which began earlier this month, are that blunt, that confessional.Read the rest of the story here.
MASTERMIND: Todd and Janice Ortbring
There are citizens and then there are members of your community that are like a force of nature. Meet the Ortbrings, Chelsea's über neighbors. Not only do they run a successful local advertising and marketing firm, they also bring new meaning to the phrase civic engagement.
Double Lives: Josh Weston
See that speck on the Lake Michigan horizon? Rolling across choppy waves, skateboard on one foot, surfboard on the other, Josh Weston does double time as a web designer for Ann Arbor's MS&L and as the founder of Einfach Skate. Concentrate chats with the man who's struck a balance between pavement and PC.
Ann Arbor’s RB Systems goes national with EveryMeeting.com
When Nadine Burns saw a need, she new there was also a business opportunity. It's why she and her husband started EveryMeeting.com from their software firm RB Systems.When Burns was on the board of the American Marketing Association's Detroit chapter, she noticed there wasn't a central location to post professional meeting notices. EveryMeeting.com was born not long after that.The website lets people post their professional meetings and events in a professional setting. Think more LinkedIn than Facebook. Right now users can make posts for free and sign up for a free annual membership before the end of the month."There is nothing out there like it," Burns says.RB Systems is a software contracting firm that Burns husband started four years ago and now employs two people, half a dozen independent contractors and 1-2 interns out of Ann Arbor SPARK's Central Business Incubator in downtown Ann Arbor. The company is working on a mobile application and social media strategy for the website. It hopes to host 100,000 meetings within the first year. It's already spreading across the nation, attracting meetings and events from all corners of the U.S."We haven't anticipated it going out of state as fast as it has," Burns says.Source: Nadine Burns, chief marketing officer for RB SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke
Gerald White International moves HQ to Ann Arbor
A former University of Michigan Football player is returning to his alma mater and expects to begin creating jobs in Ann Arbor.Gerald White has relocated his media firm, Gerald White International, from Miami to downtown Ann Arbor. The move brings two employees right away and four internship openings that will be filled by this fall. The company hopes to expand its staff to eight people and a few interns within 18 months, growth that could include promoting some of those interns into full-time employees."That's one of the main reasons I wanted to get back to Ann Arbor is because of the talent," White says. "The more kids we keep in Michigan the better off we are."Gerald White International provides marketing, public relations, digital and social network marketing media services. It has strategic relationships with Sourcebits of Atlanta and Bangalore, India, a leader in mobile/social and gaming apps and digital solutions, and Eiler Communications of Ann Arbor, a public relations firm. Some of its clients include the National Athletic Association, The Ludacris Foundation, Melange Bistro and Don Modesto Tequila.White, who played fullback for U-M between 1983-7, plans to take advantage of the opportunities created in the current Michigan economy to grow his 8-year-old company.Source: Gerald White, CEO of Gerald White InternationalWriter: Jon Zemke
New Pure Michigan focus on Ann Arbor
Two of the latest Pure Michigan ads are focusing on Ann Arbor and how Tree Town is one of those special places that help makes the Great Lakes State great. The ads are currently playing on radio across the nation.Excerpt:In a world that tries so hard to look and feel like everything else, there is a place that knows exactly what it is -- Ann Arbor External Link, External Link Michigan. A place that embraces the unique and unusual. Where the art challenges the mind as much as it engages the eyes. And where trying a new taste is always on the menu. The storefronts, cafes and artists of Ann Arbor do it up a little different.Read the rest of the story here.
Michigan announces Pure Michigan Living winners
Is it any wonder that the two winners of the Pure Michigan Living contest come from places in the heart of the state?Excerpt:The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) today announced the winners of the "Why I Choose Michigan" essay contest. The contest helped kick off the recent launch of PureMichiganLiving.com, a new Web site featuring the people, places and things that make Michigan a great place to live, work and play.The recipients are: Gerry Callison of Jackson, who chose to relocate in Michigan last year after his job was eliminated in Wisconsin and now works at Commonwealth Associates in Jackson, an engineering and consulting firm that specializes in electrical transmission and distribution projects; and,Rita Noel, of Howell, was born and raised in Michigan and has chosen to raise her family in Howell because she believes Michigan is one of the nation's most attractive places to enjoy cultural and recreational opportunities. "The essays submitted by Rita and Gerry exemplify the reasons why Michigan is retaining and attracting the people our state will need to succeed in the new knowledge-based economy," said Joe Borgstrom, a Division Director with MSHDA. "We are delighted to reward their efforts with free weekend getaway packages to two of Michigan's most outstanding resorts."Read the rest of the story here.
Sesi Midwest to showcase Ypsilanti entrepreneurship
Eastern Michigan University is working to encourage more students to dip their toes into the entrepreneurship pool with it latest offering Sesi Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference. Joe Venuto, one of the conference's speakers, has already been swimming laps.Venuto graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2008 with a degree in communications and a minor in entrepreneurship. He started several small businesses in Ypsilanti, ranging from Mobile Consulting (which saves people money on their cell phone bills) to SoPlat, a start-up that runs social media for Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor and Ferndale.Venuto, 27, credits Eastern Michigan and Ypsilanti with giving him "the platform to be great" when it comes to running his own business. Those institutions helped him go from a dead broke student with little to direction in life to becoming a business owner with five independent contractors under him."There are so many resources in Ypsilanti and Eastern Michigan," Venuto says. "SPARK is over in Ann Arbor. They provided all of the resources I needed to be great as a serial entrepreneur. Everyone had an open door, too."The conference will spotlight other local entrepreneurs and their successes, including people from well-established firms like Zingerman's to new start-ups run by students, like IMU. The conference will be held at Friday in the EMU Student Center. Call (734) 487-0902 for more information.Source: Joe Venuto, serial entrepreneur and recent graduate of Eastern Michigan UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke
Is Domino’s mea culpa gaining traction?
Sorry seems to be the hardest word. But not for Domino's Pizza. So, how many ways can one make amends before consumers believe a business has changed its evil ways? The Ann Arbor-based pizza company is finding that out right now as it makes the public-improvement of its principal product a significant cog in its business plan.Excerpt:Domino's Pizza, ubiquitous as it is, had become more of an inescapable phenomenon than a viable pizza joint. "They" said it was more of a logo in an endless blur of logos than a place of sustenance. It was rarely at the forefront of pizza-centric brains, rarely a first, second or third choice when ordering pizza, always a pizza of last resort. The crust was famously cardboard-y, the cheese tasted processed, the sauce lacked distinction — in the event of famine, a jar of Prego slathered across a Domino's box itself might serve as a respectable imitation. Indeed, ordering Domino's pizza had become the culinary equivalent of wearing sweat pants to work — something you do when you no longer care.They said worse.But so has Domino's."They" were a handful of Loyola University students rounded up with the promise of free pizza. Albeit, free pizza with a catch — they had to eat Domino's pizza, a (cheap) pizza they only order, they said, when they are feeling especially strapped for cash. Specifically, they had to sample the new core recipe that Domino's Pizza recently rolled out. If you haven't heard, to celebrate its 50th anniversary, Domino's, the second largest pizza chain in the country (behind Pizza Hut), decided to scrap its often-maligned standard pizza and reinvent its most basic product "from the crust up." As incoming Chief Executive J. Patrick Doyle explained, the goal was "a pizza dramatically better than the old pizza."Admirable, but not remarkable.The remarkable part is Domino's marketing campaign, which is centered on the startling admission that its pizza has been profoundly lousy — in fact, lousy for a very long time. The TV commercials, which began earlier this month, are that blunt, that confessional.Read the rest of the story here.
MASTERMIND: Todd and Janice Ortbring
There are citizens and then there are members of your community that are like a force of nature. Meet the Ortbrings, Chelsea's über neighbors. Not only do they run a successful local advertising and marketing firm, they also bring new meaning to the phrase civic engagement.
Double Lives: Josh Weston
See that speck on the Lake Michigan horizon? Rolling across choppy waves, skateboard on one foot, surfboard on the other, Josh Weston does double time as a web designer for Ann Arbor's MS&L and as the founder of Einfach Skate. Concentrate chats with the man who's struck a balance between pavement and PC.
Ann Arbor’s RB Systems goes national with EveryMeeting.com
When Nadine Burns saw a need, she new there was also a business opportunity. It's why she and her husband started EveryMeeting.com from their software firm RB Systems.When Burns was on the board of the American Marketing Association's Detroit chapter, she noticed there wasn't a central location to post professional meeting notices. EveryMeeting.com was born not long after that.The website lets people post their professional meetings and events in a professional setting. Think more LinkedIn than Facebook. Right now users can make posts for free and sign up for a free annual membership before the end of the month."There is nothing out there like it," Burns says.RB Systems is a software contracting firm that Burns husband started four years ago and now employs two people, half a dozen independent contractors and 1-2 interns out of Ann Arbor SPARK's Central Business Incubator in downtown Ann Arbor. The company is working on a mobile application and social media strategy for the website. It hopes to host 100,000 meetings within the first year. It's already spreading across the nation, attracting meetings and events from all corners of the U.S."We haven't anticipated it going out of state as fast as it has," Burns says.Source: Nadine Burns, chief marketing officer for RB SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke
