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Underground Elephant

Willy Franzen — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:42:53 +0000

Nearly 500,000 teaching jobs will be added in the next decade. If you’re considering a career in education, take a look at our guide to entry level teaching jobs.

Company names usually take one of two directions. They either explain exactly what the company does (i.e. Accuweather), or they tell you absolutely nothing about what the company does (i.e. Benzinga). There’s a third type that sounds totally random but actually has a significant meaning, and those tend to be my favorite. Underground Elephant is one of those names. The company is based in San Diego, CA, and they offer “a complete turnkey solution” for customer acquisition in “a wide range of vertical markets.” How is this relevant to their name? Underground Elephant plays a huge role in their clients’ businesses, yet their participation is essentially invisible to everyone but insiders.

The Elephant in the Room

If you’re not familiar with the performance marketing industry, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. How can a company that delivers tons of customers to their clients do so without being noticed? Watch this video on Underground Elephant to get a better idea of how their business works.

While what Underground Elephant does a good job of keeping a low profile when working for clients, they haven’t been able to do the same in the San Diego media. Their CEO was named a Most Admired CEO Finalist for the third consecutive year by San Diego Business Journal, and they’re also one of San Diego’s fastest growing private companies. I guess an elephant can only hide underground so long. Now that you’ve found them, you need to take a look at their Careers page. Right now they have some great openings for new or recent grads including:

There are a ton of great entry level or near entry level job opportunities at Underground Elephant, so don’t look past them. Not only does Underground Elephant look like a really cool company to work for, but they’re based in San Diego.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard bout Underground Elephant?

Captains of Industry

Willy Franzen — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:01:19 +0000

I went on a guided fishing trip this morning. The weather was pretty terrible, and the catching was nonexistent. As we were driving back to the hotel, the guide told us about a boat that recently sank and how the captain was the first one to abandon ship. That’s certainly not captain-like behavior, and it’s the opposite of what you’d expect from Captains of Industry, a Boston, MA based marketing and advertising agency that was started by an ad guy and a filmmaker. They excel at developing ” strategy-driven creative in all media – from websites to corporate videos to literature systems – that tells [their customers' stories] in unforgettable ways.”

Aye Aye Captain

Captains of Industry got its start as a freelance writing service in 1992, but it evolved into something much bigger when its founder started sharing office space with a filmmaker in 1996. They decided to work together and quickly began producing some pretty cool stuff. You can check out their latest work here. Their clients include Bose, First Wind, Akamai, Re/Max, and a bunch of other big names. If you want to get an even better feel for Captains of Industry, you should read their manifesto. You may also want to take note of some things that Captains are (we already know that they shouldn’t abandon ship):

/ Captains are storytellers

/ Captains take pride in our craft

/ Captains take ownership

/ Captains passionately want the client to succeed

/ Captains are driven to change the world

/ Captains never take themselves too seriously

/ Captains never quit

If you think that you have what it takes to be a Captain, then take a look at Captains of Industry’s Jobs page. Right now they’re looking for full-timers in Account Management and SEO and freelance Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Copywriters, Technical Writers, Illustrators, Producers, Web/Flash Programmers, and Art Directors. Additionally, you can also apply for future openings.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Captains of Industry?

Leadnomics

Willy Franzen — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:20:54 +0000

Today is my favorite day of the year, at least when it comes to writing daily company profiles. Why? Inc. Magazine just released the 2011 Inc. 5000 List. It’s a ranking of the 5,000 fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. It includes all kind of businesses in locations all across the country. It’s one of the best job seeker resources out there. As I looked through the list I saw a lot of companies that I’ve already written about and a lot of new ones that don’t have any jobs posted. Then I saw Leadnomics–they came in at #48 with 3,932% 3-year revenue growth to $5.8 million in revenue last year. The lead generation and performance marketing company is based in Philadelphia, PA, and they’ve been growing rapidly in terms of both revenue and headcount.

Take the Lead

A lead is nothing more than contact information for someone who may be interested in a product or service. Leads are the lifeblood of businesses in which the sales process isn’t as simple as checking someone out at the cash register (or the online equivalent). Some industries where lead generation is essential include Financial Services, Education, Insurance, and Consumer Offers. In most scenarios the quality of the lead is extremely important–some people are far more likely to buy than others, and you want to focus on the easiest sales. The web has become an amazing lead generation tool, but finding quality can be difficult. Leadnomics is all about taking the entire lead generation process and optimizing each part of “the consumer purchasing decision.” That means that they take a scientific approach to how they “acquire traffic, capture leads, analyze and filter for quality and deliver leads in real-time.” Considering that Leadnomics’ business is entirely performance based and that they’re growing rapidly, it looks like they must have figured a few things out. If you want to work with them, check out their Jobs page. They have an open call for people interested in Performance/Internet Marketing, while they are also looking for a PHP Web Developer, a Paid Search Manager, a Web Application Developer (PHP/LAMP), and a Flash Web Graphic Designer. You can lead the way.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Leadnomics?

Hill Holliday

Willy Franzen — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:52:54 +0000

I have to admit that I’m a little bummed that the holiday weekend is over. Since it’ll be a solid 2 months until we get another one, we’re going to have to make do with Hill Holliday. They’re a full-service advertising, marketing, and communications agency with presences in Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Greenville, SC. It all started in Boston in 1968 as Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Inc., and now it’s a firm of more than 800 employees with some really big name clients including Dunkin’ Donuts, Major League Baseball, Anheuser Busch, CVS, Liberty Mutual, Bank of America, and more. Unless you are a total hermit, there’s almost no way that you wouldn’t recognize at least some of their work.

Another Holliday!

Whenever I look at advertising or marketing agencies, the first thing that I do is look at their work. Hill Holliday’s work is super impressive, and there’s a ton of it to look at. At first I though there were only a few pieces, but then I noticed the slider at the top of the page that lets you browse everything that they’ve done by client. One of my favorites has to be Brian Wilson’s Beard. If you’re digging Hill Holliday’s portfolio, then you’re in luck, because they also appear to be an awesome place to work. In 2010 they were named #1 in the “Boston Globe 100 Top Places to Work.” That’s why you should check out Hill Holliday’s Careers page, and then dive into their job postings. They have a bunch of opportunities for new or recent grads including Junior Studio Designer (Boston, MA), Administrative Assistant (Boston, MA), Front End Developer (Boston, MA), Jr. Flash Animator/Developer (Boston, MA), and Junior Media Buyer (New York, NY). There are a bunch more positions that require a little more experience, so you may want to check those out too.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Hill Holliday?

Mindspark

Willy Franzen — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:59:37 +0000

There’s been a big uproar in the startup community because I Can Has Cheezburger just took on $30 million in venture capital funding. Now, I’m not qualified to determine whether that’s a smart investment, but I’m wary of people who are too quick to judge it. A lot of people have trouble differentiating between serious businesses and businesses that sell serious products. There’s a lot of room for fun on the Internet, and there are lots of companies that are profiting by providing fun. One of them is Mindspark, which is an IAC company. Mindspark is based in White Plains, NY with additional offices in New York City and Ra’anana, Israel. They manage a number of social and entertainment web properties including Zwinky, and Zwinky Cuties, IWON, Retrogamer, MyWebFace, and GirlSense. Mindspark also offers interactive communication products like Webfetti, My Fun Cards, SmileyCentral, Smiley Creator, Cursor Mania, Popular Screensavers and Kazulah. Additionally, Mindspark also runs Excite and DailyBurn. As you can tell by the names, this isn’t the most serious collection of sites.

A Spark for Your Job Search

Now, I know that you never thought that visiting Zwinky Cuties would be part of your job search, but if you want to land a job at Mindspark, you’re going to have to check out all of their sites. You should be able to run through each of their sites and identify the target audience, the ways in which the sites engage their audiences, and how Mindspark is monetizing the attention from those audiences. That’s the kind of analysis that you should be doing on any company that you want to work for—it’s just going to be a little more fun for Mindspark. Once you have a handle on that, you should check out Mindspark’s Careers page and Job postings. They have a ton of jobs posted (so you have to think that they’re doing well), and a number of them seem appropriate for new or recent grads. Unfortunately, the system that they use to post the jobs, Jobvite, won’t let me link directly to the job descriptions. The positions that you’ll want to look out for include Business Development Coordinator (Ask Partner Network – Oakland, CA), Product Support Specialist/Tester (White Plains, NY), Technical Customer Support Specialist (DailyBurn – New York, NY), Online Fitness Trainer (DailyBurn – New York, NY), Flash Game Developer (Virtual Worlds – Los Angeles, CA and White Plains, NY), Web Developer (Ask Partner Network – Oakland, CA), Web Developer (IWON – New York, NY), and Web Developer (Webfetti – White Plains, NY). You can also find DailyBurn’s technical positions posted here. There’s a lot of variety here, so hopefully something will catch your eye.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you visited any of Mindspark’s properties?

Spin Master

Willy Franzen — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:40:59 +0000

I may be 26 years old, but I still love getting toys for Christmas. I don’t mean expensive gadgets—I mean real toys. In past years I received gifts like a Marshmallow Shooter and a Fisher-Price T.M.X. Tickle Me Elmo (only entertaining for about five minutes), and this year I got the most awesome remote control helicopter ever. It’s not an Air Hogs helicopter, but I’ve always been impressed with that particular brand. They do some pretty cool stuff when it comes to flying toys, so I thought that my Christmas List could help your job search. Spin Master is the Toronto, CA based company (with locations in the US) that owns the Air Hogs brand in addition to other toy brands like Aquadoodle, Bugville, Flick Trix, Liv, Moon Dough, Zoobles, and plenty of others. They make all kinds of stuff that you and I are too old to play with, but I guess you’d have an excuse if you worked for them.

Put a New Spin on Things

Spin Master started with three college friends and $10,000. Their first product was The Earth Buddy, and then came Devil Sticks, Grow Things, and Chatter Rings. None of them were huge hits, but then Spin Master hit on the “Sky Shark” in 1998. It was a toy airplane propelled by compressed air, and it was the precursor to the entire Air Hogs brand. Now Spin Master is a leader in toy innovation, and they’re also doing a lot on the licensing front (cobranding with major media properties). Their website has a ton of information on it, but I can’t link to specific pages because it’s all in Flash (though I can link to their job postings). The site includes an in-depth Careers page, that shows a ton of opportunities—many of which are entry level. These include Web Designer/Flash Developer (Los Angeles), Preliminary Cost Engineer (Toronto), http://www.spinmaster.com/app/website/careers/?id=183 (Toronto), Customer Care Representative (Toronto),IT Helpdesk Analyst – Mac (Toronto), Community Manager (Los Angeles), Customer Support Representative – Sales and Service (Toronto), and Retail Merchandiser (Montreal). Have fun!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

SpinMaster.com

Do you own any Spin Master toys?

ePrize

Willy Franzen — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:56:58 +0000

Now that we’re entering the holiday season, it’s time for all kinds of promotions, sales, and contests. The holidays can be financially stressful for a lot of people, which is why so many companies offer promotions that try to ease that burden a little bit. Black Friday sales are probably the most visible way that retailers do this, but you also see plenty of interactive promotions this time of year. If one of your favorite brands is doing a holiday promotion, there’s a decent chance that ePrize is behind it. They’re a Detroit, MI based company that offers a wide range of solutions—from sweepstakes to collect & win to loyalty programs. I’ve run contests on this site before, and it’s not easy to do effectively—especially if you don’t have experience. ePrize brings more of a decade of experience to the table, so they can ensure that their clients get a serious return on all of the free stuff that they’re giving away.

Your ePrize Could Be a Job

ePrize is constantly working with big names. Their client list includes GM, Gap, Dunkin’ Donuts, Mattel, Facebook, Sony, AT&T, J. Crew, WWE, Domino’s Pizza, and plenty more. If you’re not impressed with that list, then you’ll never be happy. To get a better feel for what it is that ePrize actually does, you should look at the company’s portfolio. It includes recent promotions like Bob Evans’ Super Spud Sing Along and Mint’s Drop Your Debt Challenge. There’s a lot of stuff to look at, so spend some time getting familiar with how ePrize works. Then head over to their Jobs page . Right now they’re looking to fill the following positions: Talent Coordinator (Detroit), Interface Developer (Detroit), Promotions Manager (Detroit), Sales Prospector (Detroit), Account Coordinator (New York), Project Coordinator (Detroit), Software Engineer (Detroit), Web Developer (Detroit), and Flash Developer (Detroit). There are lots of cool opportunities, so give them a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you won any contests run by ePrize?

The Visionaire Group

Willy Franzen — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:00:31 +0000

So, yesterday we looked at a creative/interactive agency called Modea. Apparently interactive media is a good place to be, because The Visionaire Group, which is based in Los Angeles, CA, also made the Inc. 500. They reached $5 million in annual revenue last year, and they’re doing it with “websites, banner advertising, and application development.” The Visionaire Group seems less focused on offering a full-range of services, and more focused on doing a few things well. Their website consists of only a home page, but it will give you an idea of what kind of work they do.

Are You a Visionaire?

It’s hard to explain how The Visionaire Group and Modea are different in what they offer, but you just have to see it and get a feel for it. They certainly take different approaches. Since The Visionaire Group only has a home page, I don’t have a lot of background info on them, but they do proclaim that they are hiring and that you should reach out to them at jobs@tvgla.com. I did some looking on LinkedIn, and it looks like they have jobs on both the creative and the account side. You’ll have to figure out where you fit in and pitch it to them. It may not be comfortable, but it could be really rewarding.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

TheVisionaireGroup.com

What do you think of The Visionaire Group?

Modea

Willy Franzen — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 15:47:24 +0000

Believe it or not, after three years I’m still running a one-man show here at One Day, One Job/Internship. I do all the design, web development, marketing, business development, writing, SEO, and everything else that it takes to run the business. I can’t even imagine how nice it would be to have an agency or in-house team of specialists—you know, people who actually are experts in the given field—work on some of the stuff for me. Even though we’re profitable, I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon. But if it was, I might consider using Modea. They are a Blacksburg, VA based “digital services agency” that creates “results-driven digital content and campaigns for a diverse group of recognizable consumer brands.” Ok, maybe One Day, One Job isn’t a recognizable consumer brand quite yet, but one day (one job). I’m still running through the Inc. 500, and Modea came in at #221 with 1335% three-year growth to $3.5 million in revenue.

Problem Solved. Interactively.

Modea is all about fusing technology with creativity to deliver results for their clients. They work with big names in a wide range of industries including Hasbro, Rackspace, Elle, T-Mobile, and Advanced Auto Parts. If you want to get a feel for what they do, you can take a look at Modea’s portfolio. It’s really good stuff. You can also read about what life at Modea is like, and if it resonates with you, then you should browse over their Jobs page. They have a ton of positions posted, and a few seem suited to new or recent grads. These include Associate Creative Developer, Associate Project Manager, Quality Assurance Engineer, Quality Assurance & Quality Control Analyst, .Net Developer, Copywriter, and Part Time IT Assistant. The best option, though, is to Choose Your Own Adventure. You have to love a company with a job posting like that one.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Modea?

SwarmBuilder

Willy Franzen — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:45:08 +0000

I’m big on brand advocacy. I’m not just constantly plugging brands like Bonobos, Gilt Groupe, and Groupon because they have awesome referral programs (which they do). I plug them because I’ve always had great experiences with them, and I know that they’re perfect for recent grads who are in the job market. Word of mouth marketing works well enough when it happens organically, but it really takes off when you give it a little push (like a referral program). SwarmBuilder is a Salt Lake City, UT based company that works “with Brands, Retailers and Member Organizations to build audiences of sales influencers and convert them into active armies of engaged Brand Advocates.” SwarmBuilder does this with three platforms: 3point5.com (for retail sales professionals), Promotive.com (for Pros, “Bros” and other VIPs), and BrandRiot.com (for vocal web collaborators). Each of these platforms enables its targeted audience to connect with brands and learn about their products while being incentivized to spread the word.

Join the Swarm

SwarmBuilder was started by outdoor enthusiasts (which is partly why they’re located in Utah), so a lot of their clients are brands that I’m quite familiar with. These include Bass Pro Shops, The North Face, L.L. Bean, New Balance, Clif Bar, and plenty of other familiar names. By focusing on growing their business in an area they know, SwarmBuilder was able to come in at #100 on the Inc. 500 with 2,481.3% three-year growth to $10.8 million in revenue. I know that it’s hard to grasp how exactly SwarmBuilder’s solutions work, but if you browse around their website you’ll start to get a feel for it. Then you can check out SwarmBuilder’s Careers page, where you’ll find posting for jobs like Member Services Representative, Graphic/Flash Designer, and Manufacturer Services & Account Coordinator. They all seem like positions that could be suitable for a new or recent grad.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What brands do you advocate for?

Lolapps

Willy Franzen — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:03:30 +0000

I don’t play Facebook games with one exception—a game that a friend built. I guess this makes me unusual (I do play iPhone games though) because the stats on Facebook games are crazy. It’s hard to believe that anybody gets work done these days. If only there was a Facebook game where winning meant you’d landed a job. That’s not going to happen, so if you insist on Facebook gaming your way through the job search, then you better be looking to work for a company like Lolapps. They’re based in San Francisco, and they make Facebook games. They actually started with a user-generated quiz business, then they moved on to building games for well-known brands. Now, they’re focused on becoming their own gaming brand. Their current products include games like Garden Life, Band of Heroes, Diva Life, Yakuza Lords, and a few more. I’m sure they’re working on plenty more as they try to grow their name in the ultra-competitive world of Facebook games.

Laugh Out Loud and Apply

I know it seems crazy that people are getting rich off of Facebook games, but it’s really happening. It’s the right platform at the right time. It’s also not all based on advertising either. Yes, ads are a bigger driver of revenue for many Facebook gaming companies, but in game purchases are also huge. Yes, people actually spend money—sometimes more than they’d spend on a console game—to improve the experience of their favorite Facebook games. With 180 million users and 5 million daily active users, Lolapps is in great position to be a leader in the space. If you’d like to join them, then you should check out their Jobs page. Right now they have entry level opportunities for Flash Engineers, Web Developers, and UI/UX Designers. Everything requires some technical background, but there’s always the chance that they’ll have some non-technical positions as they grow. If you want to get to know the company better, you should be sure to check out their Flickr stream and their blog where they occasionally spotlight their employees.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play any of LOLapps’ games?

Watercooler

Willy Franzen — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:41:03 +0000

Early in the recession it seemed as though the video game industry would never be affected. Traditional game publishers were busy selling their wares to the unemployed and hiring to keep churning out games—so there were plenty of entry level jobs in video games. Things seem to have slowed down over the past year, but I think it’s more about a change in the games that people play than macroeconomic conditions. Facebook and the iPhone have created new markets for cheap and free (ad-supported) games to gain a lot of traction. There are a ton of gaming upstarts entering the market, and traditional publishers are changing the platforms that they develop on. One of the upstarts is Watercooler, a Redwood City, CA based social games developer that has already reached “over 25 million application installations.” The company started as a network of online fan communities focused on sports and TV, but they’ve switched focus and used their “social product expertise to create innovative and engaging social games.”

Hang at the Watercooler

Watercooler’s games include Kingdoms of Camelot, Fantasy Football, $20K Football Challenge, 2010 Bracket Challenge, and Epic Goal. I haven’t played any of them, but they certainly look like they could be pretty addictive (and that’s exactly what social gaming companies want). Watercooler has already raised $9.5 million in venture capital, so they’re certainly in a growth stage. This is also becomes evident when you look at their Jobs page. They have a ton of positions open, and there are plenty that might be appropriate for new or recent grads. These include 2D Game Artist, Flash Animator, UI/Visual Designer, Analytics Engineer, Back-end Developer, Flash Developer, Front-end Developer, Online Marketing Analyst, and Player Experience Jack-Jill of All Trades (indicated as entry level). Lots of opportunities, so check them out!

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played any Watercooler games.

DreamBox Learning

Willy Franzen — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:41:36 +0000

Yesterday I came across a New York Times article about how Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, recently donated money to a non-profit called Charter School Growth Fund so that they could acquire online education startup DreamBox Learning, which creates web-based games to teach elementary school students math skills. As far as I can tell, the Bellevue, WA based startup will remain a for-profit entity even though it will be owned by a non-profit fund. Along with the donation Reed Hastings also invested $10 million into DreamBox to help them expand the number of subjects that they cover and to reach more schools with their software. You have to think that a large portion of that investment will be spent on hiring new people in the not so distant future.

Join the Dream Team

I love the online education market. I think it’s going to be an extremely exciting and profitable place to work for at least the next decade, and that’s why I’m part of it (have you seen Found Your Career?). What DreamBox Learning is doing reminds me a lot of Reasoning Mind, which is a non-profit that develops online math learning software and curricula. There’s plenty of room in the market for both, and I imagine there’s room for even more considering the level of math education in our country these days. It’s awesome to see someone with the track record of Reed Hastings putting so much into such an important project, and if you want to join him, you should check out Jobs at DreamBox Learning. Right now they have half a dozen positions posted, and I expect that number to increase as they push for more growth. The jobs most suitable for you, my readers, are probably Customer Service Representative, Flash Production Artist, and Web Developer. You can apply for any of the positions by sending a cover letter and résumé with the name of the position in the subject line to jobs@dreambox.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your feeling about online education?

Firstborn

Willy Franzen — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:27:48 +0000

Here’s another one from Fast Company’s list of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.” Firstborn is a New York City based digital agency with “a knack for hard-core programming most of its hipster colleagues can’t match.” By combining advertising smarts with a firm grasp on technology, they’re taking the art of advertising to the next level. Firstborn claims major clients like Ford, SoBe, Aflac, and Wrigley. But they’re not just making commercials. They’re creating interactive experiences that combine branding initiatives with user generated content. Firstborn has been around since 1997, so they’re not new to this Internet thing. That’s why they’re the ones putting out the kind of stuff that gets true ad geeks really excited. Beyond Firstborn’s portfolio, you can also get a more in depth look at how they work by going through their case studies.

Be Firstborn

I could keep yapping about Firstborn, but if you really want to get to know them, you should look at their work. Then you should check out this video that they made for their internship program. It’ll give you a look at what it’s like to work at Firstborn, even if the video is targeted towards potential interns. (If you’re a subscriber, you’ll have to click through to see the video.)

Like what you saw? Then you should check out Jobs at Firstborn. The currently available jobs that are most likely to be suitable for new or recent grads are 3D/Motion Artist and Software Engineer; however, you can always try reaching out to them about other positions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Firstborn’s portfolio?

Sportvision

Willy Franzen — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:03:58 +0000

It’s Opening Day of the baseball season, and I’m thrilled that I’m looking at 6+ months of meaningful games for my favorite sport. Last night was disappointing in that the Yankees blew a solid lead in a sloppy game against the Red Sox, but even that can’t drown out my excitement about the hope brought by a new season. Along with a new season comes new technology. Television and online broadcasts are constantly getting better, and not just in quality. There are all kinds of new technological innovations that are making sports more fun to watch, and a lot of them are coming from Chicago based Sportvision. It all started with the FoxTrax “glowing” hockey puck (which was pretty much a miserable failure), but now we have things like the “virtual yellow 1st and Ten line™, KZone™ virtual strike zone, and the RACEf/x system on NASCAR broadcasts.” Each of these was created by Sportvision.

Are You Watching?

Sportvision is very much a technology company, but they also understand sports. They’ve been so successful with their innovation because they have a distinct model for creating new products. They look for aspects of the game that are “hard or impossible to see; happen a lot; and/or central to the understanding of the game or sport.” Then they use their technological prowess to find a way to overcome the challenges that an average fan has with the given aspect of the game in real-time. Maybe it’s strike zone recognition or knowing whether a football team should go for it on a fourth down (or maybe it’s inserting virtual advertising), but whatever it is, Sportsvision is consistently finding new ways to add value by layering things on top of the live action. It’s really cool stuff, and you’ve almost certainly seen it if you watch sports on tv. Sportvision has offices in Milwaukee, WI; Mountain View, CA; and Paris, France in addition to their headquarters in Chicago. They only have a few jobs posted on their Careers page, and two seem suitable for new/recent grads: Software Engineer and Flash Engineer. Both are technical and located in Mountain View, so if you’re looking for something else, you may want to try reaching out to them and telling them what you bring to the table.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite Sportvision technology?

VICE

Willy Franzen — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:59:25 +0000

Yesterday I spent a few hours poring over an issue of Fast Company that includes their list of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.” It is loaded with companies that I’d never heard of, so I picked out the most interesting ones and checked to see what their job opportunities looked like. Luckily, I found quite a few prospects, so you’re in for some really cool stuff over the next few weeks. One of the companies that I found was VICE, a New York City magazine and media conglomerate that publishes a “superedgy hipster bible.” Their content is about as safe for work as American Apparel advertisements, which is partially because AA is one of their main advertisers. The interesting thing about VICE is that they are a huge company—they have a print circulation of nearly a million magazines and their sites get 3.5 million monthly unique visitors. This has sparked growth from $45 million in revenue in 2008 to $64 million in 2009.

What’s Your VICE?

Now, I don’t want to be too hard on hipsters, but I find it funny that a company that caters to their audience by being controversial and subversive is actually a major media company raking in the dough. Next we’ll find out that plaid and fixed gear bicycles are also being manufactured by corporate behemoths. Ok, VICE might be making lots of money, but they’re certainly keeping it real. They’ve become more journalistic over time, while maintaining their “blithe and caustic irreverence.” In addition to the magazine, VICE also has VICE Retail (clothing), VICE Recordings (Music/Record Label), VBS.tv (Film and Television), Virtue (Creative Agency), and an Events business. VICE is definitely not for everyone, but if you were offended by my poke at hipster culture (and are not offended by much else), then it’s probably for you. You can learn about jobs with VICE here. Current openings include VICE Events Assistant, Junior Digital Marketing Coordinator, Account Executive / Manager, and Online And Motion Graphics Designer. The application instructions vary, so check out VICE’s Jobs page for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you read VICE?

Riot Games

Willy Franzen — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:56:51 +0000

Apparently my parents and sister have engaged in a never-ending series of online Scrabble games played via iPhone. I’m with my parents in Florida right now, and every five minutes they’re bugging each other to make the next move. It’s crazy. Free online gaming has hit the masses, and it isn’t pretty. There are tons of new online gaming companies, and while some are focusing on bringing new gamers to the market, others are more focused on gaining ground with serious gamers. Culver City, CA based Riot Games is a perfect example of the latter. They are behind League of Legends, a free online role-playing game that is set in an imaginative world. The game has been downloaded more than a million times, and Riot Games has received $20 million in venture capital investment based on the game. $8 million of that investment came from a Chinese gaming company that has a huge user base, so this is very much an international play.

Incite a Riot

The interesting thing about Riot Games and League of Legends is that the game is essentially console quality. It’s the type of game that serious gamer would pay to play, but it’s free. Riot Games’ business model is more akin to that of Zynga than that of Blizzard. What that means is that Riot Games makes League of Legends free to play, but they charge for in-game item purchases. It seems like a smart idea, and if it works, they’re going to have a huge leg up on the game makers who charge an upfront cost for their games. With all of the recent investment, Riot Games is growing its headcount rapidly. A quick look at their Jobs page will show you that they have nearly two dozen full-time openings. Not all of them are geared towards entry level candidates, but enough are. Riot Games’ current openings are in Art, Programming, Design, Production, QA Operations, Customer Service, and Web, so check them out and see if you find something that fits your interests. If you do, you can apply e-mail and hopefully land a job where you’ll enjoy perks like ninja nerf gun battles, full expense trips to the bathroom, and stock advice.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played League of Legends?

Wizards of the Coast

Willy Franzen — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:56:03 +0000

When I was in 6th or 7th grade, I played a trading card game called Magic the Gathering. Being a baseball card collector, I was more interested in what the cards were worth than actually playing the game. I occasionally played with my friends, but when they lost interest, I went back to baseball cards. Many trading card games came after (I didn’t play any of them), but apparently Magic the Gathering was the first. I had long forgotten about Wizards of the Coast, the company that was behind Magic cards, when I came across their name again. I took a look, and was surprised to see that the Renton, WA based company has grown quite a bit over the past decade and was eventually purchased by Hasbro. Wizards of the Coast is still a gaming company—the world leader in hobby games—and their brands include Dungeons & Dragons, Duel Masters, Heroscape, Axis & Allies, and Star Wars in addition to Magic the Gathering.

Are You Wizard Enough?

It’s surprising that a company can have as much success as Wizards of the Coast while still staying seemingly under the radar, but that’s exactly why the company has been so successful. Instead of expanding outside of their niche market as they’ve grown, Wizards has stayed true to themselves and grown within their market. They have an insanely loyal following, which is why the competition for jobs at Wizards of the Coast can be extremely fierce. Their most sought after positions are in Game Design and Game Development, and right now they don’t have anything at the entry level in those areas. They do, however, have positions available for Freelance Online Flash Designers, a Sales Web Content Coordinator, and a Wizards Play Network Coordinator for Germany/Austria. You can see all of their Job postings here and you can submit a résumé for general consideration here. You’ll also want to be sure to look at the Wizards of the Coast Careers FAQ before applying.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you play Magic the Gathering or any other Wizards of the Coast games?

Undertone Networks

Willy Franzen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:56:14 +0000

The future of marketing and media is getting more results based, and that trend is going to continue as tracking technology progresses. Some people think that means that branding campaigns are a dying breed, but the folks at Undertone Networks would strongly disagree. They are a New York City based online advertising network that is helping Fortune 500 companies move their branding campaigns online. The trouble with doing this is that controlling your brand online is much more difficult than controlling it on tv, radio, or in print. That’s why Undertone Networks has developed an ad network that offers “Fortune 500 marketers an ad network where they [can] confidently and safely market their products and services without having to compromise their brand.”

Undertones of Your Career

Undertone Networks is bringing the sophistication of online advertising to branding campaigns. I’m not sure that I’d call it results oriented, but measurement is key to the success of campaigns. Instead of focusing on directly attributing sales or actions to specific campaigns, Undertone Networks is more concerned about driving brand awareness by obsessing over the quality of the audience that sees the ads that they serve. By only working with huge brands and trusted websites, Undertone Networks is able to maintain an intense focus on targeting. If they can’t deliver the audience that they think they can, they’ll happily refund the advertiser’s money. To get a better sense of how Undertone Networks works, you should check out their case studies or this interview with Alan Schanzer, their Chief Strategy Officer.

If you do that and like what you see, then you’ll probably want to take a look at jobs at Undertone Networks. They’re an Inc. 5000 company and one of Crain’s Best Places to Work in NYC, so you know they’re the kind of place that you want to be. Undertone Networks has a number of open positions, and a few seem suitable for new or recent grads. These include QA Engineer (San Francisco), Media Buyer, Finance Coordinator, Flash Designer/Creative Services Manager, and QA Engineer. You can apply for any of these positions through Undertone Networks’ applicant tracking system.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Undertone Networks?

Slide

Willy Franzen — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:39:03 +0000

It looks like Yahoo! Finance has taken a page out of my book and used Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list to highlight some companies that are hiring. I found the link on Twitter, and was pleased to see that I had already featured a number of the companies. One that I haven’t yet featured (and don’t remember hearing about before) is Slide. They’re a San Francisco based startup that claims to be “the world’s leading social entertainment company.” I think that’s a bit of a stretch, but they do make social networks more fun for hundreds of millions of people. Their 40 Under 40 CEO is Max Levchin, who co-founded PayPal (which was sold for $1.5 billion to eBay). He is apparently well on his way to having built another billion dollar company, considering the fact that Slide was valued at $550 million last time that they took money.

Slide into a New Job

The basic premise behind slide is that social networks are better when you can bring outside content in—whether it’s sharing something that you’ve made like a slideshow or using an application that allows you to throw sheep. People want customization, yet they don’t have the web development skills to do it on their own. They need help, and that’s where Slide comes in. Monetizing social network traffic isn’t necessarily easy, but Slide seems to be heading in the right direction when it comes to turning their massive traffic into revenue. Not only do their investors believe in them, but so do advertisers like Starbucks, Sunkist, Activision, AT&T Wireless, Discovery Channel, Estee Lauder, McDonald’s, Lionsgate Films, Universal Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. I guess 5 million sheep thrown a day is worth more than I thought it was. Slide is very clearly growing, and as I mentioned in the opening of this post, they’re hiring. Their Jobs page shows more than a dozen open positions, and a bunch of those are suitable for new grads. These include Product Manager, Community Manager, Flash Animator/Illustrator, Flash Social Game Engineer, Graphic Designer, Junior QA Engineer, Linux Server Engineer, OO Javascript/Front-end Engineer, Python Web Developer, and Community Support Representative. You can apply online directly from these links, so give Slide a look.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you use Slide?

WWE (formerly WWF)

Willy Franzen — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:28:55 +0000

Yesterday I was amused by a friend’s Facebook status that said: “just had a revelation: Obama sounds like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.” I instantly imagined Barack Obama shirtless, yelling into a microphone, “Do you smellllllllllll what Barack is cooking?” Apparently SNL had a similar idea. That got me thinking about WWE (formerly the WWF), where The Rock first became famous. I was never a huge fan of professional wrestling, but I must admit to having watched on occasion. My little sister, on the other hand, was a huge fan. At about six years old she decided to be Hulk Hogan for Halloween. It was priceless. Back then they were the WWF, but a spate with World Wide Fund for Nature in 2000 resulted in a lawsuit and eventually a name change. WWE is located in Stamford, CT, just 20 minutes or so from my home town, and is a billion dollar business. Unfortunately, they haven’t been immune to layoffs, but they seem to have some great job opportunities right now.

Body Slam Your Way into a New Job

One thing that surprised me when I started doing research on World Wrestling Entertainment was the fact that they aim for a PG rating with all of their content. They put a huge emphasis on being family friendly because kids are such a huge part of their fan base. This philosophy runs throughout WWE’s five business units: Live and Televised Entertainment, Consumer Products, Digital Media, WWE Studios, and Sales & Sponsorships. If you’ve always loved professional wrestling and think that a career with WWE would be action packed, then you need to check out WWE’s Careers site. There are a bunch of job openings that can be considered entry level including Business Analyst (Stamford, CT), Live Event Marketing Rep (based anywhere in the U.S.), Motion Graphic Designer (Stamford, CT), On-Air Talent (Stamford, CT), and Writer Assistant (Stamford, CT). You can apply for all of these jobs online, so start practicing your body slams and elbow drops.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Who is/was your favorite wrestler?

eRealInvestor

Willy Franzen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:11:36 +0000

This morning I was reading a New York Times article about how some of the “super rich” are being hit hardest (at least in terms of total dollars lost) by this recession. A lot of this has to do with heavy investments in real estate. As we all know, real estate has not been the place to be lately. The good news about the bad real estate market is that it’s leading to all kinds of innovation. There are a ton of cool real estate startups, and I just came across another one called eRealInvestor. They’re based in San Francisco, and they offer a suite of tools that allow those who still have it in them to invest in real estate to be much smarter about it. Since I’m not a real estate investor, I don’t fully understand what all of the tools do. However, it’s hard to argue with a data based approach to buying and selling real estate.

eRealJobs

Since most new college grads don’t have the cash to start investing in real estate, they usually have to work their way into the world of real estate in a different way. A job at a company like eRealInvestor that is bringing innovation to the industry is a great way to do that. Their Jobs page doesn’t show much in the way of entry level jobs, but their postings on Startuply do. Current opportunities include Online Marketing Expert, Flash Developer, and Sales Executive. I’m sure they also have some Web Development positions available—even if the ones that are posted are a bit more senior. You can apply online, so get ready to invest yourself in real estate investment.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Do you think investing in real estate is a good idea?

Mochi Media

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:30:49 +0000

Have you ever tried mochi? It’s delicious, right? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, mochi is “a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape.” Ok, so that doesn’t make it sound good, but when it comes filled with ice cream it’s extraordinary. Now, I’m not sure why Mochi Media chose to name their company after a delicious Japanese treat, but it seems to be working for them. They’re a San Francisco based company that happens to run the largest ad network for online Flash games—they reach over 100 million gamers.

Try Some Mochi

There’s no dispute that Flash games are fun, but they often seem like time wasters. I try to avoid these types of games, because if I start playing one, it usually ends up 3 hours later and I still can’t beat it. I’m sure you’ve had similar experiences. Because of the nature of Flash games, I’d imagine that they’re pretty hard to monetize; however, Mochi Media seems to have figured it out. They’re enabling game developers to actually make money off of something that the developers used to do just for fun. Additionally, Mochi Media is also building a pretty solid business off of their network of free games. If you want to work somewhere where getting caught playing games on your work computer isn’t going to result in your getting fired, then you should check out jobs at Mochi Media on Startuply. Right now they have two design positions posted—one in CSS/XHTML Design and one in UI/Visual Design. Mochi Media used to have their own Careers page, but it doesn’t seem to be active since they redesigned their site. You’ll need a strong portfolio to land one of these jobs, so be sure to include a link when you apply online.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever tried mochi?

Justin.tv

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:39:41 +0000

You know about YouTube. You’ve known about YouTube for years. It’s the place to go for online video. There are some competitors that offer some pretty great services, but YouTube is still the default. Now, what if you want to watch live video? Or what if you want to broadcast live video? The Bay Area’s Justin.tv beats out YouTube when it comes to live stuff. You can watch white labrador retriever puppies, live soccer, or some kid in your dorm’s lifestream. The options are pretty much endless. You may ask why anyone would want to sit on a computer and watch puppies, but you’d miss the obvious answer – they’re cute. Actually, there’s an audience for just about anything these days. Justin.tv taps into that. Live video on the Internet isn’t new. There were people doing it in 1996, but the technology now makes doing it much more worthwhile. The question of whether the actual content being broadcast is worthwhile is up to you.

Webcast Your Career

Justin.tv started with Justin Kan, a guy who decided to broadcast his life 24/7. A lot has changed since then, but you can still watch the Justin.tv office live. Now “Justin.tv is the largest online community for people to broadcast, watch and interact around live video [w]ith more than 41 million unique visitors per month and 428,000 channels broadcasting live video.” That’s crazy! But Justin.tv isn’t just about people broadcasting their lives. There are all kinds of cool content, and there’s some really cool technology behind the platform.

Justin.tv’s live video platform scales to support massive audiences by measuring demand in real-time and intelligently replicating streams to additional servers to meet that demand. Constructed by a team of MIT and Yale graduates, the Justin.tv platform pushes more than 177 Gbps of video at peak usage – the equivalent of 16,946 standard DVDs per hour.

Justin.tv is doing cool things, which is why it’s no big surprise that they’re offering some pretty cool jobs. If you check out their Jobs page, you’ll see that they have a number of opportunities that should appeal to recent grads. These include Ad Integration Engineer, Software Engineer, and Flash Developer. All of these jobs require pretty strong technical skills, and the job descriptions are pretty descriptive, so make sure that you really show off when you apply to jobs@justin.tv.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used Justin.tv?

JamLegend

Willy Franzen — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:08:44 +0000

I’ve already written posts on Activision (Guitar Hero), Harmonix (Rock Band), and Tapulous (Tap Tap Revenge), but can you ever really get enough of the music playing video game genre? Of course not! That’s why we’re looking at JamLegend today. How are they different from the other game makers that I just mentioned? First, JamLegend is free. Second, it offers more songs. Third, you can use your computer keyboard as a guitar. Fourth and most importantly, it’s social! You can play your friends, you can play the world, and you can even enter tournaments to win prizes. JamLegend isn’t just the name of the game, it’s also the name of the company, a small startup based out of San Francisco.

These Jobs Are Your Jam

If you’re a music loving video game junkie who is fascinated by the social web, then you really couldn’t find a better fit than JamLegend. Beyond that, it’s a good career choice. The video game industry continues to thrive through the recession, and social gaming appears to be the next big thing. That’s why you need to check out Jobs with JamLegend. You won’t find any specific postings on their Jobs page, but that’s ok because I love their philosophy. They say, “Our belief is that we should hire gifted people even before we need them, so send us an e-mail (jobs@jamlegend.com) and tell us why you are interesting.” That’s about it. Awesome. JamLegend does have some positions posted on Startuply for a Flex / AS3 Developer and a Facebook Connect / Social-Web Developer, but it’s unclear whether these are internships or full-time jobs. It really doesn’t matter though, just reach out to them and tell them how you can help them. Don’t constrain yourself by applying for a specific position.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you played JamLegend?

Aplia

Willy Franzen — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:45:32 +0000

Part of my daily routine is reading Greg Mankiw’s Economics Blog. When I saw his post announcing that the text book that he wrote will now be accompanied by an interactive learning tool, I was intrigued. I quickly read the Washington Post article that Dr. Mankiw linked to in the announcement to learn more about Aplia, the company that developed this educational tool. It turns out that Aplia, which is based in Belmont, CA, was developed by a Stanford economist named Paul Romer who was very successful in developing a theory to explain why different economies grow at different rates, but not so successful at engaging students. Since Dr. Romer is clearly a problem solver at heart, he developed a product (and company) called Applia that “offers high-quality, auto-graded assignments” and is “dedicated to improving learning by increasing student effort and engagement.”

Aplia for a Job

Paul Romer took $10 million in venture capital to spur the growth of the company, and he eventually sold out in 2007 to Cengage, a textbook publisher. Aplia is now “used by more than 1,000,000 students at over 950 institutions,” so I’ll wager that Cengage is pretty happy to have a successful interactive tool to bring some life to their slowly dying textbook business. Now, the real reason that I got so excited when I first heard about Aplia isn’t my interest in interactive educational tools (although I clearly have an interest there), it’s the fact that I thought they might have jobs. And they do. They still seem to operate separately from Cengage, so they have their own Jobs page (although it’s branded like it’s just for Cengage).

On that Jobs page, you’ll find quite a few jobs that appear to be suitable for new grads. We can’t link to the specific openings because of their crappy Applicant Tracking System, but you should be able to find their jobs easily. They have Content Writer positions in Accounting, US History, Psychology, Biology, and Economics that can be located in Belmont, CA; Boston, MA; or Cincinnati, OH. Additionally there are jobs for an Editorial Assistant, Flash Expert, and Customer Support Representative. The jobs look awesome, so give them a look and apply online if you’re interested.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did any of your courses use Aplia?

WooMe

Willy Franzen — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:33:39 +0000

My first experience with video chatting was with CU-SeeMe in an internet cafe in the mid 90s. It was insanely cool, but it was also terrible quality. Things have come a long way, and once again people are using video chat to meet random people online. I was a little creeped out when I first saw WooMe, but I think that I get it now (even if I’m still creeped out). It’s a website that allows you to meet new people through “60 second one-on-one online video sessions.” Basically, it’s speed dating on the web. I was almost too sketched out to cover them here, but I figured if TechCrunch didn’t rip on them too hard and they’re able to get $17 million in investment, there has to be the potential for a real business.

Can You Woo WooMe?

If you’re not quite getting what WooMe is all about, check out WooMe TV. It will give you a chance to watch some recorded interactions of WooMe members. It’s kind of weird, but also pretty entertaining. Ok, so remember that $17 million I mentioned 3 sentences ago? It’s important, as it looks like WooMe is ready to spend it. Their Jobs page is filled with opportunities that include: Systems Admin x 2 (London and Los Angeles), IM Engineer (London), Frontend Guru – HTML / CSS / javascript / AJAX (London), Site Operations Manager (Los Angeles), Community Manager, Site Operations Analyst (San Francisco), Senior Django Developer (London), Flash Developer (London/San Francisco), Product Manager (London/San Francisco), Online Marketing Senior Manager or Director (Los Angeles). Obviously not all of those are entry level positions, but quite a few of them are. You can head over to WooMe’s Jobs page to get all of the details including how you should apply. I wonder if their job interviews are only 60 seconds? That’d be pretty cool.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you tried WooMe?

Wikinvest

Willy Franzen — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:38:50 +0000

Who would have thought that you could build a whole startup off of a Wiki? I mean, I know that Wikipedia is wildly successful, but they’re run by a non-profit called the Wikimedia Foundation. Building a real business off of that same idea almost sounds too easy, but that didn’t stop the founders of San Francisco based Wikinvest from trying it. It all started when two Harvard students were day trading in their dorm rooms during the height of the Internet bubble. They were making money, so they thought they were smart investors. When the bubble burst, they realized that they weren’t nearly as smart as they thought they were. As they tried to educate themselves, they noticed that most financial websites leave a lot to be desired (kind of how I noticed that most job search sites leave a lot to be desired). Instead of building a team of salaried experts, the guys who started Wikinvest decided to crowdsource their content through a Wiki. So far it seems to be working well for them – they raised $2.5 million in a first round (although that was 18 months ago).

Wikinvest in Yourself

Some challenge that Wikinvest is inherently flawed because anyone can submit information. You’d think the pump-and-dumpers would be all over it, but the site still appears to be loaded with quality content (and not rife with spam). There’s also the question of why you would want to share good investing information publicly instead of keeping it for yourself and making lots of money. I certainly see the validity in those arguments, but I think that they miss the point of Wikinvest. The point is to learn key concepts and basic information that will allow you to understand more in-depth information that might not be found on the site. For instance, you can’t invest in Corn if you don’t understand the basic concepts behind Corn Prices. Since all new grads should be investing (even if it’s a small amount), Wikinvest is a great resource, but it’s also a place to consider employment. Despite their investment background, most of their jobs are actually on the software/web side. Their Jobs page shows a number of positions that seem geared towards new grads – Software Developer, Web Developer, User Interface Architect, and Flex/Flash Developer. You can apply for any of these jobs by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@wikinvest.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you using Wikinvest to help you plan for your future?

Gravity Tank

Willy Franzen — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:14:25 +0000

If you Google “gravity tank,” one result tells you that “A simple, inexpensive gravity tank in a swine manure liquid-solid separation process will help producers control hog odors.” Another says that in a rooftop water gravity tank the gravity pressure is .434 times the height of the bottom of the tank from the fixture in feet. The Gravity Tank that we’re looking for is very different. It’s a Chicago based innovation consulting firm that combines research, strategy, and design to push their clients in new directions. Their staff consists of “anthropologists, former architects, filmmakers, engineers, graphic designers, industrail designers, MBAs, quant researchers, professors, brand strategists, and more.” They’re small, with only 35 employees, but they’ve already some very cool work with some very big names.

Get Pulled In by the Gravity Tank

As Gravity Tank puts it: “Companies call us when they want to enter new markets, reinvigorate existing brands or redefine their customer experience. They don’t want business as usual. They want meaningfully different.” If you have the same feeling about your job searching – wanting “meaningfully different” – then you need to check out Gravity Tank. I’m always fascinated by innovation consulting firms, as they look like some of the coolest places to work in the world. I wish that I could scatter links to Gravity Tank’s site throughout this post to show how cool they are, but their site is entirely Flash based, which means no links. Actually, we can link to some of their job descriptions because they’ve posted them in PDF (and they’re some of the best designed job descriptions that I’ve ever seen). Gravity Tank is currently looking for a Motion Designer and a Receptionist / Event Planner. Both positions have some work experience requirements, but they still look they might be of interest to new and recent grads. Additionally, Gravity Tank is always looking to hear from talented people, so you can reach out to them at career@gravitytank.com. They have a “Meet the Team” link on their About page, which will show you all of the positions that they currently have staffed, so you can use that to be a little more informed if you decide to cold call.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of Gravity Tank?

22squared

Willy Franzen — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:21:36 +0000

How do you feel about the intersection of friendship and marketing? I know that a lot people weren’t happy when Facebook Beacon started telling their friends what they were buying from other sites, and I also know that nobody wants their friends to go salesman on them (like with Cutco knives); however, word of mouth marketing remains one of the most effective vehicles to reach people with a message. That’s because we still seem to trust our friends the most when it comes to making purchasing decisions. But can brands become our friends? According to 22squared, a marketing agency based out of Atlanta, GA and Tampa, FL, “consumers want brands that act more like helpful friends than persuasive marketers.” I think that’s right, but it still sounds a little weird to me. Maybe we should look at Facebook again for the answer. Plenty of people are “Fans” of brands (like ours), which is very much like being Facebook Friends with them.

What’s the Big Deal About 484?

I don’t know where they got the name 22squared, but Google tells me that 22 squared = 484. I’m not sure what to make of that, so let’s get back to talking about how 22squared thinks that “the consumer is your friend.” They’ve actually developed a metric to judge how friendly brands are. You can calculate it like this:

Strength of Relationship + Number of Advocates + Maturity of Relationship = Friendship Factor %

I’m not sure where you get the inputs from, but if you click “The Work” link on 22squared’s Home page (I can’t link because it’s in Flash) and click through the pages, you’ll see the scores of many well recognized brands. Usually you need to divide by something to get a percentage, so I don’t know what this is all about, but I’d love to hear the science behind it. I wonder what One Day, One Job’s Friendship Factor % is. I’d like to think that we’re a pretty friendly brand.

Anyway, if I want to keep your friendship, I need to get to the jobs. Right now, 22squared’s Jobs page (which I can link to) only has one job opening posted. It’s for a Flash Developer in their Atlanta, GA office. Considering what a nice job they’ve done with their own site’s Flash (even if you can’t link to anything and it’s not search engine optimized), I bet this is a pretty cool job. If you don’t have Flash skills, don’t worry. 22squared also lists an HR contact (signe.garnitz@22squared.com) to whom you can send a resume and cover letter – presumably for unlisted positions. 22squared offers internships in Account Management, Media, Creative, Brand Planning, Digital/Interactive (Creative and Media), Broadcast Production, Studio, Information Technology, and Human Resources, so those might be areas that they also hire at the entry level. I can’t promise anything, but it’s worth checking out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How do you feel about brands as friends?