The Fitzsimons Life Science Center in Aurora, Co.

Late last week my Creative Director, Peter Brown and I met with the City of Aurora to kickoff a new project. Aurora, a neighboring city to Denver, reminded me of what tremendous growth is happening all around the metro area.  We kicked off a marketing project with our client team and were taken on a tour of the city so we could view all the area has to offer. We really get a sense of what makes Aurora tick.

Having lived in the Denver area for quite some time I was amazed to see all the resources available to the Aurora community. We saw The Fitzsimons Life Science District, one of North America’s largest bioscience campuses.  The company has a high concentration of private-sector aerospace and defense workers.  Among its many resources I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is Colorado’s third largest city.  It sits only minutes away from the Denver International Airport and is easily accessible from I70 and E-470.

I’m excited to kickoff this project and expect a successful experience with this client!

Webster City, Iowa: Main Street

Last week my Creative Director, Peter Brown and I traveled to Webster City, Iowa. Webster City is located about an hour North of Des Moines and about 20 minutes East of I-35. It sits directly on Highway 20.

We flew into Des Moines, Iowa Wednesday evening and spent two full days with our new client, The City of Webster City. During our trip we met with City Manager Ed Sadler, Consultant to the City David Toyer, Chamber Director Carrie Fitzgerald, and the owner of a local marketing firm, Kent Bailey.

In addition to the main project team we also had the pleasure of meeting with local CEOs, business owners, and members of the community. On our trip to Iowa we kicked off a large marketing project that will include a marketing plan, branding efforts, logo development, a new website and multiple advertising initiatives.

Our first order of business before meeting with our client was to find the best local coffee shop. We didn’t look long before finding Morning Glory! (We visited multiple times during our stay.) Then it was off to meet with our clients. During our first meeting with our project team we covered the basics of what to expect and got right down to looking at creative. Prior to our tour of the community we had lunch at The Finish Line Bar on James Sreet. (If you’re in the area I recommend the chicken sandwich - one of the best I’ve had!) Later that afternoon we went on a tour of the community. I was blown away at everything this community has to offer from the surrounding lake and campground to the Wind Farm.

We left with a great feeling about the community and lots of excitement for the project. We look forward to many successful projects with Webster City, Iowa.

At Atlas, we are community marketers. We hail from all corners of the country and we are constantly looking forward to where the next adventure will take us. From client kick-off meetings to family vacations, we love exploring new communities.

We have collectively lived in over 45 cities, visited almost all the 50 states, and have traveled to over 25 countries.

One employee just returned from Hawaii, another from Ireland. We currently have two employees in Iowa and one in Switzerland.

I’ve collected a list of our hometowns and thought it would be interesting to share.
See if you can guess which Atlas employee calls which city home:

Chicago, Illinois
Bayville, Ohio
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Houston, Texas
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Richmond, Virginia
Denver, Colorado
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Omaha, Nebraska
St. John, Michigan
Phoenix, Arizona

In late June I traveled to Onondaga County, better known as Syracuse, for a website project kickoff meeting. This was my first experience in the great state of New York. And I loved it.

After our first meeting with our new client we all headed out to dinner in the Armor district. The Armor district is a great area that has all sorts of fun shops and restaurants. We had dinner at a restaurant I highly recommend if you’re in the area called Pastabilities. And then, before calling it a night, we toured Syracuse University and local hospitals.

Bright and early the next morning we grabbed a coffee at a great local shop called Freedom of Espresso. Next it was off to find the best local breakfast we could. Ben, being the crafty one with his iPhone found a small local restaurant. After a quick bite we headed off to meet with our client and tour the county.

A couple highlights:
We visited a local area called Skaneateles: a historic district with shops and galleries on the lakeside. From there we toured Welch Allyn:a fourth-generation operated business that provides healthcare products. Along the way we also visited The Tech Garden (a business incubator) and other major employers.

When it was all said and done we had a great time in Syracuse. The city has a lot to offer–so much energy and momentum!

Recently Ben Wright, CEO of Atlas Advertising and Keeley Sullivan, Account Coordinator traveled to Indiana County, Pennsylvania to kickoff a website project. Atlas has been contracted to design and program a new website for the CEO or Indiana County Center for Economic Operations. The CEO houses five affiliate programs:

1. The Indiana County Commissioners
2. The Indiana County Chamber of Commerce
3. The Indiana County Development Corporation (ICDC)
4. The Indiana County Tourist Bureau
5. Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP)

While in Pennsylvania Atlas met with the project team and had two great meetings. We also had lunch at great restaurant called H.B. Culpeppers and grabbed a quick coffee at a local shop before heading out to tour the community. On our tour we saw a few fun and unique things such as the Jimmy Stewart Museum (Jimmy Stewart was born and lived is early years in Indiana County). We also viewed the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana County’s leading employer. And, to wrap up our tour, we visited various developments, future developments and the county’s business incubator.

After a very successful kickoff we are all looking forward to successful project!