Voices of Aquent Apr 30, 2008 @ 10:04 AM · Matthew Grant

tampa.jpgAt the end of last year I wrote a post proclaiming that I was going to make this blog more about Aquent. As part of that effort, I've wanted to introduce more and more voices from around the company into this channel. Of course, I've continued to highlight Aquent talent, their insights, abilities, and achievements, and I've also given periodic shout-outs to my environmentally conscious and often funny comrade-in-blogs, Tim Donnelly. But I know I could do so much more.

For starters, check out our Tampa office. The folks down there were talking to me about starting a local blog and so I asked them to say a little bit about the market for this one. I ended up speaking with Tampa's Isela Santisteban, and this is what she told me:

"I've been working with Aquent for the last 9 years, first in Miami, then Fort Lauderdale, and now here in Tampa.

"Tampa is like the mid-West of Florida. It's a great place to raise a family, have fun, and go to the beach! A lot of businesses are located or headquartered down here - Home Shopping Network, OSI Restaurant Partners (that owns and operates Outback Steakhouse, among other properties), and Publix Super Markets, for example - and there are plenty of opportunities for people looking to work in healthcare, finance, hospitality, technology, consumer packaged goods and related fields.

"About half the work Aquent talent do in Tampa is interactive. The rest consists of marketing, graphic design, and print production. Our clients include a number of high profile companies as well as agencies with major accounts. The way the market is right now, I can find a job for anyone with interactive experience at any level.

"What I love about my job is that today's talent becomes tomorrow's client. I'm still talking to people I placed 9 years ago and I'm sure there are people I've just begun to work with that I'll still know 9 years from now."

It's not unusual for Aquent staff like Isela to be with us for a long time. This sort of longevity gives our clients and our talent a lot of continuity. It also means, as you can imagine, that the Isela's of the Aquent-world are centers for ever growing networks of talented, creative professionals. To get in touch with Isela or any of her equally enthusiastic and connected colleagues, call them at (813) 287-9119.

On another note, and speaking of Florida, right now Aquent's training arm, AGI is busy putting on the CRE8 Conference in Orlando. One of the presenters there is none other than Todd Tibbetts, a consultant with Aquent Studios in Seattle, whom I've mentioned here before. He's blogging about his adventures at CRE8 and, more than anything else, making me feel like I'm missing out on something magical. We'll be hearing more from Todd in the days to come, so stay tuned!

Image Courtesy of soupboy.

Make Your Content a Powerful Asset: An Aquent/AMA Webcast Mar 19, 2008 @ 1:03 PM · Matthew Grant

valuablejpg.jpgOn March 27, 2008 at 1:00 pm ET, Aquent and the AMA will present a webcast entitled, "Make Your Content a Powerful Asset in 10 Steps." The presenter will be Todd Tibbetts, a digital media entrepreneur who, among other things, works as a consultant with Aquent Studios.

Todd's knowledge of the digital media realm runs deep and, having worked with clients ranging from Microsoft and 3M to Starbucks and the Whole Earth Catalog, his experience is broad.

As far as content development and asset management is concerned, his message is this: "For many individuals and companies, their content (pictures, text, video, etc) is a mess, a liability, and a cost center. It takes focus and effort to turn the content from a liability into an economic asset, but the path is straight-forward and very achievable."

To find out just how straight-forward and achievable, tune in on the 27th. To register, just go here.

Image Courtesy of ktommy.