Denver: Thursday, June 21st; San Diego: Tuesday, June 26th

In today’s fragmented marketplace, brands are returning to the art of storytelling to communicate their message: they’re designing powerful multi-media narratives through content development, distribution and promotion. Successful brands know how to tell, augment and refine stories that effectively engage, delight and inspire customers to connect more deeply with the brand and of course, to pass along to friends. In this session, we will explore why content is the future of marketing, and how brands can leverage content-share across the web to gain and keep the attention of customers and prospects. The panel discussions include experts from Sanuk Footware & CareFusion in San Diego and Boppy in Denver.

Topics Include:

• Identifying the stories and story-tellers within your organization
• The art of SEO and Social Media in content success
• Content strategy basics – development, distribution, promotion
• Making the most out of each story – platforms, partnerships
• Energizing brand advocates to carry the story forward

SAVE THE DATE
The Denver event date will be Thursday, June 21st; and the San Diego event will be Tuesday,  June 26th.

• 8:30 – 9:00 AM Registration, Breakfast & Networking
• 9:00 – 10:00 AM Presentation & Questions
• 10:00 – 10:30 AM Networking

Who Should Attend:
Marketing Execs, CMOs, Marketing Directors, Search Strategists, Social Media Directors, Social Media Managers, Analytics Managers, Business Strategists, Product Managers & Brand Managers for national consumer brands and retailers.

La Jolla, CA, April 10 2012-Ernst & Young today announced the 18 finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2012 Award in San Diego. The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. These business leaders were selected from more than 80 nominations by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala on June 13, 2012 at the Hyatt Aventine, La Jolla.

The finalists are:

Arthur Gruen, CEO – EA Health Corp., Solana Beach
Gene Lay, Founder & CEO – BioLegend, San Diego
Daniel Bradbury, President & CEO – Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., San Diego
Scott Dennis, CEO and Alex Kunczynski, President – D & K Engineering, San Diego
Susan Salka, CEO & President – AMN Healthcare, San Diego
Robert Feeney, Founder & CEO – MedVantx, San Diego
Jon Sundt, CEO – Altegris Investments, Inc., La Jolla
Reid Carr, President & CEO – Red Door Interactive, San Diego
Kelly Grismer, President – The Wheat Group, San Diego
Frederick Pierce, President & CEO – Pierce Education Properties, L.P., San Diego
Daniel Sullivan, President – Sullivan Solar Power, San Diego
Sue Farrow, Executive Charman – Integral Senior Living, Carlsbad
Dave Alberga, CEO and Matt Landa, President – The Active Network, San Diego
Peter Leparulo, CEO and Chairman – Novatel Wireless, San Diego
Bruce Hueners, CEO & President – Palomar Technologies, Inc., Carlsbad
Tom Gildred, CEO – Emerald Textiles, San Diego
Gary Rayner, CEO – LifeProof, San Diego
Jeffrey Stein, President & CEO – Trius Therapeutics, San Diego

Now in its 26th year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year Program. Award winners in several national categories, including one overall award winner, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs on November 17, 2012. The awards will be the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum to be held November 14-18, 2012, also in Palm Springs.

Sponsors: The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the United States by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In San Diego, sponsors include: Cox Business, Marsh, Union Bank, ADP, Scherzer Intl., The Daily Transcript, Citrus PR, and Dr. & Mrs. J. Robert Beyster.

For more information, visit Ernst & Young.

- Specialists to lead discussions on optimizing marketing channel mix, storytelling through social media platforms -

Red Door Interactive, a strategic partner dedicated to ensuring businesses engage their customers wherever they are, will have two experts speak at the San Diego American Marketing Association’s “Art of Marketing” seminar Thursday.

Crosby Noricks, Director of Social Media, will present on “Storytelling Through Social Platforms” while Mikael Greenlief, Senior Media Planner, will present on “Understanding the Consumer Path to Purchase: Optimizing your Marketing Channel Mix.”

Greenlief’s presentation will focus on how the traditional models used to measure marketing channel performance are broken, how to effectively measure the individual influence of each marketing channel based on their efficiencies and how to tie these channels back to their contribution on the most important metric of all, ROI.

Noricks’ presentation will focus on how to leverage various social platforms to reach and inspire a digitally-connected audience. From content creation and curation to distribution and amplification, attendees will walk away with an understanding of how their stories can be told via social media and the strategic direction to make it happen.

More information is available at http://sdama.org/2011/11/05/art-of-marketing-2012/

- Agency’s specialists to discuss how personas affect messaging, bottom line at BlueHornet’s Lifecycle Messaging track -

Red Door Interactive, a strategic partner dedicated to ensuring businesses engage their customers wherever they are, announced two of its experts will speak at Digital River’s Globalocity Conference Tuesday, May 15 in Los Angeles.

Red Door’s Pilar Bower, Senior Email Marketing Specialist, and Brett Johnson, Senior Strategist, will present on “From the Grove to Your Inbox: California Avocado Commission’s Persona Program” during the BlueHornet Lifecycle Messaging track.

The presentation will focus on personas and how they go beyond basic segmentation practices by digging into the “why” behind subscriber behaviors and preferences. Personas demonstrate unique habits, attitudes, and behaviors and communicate across multiple channels. In this session, the California Avocado Commission and Red Door Interactive will discuss how to create personas, and how you can use them to affect your messaging and, ultimately, your bottom line.

We’re seeking a natural relationship manager with excellent communication and presentation skills.
Strategic, hands-on Business Manager with digital experience wanted to join the Red Door team. From ideation to execution, you will partner with a team of subject matter experts responsible for translating clients’ business objectives into value-producing digital campaigns, projects and programs. You are an inspiring leader who has good judgment and organizational skills. You possess strong communication, delegation and customer service skills, and have a strong knowledge of fundamentals of digital marketing and advertising. You have both agency and digital marketing experience, including work in online advertising, email campaigns, social media and analytics programs. Proven track record of deepening and growing relationships with clients (internal or external) and communication with upper management and preferably C-level executives. This position is available in our San Diego, CA office.

Is this you? If so, APPLY NOW!

This is us…
We’re Red Door Interactive— one of the top agencies to work for in San Diego, according to Ad Age and the San Diego Business Journal. We are a team that helps each other win. We’re people who inspire, share, evolve, exceed, and are 100% jerk-free. We are a digitally-focused agency dedicated to helping businesses continuously evolve by offering a broad array of services. We help brands including Cricket Communications, CND (Shellac) Rubio’s Restaurants, Inc., and Charlotte Russe connect seamlessly with customers across all touch points. See the Top 10 Reasons why employees love to work here! Learn more at www.reddoor.biz.

Other open positions:

• Junior Systems Administrator with knowledge of systems administration, networking, and hardware and software installation to learn and evolve our corporate infrastructure.
• Manager/Senior Manager, Digital Analytics who is detail-oriented, inquisitive and an excellent communicator.
• Search Strategist with SEO and paid search experience who enjoys collaborating with clients and internal team members to optimize integrated marketing programs.
• Senior Art Director a conceptual wizard with flawless design and presentation skills.
• Senior Project Manager with project management experience and the ability to execute projects to meet client project goals.

Learn more about a career with Red Door Interactive at www.reddoor.biz/careers.

To celebrate Red Door’s 10th anniversary this year (double digits!), we would like to share our personality, core values, and overall excitement through a series of “top 10” blog posts on the 10th each month.

The Morale & Culture Committee jumped at the opportunity to tackle the “Top 10” blog post for May. Since the main function of our committee is to make Red Door a great place to work, we thought we’d tell the world (or whoever reads this post) why employees actually enjoy working here. We surveyed the company and here are the top 10 reasons why we love working at Red Door:

1.       We:30

 Every Wednesday, the offices gather for a break from work to enjoy snacks, connect, and learn fun facts about the We:30 person of the week!

2.       There is a work hard, play hard mentality

 Dennis takes a break from a long day of work to challenge the San Diego Chicken to a game of chess. 

3.       The talented, positive people

 Our San Diego crew stops to say Cheeeese!

4.       The folks here are not just colleagues, they’re friends

 Zee, Anne, Julie, Lexi, Allison, Merima & Natalie enjoy some off-camera bonding while working on a Rubio’s shoot.

5.       It’s a creative environment where everyone is encouraged to share

 Creativity doesn’t stop with our work! Members of our Search, Social, Analytics and Email teams share their Halloween spirit with the office.

6.       We’re given the opportunity to work to our strengths

 Natalie shows off her newly awarded CPA Certificate. Congrats! 

7.       The company is flexible – We can organize our schedules and locations as needed

Telecommuters Michele & Malani show off their work spaces and preferred way of communication with the office – skype!

8.       No ‘jerks’ allowed

Members of our Philanthropy Committee, Red Door Caring Hearts, show their silly side before helping serve lunch to seniors near our downtown San Diego office.

9.       On any given day, there are two or three people who just happen to wear the same outfit

It’s a twin thing with Jeannie & Reid, Adam & Mike and Charles & John.

10.   The close-knit group in Denver

Our Denver crew in their brand new office!

Want a chance to work at a “Best Place to Work“? If so, you’re in luck! Red Door Interactive is currently looking for talent within several departments at both our Denver and San Diego locations.

Manager/Senior Manager, Digital Analytics (San Diego, Carlsbad or Denver)
Detail-oriented, inquisitive and excellent communicator
Red Door Interactive is seeking a Manager/Senior Manager of Digital Analytics to join our growing analytics practice. From measurement strategy to implementation to on-going analysis and optimization, you will use data to measure, inform and recommend strategies to drive our clients’ business goals. You are an effective delegator with the ability to grow others, but enjoy diving in to analytics challenges headfirst. You thrive on collaborating with other subject matter experts and enjoy variety in your work. You have strong organizational skills and the ability to effectively multi-task and prioritize in a deadline-driven atmosphere.

Senior Art Director (San Diego, Carlsbad or Denver)
Conceptual wizard with flawless design and presentation skills.
Senior Art Director wanted to join the Red Door team. From concept to execution you will partner with a multi-disciplinary team of creative thinkers and industry experts. You are a creator of powerful and compelling concepts, strategies and design that support and achieve client and brand objectives. You are a generator of fresh ideas and inspired innovations. You thrive on collaboration. You have agency experience and a proven track record of creating and designing excellent work. Show us your best stuff – please share your resume, website and portfolio with us when you apply.

Senior Project Manager (San Diego, Carlsbad or Denver)
From project kick-off to lessons learned, we’re looking for a dynamic team player to plan and execute projects to meet client project goals. You can handle the minutia while keeping the big picture top-of-mind. You will be comfortable having the authority to make quick decisions on the fly as well as know when it’s appropriate to lean on subject matter experts for their insights. You will have the opportunity to mentor junior staff on project planning and execution.You will be able to clearly communicate status, actions and risks to clients while keeping teams engaged and motivated and forward-thinking. You have a dedication to quality and know how to provide value without compromising project goals.

Other Open Positions:

• Junior Systems Administrator(San Diego) with knowledge of systems administration, networking, and hardware and software installation to learn and evolve our corporte infrastructure.
• Search Strategist (San Diego, Carlsbad or Denver)with SEO and paid search experience who enjoys collaborating with clients and internal team members to optimize integrated marketing programs.

Why Red Door Interactive?
Having a career at Red Door Interactive means you are on a team that helps each other win. You will have the opportunity to work with people who embrace Red Door’s Core Values: Inspire, Share, Evolve, Exceed, and 100% Jerk-Free.

We are committed to being a great place to work, and Red Door Interactive was included as one of Inc. Magazine & Winning Workplace’s 2010 Top Small Companies to Work For an in Advertising Age’s 2010 Best Places to Work in Marketing & Media.

People practice accolades include:
- Inc Magazine’s Top Small Company Workplace of 2010
- Advertising Age’s Best Place to Work in Marketing & Media 2012 & 2010
- One of San Diego’s Best Places to Work (2005-2011)
- San Diego Society for Human Resources Management’s Marble Award 2011
- San Diego Society for Human Resources Management’s Crystal Award 2009
- San Diego Society for Human Resources Management’s Marble Award 2007

Learn more about a career with Red Door Interactive at www.reddoor.biz/careers.

- Manager of Business Intelligence to help clients integrate online data insights with offline business analytics –

Red Door Interactive, a strategic partner dedicated to ensuring businesses engage their customers wherever they are, announced the arrival of Mark Donnelly, Manager of Business Intelligence, to its San Diego headquarters.

With more than a decade of financial and operational analytics experience, Mark will play an instrumental role in helping clients integrate their online data insights with offline business analytics.

Article by Tony Felice, Sr Strategist of Business Planning & Optimization, Red Door Interactive

Constant and rapid changes in technology undeniably impact consumer behavior and permeate nearly every shopping experience. In many ways, consumers know exactly what they want to buy before they leave the comfort of their own home, and in many cases they never do. In situations where consumers intend to purchase online, many use retail stores simply as a way to experience the products firsthand. But for buyers that still rely on brick-and-mortar stores, the ‘shelf’ has been virtually expanded, and go-to brands are subject to last minute shifts in intent facilitated by mobile price comparison apps.

As a result, today’s consumers follow a path to purchase that’s difficult to describe, much less measure and optimize. Today’s typical shopping experience can include touchpoints that range from search engines and social commentary to the traditional point-of-purchase. The classic marketing funnel inadequately describes these pathways. We need a new model.

A valid model would detail the steps consumers go through as they discover, evaluate, purchase, and use a brand’s products or services, while helping companies evaluate whether customers’ needs are being met at each step and how those buyers feel at key points in the process.

Introducing customer journey maps.
Customer journey maps allow one to view the purchase path through a microscope. This atomic view isolates pain points and moments of truth, and helps to identify numerous opportunities for improvement.
We believe that customer journey maps more accurately portray the consumer experience, by providing the structure that is needed to design messaging around these touchpoints and ensure messages that are timely and relevant. The pathways within journey maps can describe the inherent flexibility in the path to purchase. These flows should be augmented with insights into how customers actually feel and make decisions at each touchpoint. This perspective makes it possible to align consumer behavior with resonant messaging, making it possible for brands to reach consumers at the best possible points in the purchase lifecycle to trigger a purchase, and break into the consideration set at a critical point.

Ultimately, consumer journey maps should provide clarity around these five elements:

1. Customer processes
   How do customers interact with the brand across the lifecycle of the relationship? Where are the touchpoints? It’s important to identify every interaction, however small or insignificant they may seem. Often, once all the touchpoints are mapped out, interactions that may have seemed small begin to more clearly tie into a larger picture.
2. Customer needs
   What do customers need from the company during each interaction? Focus not only on the major outcomes, but seek to identify expectations ate every stage. How do consumers expect to hear about the product? How do they want to research and explore? Again, it’s important to be diligent when itemizing these needs, because they are the supporting details in the story.
3. Customer perceptions
   What do customers think and feel during each touchpoint? This line of questioning is critical, because it will often turn up needs and expectations that are more easily overlooked. If the customer has a memorable emotion, the interaction is a key to optimization.
4. Disconnects between interactions
   Are there areas where the process breaks down between touchpoints? Is there a point where data gets lost, or confusion sneaks in? Anything that breaks up the rhythm could potentially terminate or reset the purchase process and these situations typically the first to surface as action items from the mapping process.
5. Improvement opportunities
   When going through the process, and interviewing actual consumers, be attentive to any opportunities to improve, and ask the question overtly. This is the ultimate focus of the mapping process, and without clearly defined opportunities, the result will be seen as a simple inventory. What are the takeaways? What are the action items? This step is where the majority of the time should be allocated in consumer journey mapping.

It’s been said that to understand someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. This is a way to communicate such an experience. Customer journey maps provide an objective and complete view of the purchase process, and identify improvement opportunities both in conversion and consumer satisfaction in today’s ever-changing landscape. Properly done, they expose the real world view to an organization, and bring the customers’ stories to life.
What would you like to know about your customers?

- Former Xylem Digital Account Manager to maintain client relationships, projects for expanding agency -

Red Door Interactive, a strategic partner dedicated to ensuring businesses engage their customers wherever they are, announced today the addition of Mike Hadley, Associate Business Manager, to its Denver office.

Hadley will use his knowledge and experience to manage client budgets and projects as well as supervise and mentor Business Coordinators with their daily tasks and client relationships.

“Mike has not only demonstrated that he’s a true team player based on his other positions, but he’s also passionate about his work and very knowledgeable on emerging digital marketing trends,” said Jaime Heather Intile, Vice President of Client Services and Managing Director in Denver for Red Door Interactive. “As we continue to grow our client base in Denver, it’s important to have someone of his caliber on board to maintain and develop those long-term relationships. We’re excited to welcome him to the Red Door family!”

“Red Door has a reputation for working with prominent brands and I’m excited to be a part of a team that helps clients achieve their goals by providing unique solutions,” said Mike Hadley. “Their company culture is a perfect fit for me and I’m looking forward to furthering my career through the various training opportunities they have available.”