Emerge Interactive News

Jonathon Hensley Unveils Five Keys to Building Trust and Sustainable Online Success

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:06:00 GMT

Portland, Ore., November 2, 2009-Emerge Interactive's CEO Jonathon Hensley recently unveiled "Five Keys to Building Trust and Sustainable Online Success." Inspired by Stephen M.R. Covey's "The Speed of Trust" and the recent Edelman "Trust Barometer," Hensley and Emerge Interactive developed a proven formula on how to build online trust that integrates brand, user experience, search engine marketing (SEM), social media marketing (SMM), and ultimately, creates a sustainable and successful online model.

In the coming months, Hensley is scheduled (and available) to present the "Five Keys," including a luncheon hosted by the Public Relations Society of America, Puget Sound on November 10th at the Washington Athletic Club (1325 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101).

"Trust impacts business at all levels, from Fortune 500 companies with a solid brand and reputation that spans decades, to the young entrepreneur who's just beginning the task of turning a vision into a thriving enterprise," says Hensley. "These ‘Five Keys to Building Trust and Sustainable Online Success' are imperative for businesses to adopt."

Emerge Interactive Wins Two Web Marketing Association Standard of Excellence Awards

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Exceeding our clients' expectations in bringing their brand to life online is our team's ultimate reward. When our efforts are also recognized by an award from our peers in the industry, however, that's when we know that the work we are producing is at the level of quality we are constantly striving for.

Emerge Interactive was recognized with two Standard of Excellence Awards by the 2009 Web Marketing Association's WebAwards. These awards are given for sites that set the standard of excellence for which all Web sites should strive, as determined by judges selected from the top members of the website development industry. The Web Marketing Association evaluates over 2,000 submissions from 45 countries on seven specific criteria, including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting, and ease-of-use, across 96 industries.

"Recognizing the best website in each industry is an important way to establish the ever changing standard of excellence in website development," said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. "Each year the WebAwards receives amazing entries from around the world that show impressive creativity and functionality. As the Internet evolves, so does the state of website development and winning a WebAward is a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of your Web development efforts."

Omidyar Network Website Wins Investment Standard of Excellence Award

Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and wife Pam established Omidyar Network based on their conviction that every person has the power to make a difference.

Together with our partner Hot Studio, who designed the company's new visual identity, Emerge Interactive developed Omidyar Network's new website using the Drupal Content Management System.

Trusted Computing Group Website Wins Associations Standard of Excellence Award

Working closely with Trusted Computing Group and their partners at VTM, Emerge Interactive developed the new site using a comprehensive approach that included in-depth brand discovery and audience analysis, a comprehensive user-centric Information Architecture, visual design and an Enterprise-class Content Management System.

The new Trusted Computing Group website will be a catalyst for TCG to reassert itself in the marketplace, propelled by a clearer vision of who they are, what they offer and who their customers are.

Competition format

The competition was judged by a team of independent Internet professionals representing a variety of relevant disciplines of Web site development. Judges included members of the media, advertising executives, site designers, creative directors, corporate marketing executives, content providers and webmasters.

The 2009 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: ExactTarget, Burst Media, 24-7 Pressrelease.com, B2B Magazine, AllBusiness, BGT Partners, Microsoft PhizzPop, ad:tech conferences, NewsUSA, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio, Rovion and Website Magazine.

About the Web Marketing Association

The Web Marketing Association is working to create a high standard of excellence for Web site development and marketing on the Internet. Staffed by volunteers, it is made up of Internet marketing, advertising, PR and design professionals who share an interest in improving the quality of Website development and marketing on the Internet. Since 1997, the Web Marketing Association's annual WebAward Competition has been helping interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world. Now in its 13th year, the WebAward Competition has become the premier award event for Web developers and marketers worldwide.

Emerge Interactive Launches Website Just For ME

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:54:00 GMT

Emerge Interactive has launched a distinct interactive website experience for a new beverage brand from Juice Creations that wants everyone showing off their inner "Me". What's this "inner Me" you ask? It's a natural sparkling beverage for one-of-a-kind individuals that exude a mix of: energetic, reflective, outgoing, moody, surprising, and unashamed qualities. No one should have to fit into a category - everyone is unique. This is why a beverage had to be created that's as natural and refreshing as our individual personalities. Welcome to the new Me!

The whole strategy behind the design and development of this website was to create a brand for the social lifestyle. A site that caters to the 18-25 year olds, and provides them with a variety of ways to create a buzz about this new drink that's all about them. Whether it's on Twitter, Facebook or simply displaying a favorite pix showing their Me in action, it's all meant to be a enjoyable reflection of everyone's "inner Me".

Emerge Interactive provided the strategy and design services, and built the website using the WebActive CMS, allowing staff to easily maintain the website content as well as moderate the many social features on the website.

Whatever your Me, just grab it and share.

Emerge Interactive wins 6 Awards of Distinction from the International Academy of Visual Arts

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Seeing clients express their happiness and gratitude with the way their brand has been brought to life online provides our team with such satisfaction. When we are recognized with an award for it by our peers however, that's when we know that the work we are producing is at the level of quality we are constantly striving for.

After this year's Communicator Awards, Emerge Interactive came away with six "Awards of Distinction". The award is presented for projects that exceed industry standards in quality and achievement. There were over 9,000 entries from companies and agencies of all sizes, making it one of the largest awards of its kind in the world. Currently, the Communicator Awards is sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, consisting of top-tier professionals from media, communications, advertising, creative and marketing firms like: Brandweek, Coach, Disney, Estee Lauder, HBO, MTV, Polo Ralph Lauren, Victoria's Secret, Wired, and Yahoo!

It is truly an honor, and we could not have had the opportunity without our clients: RW Knudsen Family, Twin City Painting, University of Oregon, Oregon's Wild Harvest, National Head Start Association and Santa Cruz Organic.

Below are our clients' projects that made it happen.

In 1961, the R.W. Knudsen Family® launched a long tradition of innovation in health-conscious juices and other products made from 100 percent natural ingredients that have no artificial flavors, preservatives or sugar added. Today, some of these products have become "best sellers" in the natural foods industry. After 30 years in business, Santa Cruz Organic provides more than 60 organic products ranging from fruit juices and sauces to peanut butter, and continues to be the most successful organic juice brand ever. Their challenge online was the same, and included providing consumers with up-to-date product information with better reasons to come back and giving vendors the ability to update store information and download print-quality product imagery. The Emerge Interactive solution included a comprehensive interactive strategy, in-depth Information Architecture to create a fun and inviting user experience, and detailed Business and Technical Requirements which defined new features and functionality, including personalized, printable coupons, robust product and recipe management and extensive partner features.
Emerge Interactive and Wieden+Kennedy worked together to help the National Head Start Association (NHSA), a private non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families, meet their challenge of creating a website to best deliver the services they offer to their audience. Our solution included: a user-centered Information Architecture to intuitively deliver appropriate functionality and content to each audience, an Enterprise-class Content Management System with features including News, Events and Legislative updates, a nationwide jobs board, fully-featured online donations capability utilizing Payflow Pro and complete integration with their existing member-management system.
The University of Oregon's Annual Giving Program offers information and special donation portals for each type of donor: Alumni and Parents to Faculty, Current Students and the University's most generous supporters, the President's Associates. Their challenge was to create a new website that would provide such a broad spectrum of information and services to each of the above donor types. The Emerge Interactive solution was to provide our custom made content management system "WebActive", so that they could have a foundation for long-term growth and sustainability. This system allows the Annual Giving staff to seamlessly manage the website content and the numerous funds, as well as bloggers, DuckStories and more.
Oregon's Wild Harvest produces certified organic and natural herbal supplements on their biodynamic farm in the foothills of Mt. Hood, Oregon. They challenged Emerge Interactive to enhance their online presence, and help increase sales online. Our solution included the enhancement of their existing photography, and simplifying the layout of valuable information for the user. We also implemented our custom content management system "WebActive", so that they could easily maintain their extensive catalog of products and online database of retailers.
One of the Pacific Northwest's premier exterior painting services, Twin City Painting, challenged us with building a new website presence that would reflect their high-end environmentally friendly painting practices. The Emerge Interactive solution included an extensive search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, Web design, implementation, and ongoing pay-per-click campaign management.

Emerge Interactive reaffirms commitment to sustainable practices on Earth Day

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:32:00 GMT

Earth Day is always a good opportunity for us to take a step back and measure our environmental footprint over the last year. At Emerge Interactive the last 12 months have brought us many changes: a new brand identity, company name, office space, expanded service offering, and great new team members.

As we’ve grow so has our commitment to remaining carbon-neutral and supporting sustainable practices. Our carbon-neutral strategy continues to prioritize efficiencies and investments in green power and recycling.

For 2009 our environmental program introduced the following additions:

We increased our carbon offsets by 50% to cover the larger office space and additional workstations. This year's offsets support transportation efficiency programs and biomass conversion projects.
Our server network that powers our clients' websites 24/7 continues to run on 100% clean energy, supporting construction of wind-farms throughout the country.
This year we included offsets to cover airline travel and hotel stays for our team members' business travels.
Our new office space has skylights throughout, so we do not require any electric lighting on sunny days.
Our public transportation program continues to be very successful, with over two-thirds of our team members walking, biking or taking public transportation to work.

We want you to know that the only thing leaving our office is innovative ideas and high-end interactive solutions, not carbon dioxide, pollutants and waste. It's just another way we create remarkability.

To find ways how you can reduce your personal carbon footprint, we recommend checking out the following websites:

Empire Group rebrands changing name to Emerge Interactive

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:09:00 GMT

We’re very excited to announce that after 10 years as Empire Group, we’ve changed our name to Emerge Interactive (Emerge)! This decision is part of a repositioning strategy that will more effectively communicate our status as a full-service digital agency.

We have a remarkable assembly of clients and partners who have contributed to our growth and expansion over the past three years. Our new company name better reflects what we do as a holistic, user-centered agency providing:

Integrated strategy
User experience design
Web and application development
eMarketing
New media (mobile, social media, etc)

The choice of our new name, Emerge Interactive, was influenced by our commitment to integrity, professional excellence, high quality results, and social relevance in everything we do.

We look forward to continued growth and creative innovation as we take our brand promise—inspire and deliver the remarkable—to a new level.

Emerge Interactive launches new website for Trusted Computing Group

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:19:00 GMT

Emerge Interactive (formerly Empire Group, Inc.), today announced the launch of a new website for the Trusted Computing Group (www.trustedcomputinggroup.org).

Trusted Computing Group (TCG) is an industry standards body formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for security technologies across platforms, peripherals, and devices. The members of TCG are a veritable who's-who of leading technology companies including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft and many more. TCG needed a new website that met the needs of their current members, improve the awareness and perception of their brand and could help them reach beyond the developer community to include IT professionals and the press.

Working closely with TCG and their partners at VTM, Emerge Interactive developed the new site using a comprehensive approach that included in-depth brand discovery and audience analysis, a comprehensive user-centric Information Architecture, visual design and an Enterprise-class Content Management System.

The new Trusted Computing Group website will be a catalyst for TCG to reassert itself in the marketplace, propelled by a clearer vision of who they are, what they offer and who their customers are. Instead of pasting a pretty website on top of the same old organization, Emerge helped TCG to remake itself from the ground up into a refocused and more relevant organization, the benefits of which are coming soon to a digital device near you.

About Trusted Computing Group
TCG is an industry standards body formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for trusted computing and security technologies, including hardware building blocks and software interfaces, across multiple platforms, peripherals, and devices. TCG specifications are designed to enable more secure computing environments without compromising functional integrity with the primary goal of helping users to protect their information assets from compromise due to external software attack and physical theft. More information and the organization's specifications are available at www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.

About Emerge Interactive
Founded in 1998 (originally as Empire Group, Inc.) and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, Emerge Interactive provides a holistic, user-centered approach to achieving innovative results through integrated strategy, user experience design, web and application development, eMarketing, and new media.

Emerge Interactive announces the launch of the new National Head Start Association website

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:09:00 GMT

The National Head Start Association is a private non-profit organization dedicated to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families. Their mission includes advocating for Head Start children and families, providing training and development to Head Start staff and developing and disseminating research, information, and resources that enrich Head Start programs.

Coming together, Wieden+Kennedy and Emerge Interactive provided a combination of strategic planning and consulting, resulting in a detailed plan for the new NHSA website. The new website was implemented using Emerge Interactive's WebActive CMS, and empowers NHSA's staff to easily maintain their new website.

The new online presence seamlessly accepts online donations and also fully integrates into NHSA's existing member management system, allowing members to log into a members only section to access features such as a job board and members resources.

Emerge Interactive CEO Jonathon Hensley to present at Business Leader Northwest Conference

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Emerge Interactive founder and CEO Jonathon Hensley will be a featured presenter at Business Leader Northwest, Feb. 25-26, 2009 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR. This leadership conference will provide a timely opportunity for participants to sharpen their business and leadership capabilities, exchange ideas, and connect with other business leaders. Featuring world-class thought leaders such as Stephen M.R. Covey, Jennifer James, Dennis Deaton, and Terry Paulson, attendees can choose from more than 30 content-rich sessions on a variety of timely topics and best practices for today's business leader.

Presenting on the topic of Building Online Trust and Delivering Results, Jonathan will discuss how the ways that businesses can succeed on the Internet are radically shifting, from how to build trust online to how companies create and maintain an effective web strategy in the age of user-generated content and social media. In this two hour session, Jonathon will examine ways that businesses can build trust, the five core elements of effective web strategy, market testing, search engine optimization, social media and the power of citizen reporting and online user generated content, with real-world examples and proven best practices to show participants how to generate successful results. For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.businessleadernw.com.

Emerge Interactive launches new website for the University of Oregons Annual Giving program

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How does a forward-thinking, dynamic fundraising program for a prominent Pac-10 university bring its website up to the high standards set by their other outreach and donor-engagement efforts, while also making it easier than ever for donors to target their giving? By putting together just the right team.

Working with Defteling Design, Emerge worked closely with The University of Oregon's Annual Giving Program to create their new website (www.isupportuoregon.org), which provides a broad spectrum of information and services to meet the needs of its equally broad audience. Information is tailored for all different types of donors, from Alumni and Parents to Faculty, Current Students and the University's most generous supporters, President's Associates, who access special content through their own password-protected area of the site.

Critical to meeting the Program's needs, donors can connect personally with the impacts of their gifts. A new Blog gives them an inside look into the lives of today's students through the detailed postings of 10 student bloggers. Students and Alumni can submit their own "DuckStory" to share the impact the University and the Annual Giving program have had on their lives. Finally, donors are able to search for and direct their gifts directly to any combination of over 400 funds, giving them unprecedented control over how their money is used.

The website is driven by Emerge Interactive's content management system which provides a foundation for long-term growth and sustainability. This system allows the Annual Giving staff to seamlessly manage the website content and the numerous funds, as well as bloggers, DuckStories and more. Emerge Interactive used best practices in XHTML, JavaScript, and Flash to provide a rich and inviting user experience on an Enterprise-class environment.

Emerge Interactive sponsors Stephen MR Covey at Business Leader Northwest Conference

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Emerge Interactive is proud to sponsor Stephen M.R. Covey's keynote address at Business Leader Northwest, February 26, 2009 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.

Co-founder and CEO of CoveyLink Worldwide, Mr. Covey is a sought-after and compelling keynote speaker and advisor on trust, leadership, ethics and high performance. He is the author of The SPEED of Trust, a groundbreaking and paradigm-shifting book that challenges our age-old assumption that trust is merely a soft, social virtue and instead demonstrates that trust is a hard-edged, economic driver-a learnable and measurable skill that makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable, and relationships more energizing. He advocates that nothing is as fast as the speed of trust and that the ability to establish, grow, extend and restore trust with all stakeholders is the critical leadership competency of the new global economy.

Covey's insights validate the driving philosophy of Emerge Interactive, which is at the leading edge of helping businesses create success on the Internet by taking a user-centered approach to developing rich online experiences, building trust through authentic conversations with customers and addressing their needs and wants that produce measurable results. Emerge Interactive founder and CEO Jonathon Hensley will also be a featured presenter at Business Leader Northwest. For more information, or to register for the conference, visit www.businessleadernw.com. For more information on Stephen M.R. Covey, visit www.coveylink.com.

Emerge Interactive CEO Jonathon Hensley to speak at Portland State University Marketing Conference

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Emerge Interactive founder and CEO Jonathon Hensley will be a featured presenter at a half-day Internet Marketing Conference, presented by the Portland State University Professional Development Center's Multimedia Professional Program. The conference, which takes place on December 8, 2008, will cover beginning to advanced topics in web strategy, content management, user experience design, e-commerce and search engine optimization, social media, and more.

Presenting on the topic of Building Effective Website Strategy in Today's Market, Jonathon will examine how successful extended brand experiences harness the power of online communities through participation within rich user experiences and build market trust. Participants will learn how to engage their audience and how award-winning businesses seize opportunities like the power of citizen reporting, online user-generated content, and social media. Jonathon will also be one of the industry experts participating in a panel discussion of Delivering Engaging Online Experiences. For more information or to register for the conference, visit www.pdc.pdx.edu/imktg.

Emerge Interactive Goes Green on Earth Day 2008

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

38 years ago Earth Day started as an event to raise environmental awareness. Today it is celebrated by 500 million people around the world and gives all of us the itch to make a difference in our own way. For Emerge Interactive, it went from an itch to a core element of our business philosophy. Starting on Earth Day 2008, we at Emerge eliminated our biggest contributing factor to global pollution: we reduced our carbon footprint to ZERO. This is a statement that will hold true no matter how large we grow.

Here's how we did it...

On behalf of you - our clients and partners - we purchased an 8 ton renewable energy credit for the servers that power your websites 24/7. Your websites and applications are now running on 100% clean energy and are supporting the construction of wind-farms throughout the country!
In order to make up for all the electricity used in our office we purchased a 10 ton carbon offset, which means that - on top of our workstations, lighting, and HVAC - our Espresso Machine and Xbox produce virtually no carbon dioxide.
While most of us at Emerge Interactive geek out in front of our dual screens all day, some of us do need to hit the road to meet with you and our prospective clients. For our road warriors we purchased a 2 ton carbon offset to make up for 1 year of CO2 produced by their business travels.
What good is it to have a green office if some team members have to drive their cars to get there? In order to encourage our team members to use more earth-friendly mass transportation, we started offering a TriMet credit to pay for their commute with public transportation.
70% of our team members walk to work, use public transportation, or telecommute, which not only saves valuable resources, but also gives them extra time to read their favorite blogs and refactor code.
Our recycling program helps reduce waste by separating paper, cans, and bottles and thus reducing energy usage and landfill pollution. Our office is lit entirely with energy-saving CFLs and our printer is on a strict 100% post consumer recycled paper diet.

We want you to know that the only thing leaving our office is innovative ideas and high-end websites, not carbon dioxide, pollutants and waste. It's just another way we create remarkability.

If you would like to spread the word and let your website visitors know that your website is powered by 100% renewable clean energy, let us know and we will add our "Powered by Clean Energy" seal to the footer of your website.

SOLV Making a Website for Pocket Change

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Since its inception in 1969 by Governor Tom McCall, SOLV has been dedicated to keeping Oregon's environment beautiful. From the annual Beach Cleanups to various small town streams, SOLV has provided an estimated 60 million dollars in services for Oregon's outdoor playground. As you could very well imagine, continuing to fund this effort year after year can present a challenge. With only about $3,000 in annual support from the government, SOLV has relied on generous donations from companies and individuals in order to survive.

With a continued increase in demand for SOLV's services, an additional $250,000 dollars has been pulled from their reserve fund each year, which is now rapidly depleting. In light of this, an additional source for funding needed to be identified. So, for the first time ever, SOLV decided to ask for support from all Oregonians who enjoy this beautiful state - a handful of change to be exact...

SOLV turned to local marketing communications agency Koopman Ostbo (KO) and partners, to help create the "Small Change for SOLV" campaign. As a partner with KO, Empire Group was eager to donate their services for building the Small Change for SOLV website. For the entire campaign, this site has been a central resource for Oregonians to educate themselves about this campaign and learn how they can help. Together, we have pooled our talents to help keep Oregon the most beautiful state in the nation. It's so easy. If 250,000 Oregonians are able to donate $1, we can keep our state looking the way it should for years to come!

Learn how you can participate at http://www.smallchangeforsolv.org/.

Empire Group and partners announce launch of Itanium Solutions Guide website

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Who says a rush job can't turn out perfect? We don't. In fact, we once again set out to prove that Empire Group is the go-to team for clients and partners with mission-critical online projects.

We were asked to join the Itanium® Solutions Guide project and offer our expertise in online initiatives development. With a very tight deadline, all members of the project team needed to work together seamlessly to ensure the successful delivery of the final website, www.itaniumsolutions.com. Empire Group consulted with team members VTM, Owen Media, and Hot Studio to plan and develop the front- and backend implementation of the online initiative.

Thanks to clear communication and documentation, everyone's efforts came together to produce a cutting edge website dedicated to providing IT professionals and enterprise business end users with data on how Itanium®-based computing can solve their business problems. The project was commissioned by the Itanium Solutions Alliance, an organization founded by Bull, Fujitsu, Fujitsu-siemens, HP, Hitachi, Intel, NEC, SGI and Unisys.

Empire Group pitches in a helping hand to the Angel Hair Foundation

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Every once in a while a great opportunity comes along to reach out and help. Last year 13-year-old Staci Wright, who is a cancer survivor, founded the Angel Hair Foundation with the support of her family. She created the foundation to help other children deal with social acceptance issues because of physical appearances, specifically hair loss that stem from cancer treatments.

When we were approached by the foundation to support them by creating a custom website, it was clear that this project was special and that we wanted to help. The Angel Hair Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life for these children by helping them regain their positive self-image, and everyone at Empire Group was touched by the possibility of supporting the foundation and the kids they help.

You can find out more about the Angel Hair Foundation on their new website at www.angelhairfoundation.org.

Clients and Partners rave about new Empire Group service and support model

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It has been a long time coming when the Empire Team sat down with clients and partners to discuss their evolving needs, today's markets and how the landscape of tradition service and support. Our goal was to understand -- at the very core -- what makes us all successful.

So we all took a step back, to talk, to listening, to create, and to reinvent service and support from the inside out for our clients and partners together. Someone once said that "Problem solving is the core of creativity" and at Empire we take that idea to heart. So we decided that the old rules no longer would apply and we had one goal only: Deliver the remarkable.

Delivering a remarkable experience is much more than the sum of its parts. It also includes a commitment to provide ongoing services and leadership that support our clients' and partners' visions, goals, growth, changing markets, and initiatives, beyond just their website(s) and custom applications. Our new service and support model does just that, ensuring the ongoing success of our clients' and partner's visions.

To find out more about our new service and support model, please contact Jonathon Hensley at 503-922-3483.

Empire Group launches Project Management Application in Partnership with Activity Focus

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It's been a long time coming, but today we're proud to officially announce the launch of SummitStep in partnership with Activity Focus Group, LLC.

SummitStep is a powerful, easy to use, web-based project management and collaboration solution. SummitStep is geared toward organizations that want to organize their projects, no matter if it's a 1 or a 500-person project. Organizations can start managing their projects starting as low as $29.99 per month and can be up and running within minutes. Organizations with only one active project can even track their projects for free!

Key Benefits of SummitStep

1. Have better control and predictability when implementing projects internally and for you customers.
2. Scalable cost structure to maximize seamless growth of your user and project needs.
3. Cost Savings that make a difference to your bottom line with no need to purchase, install or maintain special software.
4. Proven simple and powerful project management methodology for projects of all sizes and types.
5. Better results with fast, easy to use user interface to maximize time.
6. Organize your projects, activates, tasks and communications in one centralized place.
7. Visualize key data trends using powerful build-in reporting.
8. Keep your project information secure, reduce liability with improved accountability.

The ground-breaking concept behind SummitStep was developed by Jerry Anderson, who with over 20 years of project management experience knows exactly what makes projects successful and what makes them fail. In SummitStep, individuals are invited to participate in different projects, independent of which organization is leading each project. This allows individuals to easily stay up to task on all projects that they are involved in and is especially useful for all types of contractors.

If we have piqued your interest, go ahead and sign up for a free Customer Account now. SummitStep lets you focus on doing what you do best - running your business.

Empire Group announces the launch of Starbucks Lets Clean Up our Schools Day website

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Let's Clean Up Our Schools is an event that gives you the hands-on opportunity to give back to your community. Whether it's by weeding, raking, or painting, the more we can help, the more we can improve our schools.

Coming together, Starbucks, Wieden+Kennedy and Empire Group worked to create the Let's Clean Up our Schools Day website. Empire was chosen to be part of a team that could go beyond just getting the job done but get it done right.

The resulting website, user experience and powerful yet simple content management solution provides a seamless integration of vision, concept, and workflow, allowing visitors to sign up for events at different schools, and coordinators to maintain volunteer rosters and schedules. You can visit the site at www.cleanschoolday.com.

Empire Group wins Interactive Media Award for Outstanding Achievement in Ecommerce

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It was with great anticipation that on July 9th, 2007, Empire Group received the Interactive Media Award for Outstanding Achievement for design, development and implementation in E-commerce for the new Wipf & Stock Publishing (www.wipfandstock.com) website.

The distinction, granted by the Interactive Media Awards, recognizes that the project met and surpassed the standards of excellence that comprise the web's most professional work. Receiving this award is a great acknowledgment of the hard work that everyone at Wipf & Stock Publishers and Empire Group put into the project to make it a great success.

To view the online award for this site, please visit the Interactive Media Awards website.

About the Interactive Media Awards
The Interactive Media Awards recognize the highest standards of excellence in website design and development and honor individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievement. Sponsored by the Interactive Media Council, Inc., a nonprofit organization of leading web designers, developers, programmers, advertisers and other web-related professionals, the competition seeks to elevate the standards of excellence on the Internet. For more information visit http://www.interactivemediaawards.com.