Interactive agency celebrates first six months of new company with major milestones
One North Interactive LLC (One North), an agency dedicated to serving the creative, strategic and technological needs of legal and professional services organizations, has marked six months of being an independent company after announcing its formation and acquisition of the Hubbard One web group from Thomson Reuters in August 2012.
Since August, One North has: created tighter partnerships with clients through the creation of account teams; hosted a one-of-a-kind client-focused ‘Experience Lab’; partnered with six clients on winning prestigious WebAwards for outstanding website design; launched 12 new client and prospect website projects, enriched its team by adding 10 new talented employees and enhanced its Web Center platform with two new software releases.
Specific accomplishments include:
Innovation & Communication: A key part of One North’s mission is to provide innovation and inspiration to clients through creative ideas, unique approaches to design, and by sharing web and interactive trends and future predictions. In 2012, One North focused on two primary vehicles to help communicate innovation; the inaugural Experience Lab and through the Latitude 41 industry blog site.
In November, One North hosted its first annual client conference. The idea was to have an interactive “lab” where clients could collaborate and experiment with new ideas. 2012 was all about the interactive client experience and aptly named “The Experience Lab,” attracting more than 50 attendees from over 30 law firms.
The Latitude 41 blog was utilized to share much of the content and ideas covered during the Experience Lab, resulting in numerous video blog posts as well as best practice-type articles focused on conference ideas. In all, One North thought leaders crafted nearly 40 posts in 2012, attracting industry influencers and clients interested in collaborating on future content.
Client Operations: One of One North’s first major operational changes involved re-organizing existing account groups into collaborative client teams. This shift has provided clients with easier access to One North team members and has paved the way for more personalized service and proactive consultation and client feedback. Furthermore, One North has also simplified many operational elements—including invoicing.
Client Successes: One North was involved in 40 web design presentations and new client project launches between August and the end of 2012. While numerous new projects will be launching in 2013, six existing clients were rewarded for outstanding work in website design as recognized by the 2012 Web Marketing Association WebAward Competition. Winners included Fasken Martineau and Reed Smith LLP for ‘Outstanding Web Site’ and Haight Brown & Bonesteel, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, Fenwick & West LLP and Verrill Dana LLP for ‘Legal Standard of Excellence’. 2012 marked the seventh consecutive year One North Interactive (former Hubbard One web group) clients were honored by the Web Marketing Association. Currently, 14 new award submissions are pending and law firm winners will be announced throughout 2013.
Employees/Culture: Headquartered in Chicago, One North’s 70+-employee team is led by founder, CEO John Simpson and founder, COO Jeff Hirner, both former Hubbard One executives. Since its formation, One North has added 10 talented professionals to the team, including Candace Graham, managing director, agency development; Brandt Elliott, director, business development, and Mike Skutta, architect.
Technology: One North recognizes the need for more sophisticated technology, user experience and interactive design and as such has continued to enhance its technology infrastructure while preparing clients for the future by evaluating a variety of technologies and content interface options currently available. One North continued to invest in the development of new enhancements for its Web Center software including new mobile features released in December 2012 and more embedded social media integrations debuting in March 2013. In addition, One North will be releasing its 2013 Web Center roadmap to clients in late February.
In addition to enhancing existing technologies, One North has also set a course of becoming a true independent interactive agency by helping clients select “Best in Class” technology solutions to help meet their specific marketing objectives. Initiatives have included selection of blog and App software, review of third party content management systems and examination of alternative data centers.
Finally, in order to fully serve the needs of European-based clients, One North formalized a partnership with Five Rivers in the UK, who will provide on-the-ground client support.
“2012 was extremely exciting for us, especially as it related to launching a new company and re-introducing ourselves to clients and the legal market with a fresh and creative perspective on delivering world class web design and interactive solutions,” stated John Simpson, CEO, One North Interactive. “Looking forward, in 2013 we will continue to evolve as an independent interactive agency and introduce new innovations to clients, ensure we are capturing client input and feedback, while also integrating new processes and streamlining our operations to make it easier and more rewarding for clients to do business with us.”
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