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| FL: You greet visitors to your site with the bold tagline "Creating A New Culture" what exactly do you mean by this? |
| EM: Experience has taught us that there are so many various solutions
available for our client's needs - some of these solutions are tried and true, while others can be
innovative - we tend to blend these two. We "Create a New Culture" with our clients. In a nutshell,
this consists of shifting our client's paradigm to seeing not only the traditional ways of getting
things done, but opening up and accepting that there are novel solutions available that may be a better
fit for their needs. There are still a lot of 'old schoolers' out there afraid to stray from the beaten
path - we seek to open them up to new solutions that they would otherwise overlook for fear of change. The
challenge is getting them to see the value-added by implementing a new way of doing things. |
| FL: Are clients looking for certain defined deliverables or are they open to a much larger solution from your firm? |
| EM: In this day in age, especially within our industry, it would be
near suicide for us to offer boxed solutions to our clients. At the risk of spewing hyperbole, and we'll
take that risk, we believe every client is unique, every project is unique, and therefore every solution
should be unique. Yes, we are out there "Creating New Cultures" for our clients, so our focus is always
to get them to see the larger, better, innovative solutions. |
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| FL: Echo Medium is run by two cousins. I don't believe I've run across a family-run firm so far. How is it to work with family and how do you think it's effected the direction & success of Echo Medium? |
| EM: Thank God we don't live together as well! Actually we tend to
prefer the family business model. We grew up together, shared many of the same experiences good and bad,
and have the same vision for our business. The family bonds may create some interesting inter-office
drama at times, but overall it cements our resolve, direction and loyalties to each other and our
company. Besides, it also creates a warm company culture our employees are very comfortable with.
Without our camaraderie and complete understanding of each other, I don't believe we would be experiencing
this success. |
| FL: I think most people associate Miami with beaches full of beautiful & tanned people. Are you out there every day with a WiFi laptop building websites while watching bathing beauties? |
| EM: That would be nice, our only regret is that this business keeps
us nice and pasty. We have a great view of South Beach from our office, but that is about the closest we
get while we're at work. |
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| FL: How has being based in Miami shaped Echo Medium's style? |
| EM: Miami is the epicenter for Latin American business working in
the U.S. It is a multi-cultural environment full of a vibe and an energy that we believe comes out in our
designs. We have worked for several clients that use Miami to operate their Latin American and Caribbean
divisions, and these projects have given us the opportunity to develop international and multilingual
technology solutions. We have a pretty diverse staff - Cuban, Brazilian, Jamaican, Italian, and then
some - we love it - all these different backgrounds stimulate new ways of perceiving things and it really
inspires our creative juices. Every experience shapes the person or firm and the fast-paced, salsa-hot
tropical paradise we live in has most definitely made an impression on us. Not to knock the great state
of Idaho, but I don't believe we would have quite the same style if we worked out of Boise. |
| FL: Your site mentions a partnership with ad giant Ogilvy. How did this come about and how has it benefited Echo Medium? Are partnerships vital to the growth of a web firm? |
| EM: Echo Medium understands that to be an effective firm we must
provide customers with turnkey solutions. From this ideology we believe that alliances with other industry
leaders is necessary to the expansion of our company. Our relationship with Olgivy is an important
alliance that stemmed from their need to find specialized vendors in interactive marketing. We have
continued to focus on our partnerships with Olgilvy and others like Oracle, Nortel Networks, IBM, and
Microsoft to assure an advanced knowledge of all industry facets. |
| FL:Echo Medium offers a wide-range of services including design for PDAs and content management solutions. Have you noticed any trends over the last few years as to what kinds of solutions companies are looking for? Have we seen the end of certain "must haves" and the introduction of new, necessary business tools? |
EM: In this industry, trends change so quickly that the by the time
you're reading this month's Wired Magazine or Business 2.0, there's already something new. A great part of
our success has been because we try to predict future trends rather then read about today's trends.
Wireless is huge in Europe and Asia and we feel that this industry will be huge here in the next 1-2 years. |
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| FL: Your client list features quite a few big names from FedEx and Bacardi to Mexicana airlines. What is it that attracts clients to Echo Medium? |
| EM: The Echo Medium management team has worked feverishly to create
a solid background in web-enabled solutions. Our management team's project management and operational
skills have been a strong cause for our high-profile work. It is our commitment to quality that has
caused Echo Medium to rely on referrals and industry recognition to ensure our continued growth. |
| FL: Where did the name Echo Medium come from? |
| EM: We believe that it is essential for our clients to listen and
understand what consumers are seeking. We regard this is as listening to the ECHO. Once we accomplish
this through demographic and market analysis we determine the optimal medium for our client to transmit
their message. |
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| FL: How can clients hear the echo amidst all of the shouting & background noise out in the market? |
| EM: That's all part of "Creating a New Culture." |
| FL: Here's your chance to pull out your crystal ball and read the future: Where do you see the web design/development industry headed in the next 6-12 months? How will the industry change and how do you plan on Echo Medium playing a role in these changes? |
EM: There are several facets in our industry that must be evaluated
in order to stay ahead of the curve. Echo Medium has begun to place extensive focus on technologies that
facilitate companies' communication, such as Intranets and Extranets. We believe these dynamic solutions
are beginning to fulfill our clients' needs and allowing them to reach higher returns in an effective manner.
Moving forward, Wireless technologies are certainly a big part of Echo Medium's future. We are
currently in the process of developing new wireless applications. The wireless revolution is very real
and about to take off, so we have allocated extensive research and funds to make sure Echo Medium is at
the forefront of the Wireless market. |
| FL: You feature your entire colorful staff on your team page. Many firms shy away from including anyone, or sometimes just the executive team. Often this is because they are afraid of their staff being poached, stolen out from under them. I would assume then that Echo Medium is a vibrant & exciting place to work and you're not afraid of losing your staff to other firms? |
| EM: We provide our employees with a very comfortable, family-style
work environment. We are also ready and willing to cut loose and have some fun when the opportunity
presents itself. This is difficult to find in today's marketplace. Our team feels open and comfortable
to express themselves without any creative limitations. This workplace has allowed us to retain a
professional respect for one another, which is evident in our work and client relationships. |
| (spotlight first ran June 2002) |
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