Since Headstand Media was born, we have had the privilege of working with some excellent companies and organizations. One of the benefits of working in the space that we do is that we get to see and experience exciting new technologies. In 2008 we began working with Day software products and in 2009, Headstand Media became a Day Software Professional Partner. We continue to enjoy serving Day Communique (CQ) customers through this partnership.

We’re excited about this new merge because both Adobe and Day are industry leaders and innovators who produce increasingly stronger software and technology solutions.

Click here to read Adobe’s immediate press release.

But today, we’re excited to move into our new office location at 1 North Wacker, also known as UBS Tower. You can learn more about this building (built in 2001) here. Headstand Media occupies a great corner of the 40th floor. We’re surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows that look West and North. To the West, we can see the suburbs and the top of the Civic Opera House. To the North, we can look over the city and even see some of the lakefront. It’s quite a view.

Below is a video and photos we took when we first got the space last month. We’re excited to move in on Monday and see what the place looks like all cleaned up.

If you’d ever like to come visit us, please let us know. We’d love to have you spend some time with us in our new digs.

Agility Matters

• Learn how your peers are enhancing Marketing and IT Agility with CQ5. Customer keynote speakers, Hyatt, Adobe and Newsweek share their online, multi-channel success stories.

It’s About the Experience

• We are going mobile to Ignite our summit experience. Day Ignite 2010 is about building community, making new relationships, and getting everyone engaging in a conversation on the New Web and Day CQ5. The Innovative Summit goes mobile, minimizing paper and enhancing your Ignite experience.

It’s Time to Engage

• Learn about ground-breaking new enhancements for multi-channel marketing and campaign optimization with our upcoming CQ 5.4 Sneak Peek, presented by CTO David Nuescheler.

The event will be held at:
The Westin Chicago River North
320 North Dearborn Street
Chicago IL 60654
October 13-14

More details to follow.

(More about CQ5 Design and Development)

In 2009 YFC/USA has determined a need to rebrand themselves and establish a new web strategy and presence that reflects the new direction of the organization in the 21st century. Headstand Media initially engaged with YFC in April of 2009 in a consulting and advisory role. Randal Birkey visited the YFC/USA headquarters near Denver CO and facilitated a 2-day discussion centered around YFC’s web strategy and web presence. From this discussion, a new strategy was described and funding for the project was sought. In 2010, as funding was realized and new staff resources were put in place, Jake Bland, Director of Digital Innovation developed two requests for proposal which were released in May 2010. Headstand Media responded to these RFP’s and in June 2010, was selected to be the implementation vendor of the new web strategy.

The two 2010 projects consist of providing technology, search and social media advice during the design phase, and then production and implementation of the national organization’s public website, and 5 chapter websites by Fall 2010.

Headstand Media is honored to be selected to partner with YFC in this strategic role and looks forward to the successful implementation of an effective new web and social media strategy for the organization in 2010.

Mystery Photo 1

Judging from the responses below it looks like some extra help is needed!

Mystery Photo 2

• Background: on the hotel itself, the Hard Rock brand, and why they decided to jump into the social media moshpit to begun with
• Implementation and Strategy: general info about listings, strategies used to pick up fans and followers, and some sample guest interactions
• Social Media Method to Providing Kick Ass Service: discussing rewards programs, and some entertaining social media guest stories
• Damage Control: how Hard Rock Hotel responds to complaints, and strategies for acquiring positive consumer reviews

Melissa and the rest of the Nightstand attendees discussed the ins and outs of social media, how it applies to the hotel and service industries, and what kinds of things might be coming down the line.

As always, we enjoyed a tasty dinner and spent time meeting new people, networking, and having a grand old time. We would like to thank Melissa for presenting well-organized and engaging material that provided some great fodder for discussion. Thanks also to all our guests who came out to Nightstand 15. See you all next time!

Ryerson Inc. is headquartered in Chicago and is one of the oldest corporations to be continuously located in the city. It is also the largest steel distributor in North America. The current corporate website at www.ryerson.com was designed and developed by Randal’s previous web design company, then called BIRKEY.COM.

Headstand Media is proud to be associated with Ryerson again in this strategic initiative.

Headstand Media is extremely proud to announce a new partnership with the Hyatt Corporation. We’ve begun an exciting initial project with our Chicago neighbor (that’s right… Hyatt and Headstand Media are located a few blocks apart here in the Loop!) designing and building websites for 2 new Hyatt Premier Restaurants in the Day Software Communique (CQ5) environment.

We’re happy to be working with the fine people of the Hyatt Corporation and are looking forward to building an excellent partnership in the coming months.

I had the honor of representing Headstand Media at NOW 2010, McDonald’s Wordwide Convention held April 19-22 in Orlando, Florida. This global event for owner-operators, suppliers and all McDonald’s employees takes place every 2 years and is a MAJOR company event. 15,000 McDonald’s employees and guests filled the Orlando Convention Center including an exhibit hall, theater, large meeting area and surrounding area hotels and restaurants (see my photo gallery below).

Some of the highlights for me were:

• The Voice of McDonald’s Competition – winner Chenee Capuyan (I agreed!)
• Hearing McDonald’s leadership speak on the McDonald’s Brand (Jim Skinner, Don Thompson, Mary Dillon, and others)
• Walking the Exhibit Hall, talking to suppliers, employees
• Eating great McDonald’s menu items from around the world!
• An evening dinner with my friends from the the Global Web Communications team. Thank you Steve, Sosti, Safura, Jill and Joe!
• The Porsche Panamera Sedan Giveaway!
• Final Gala Reception and Concert by Elton John (see below)

I would say the most amazing thing about this experience to me was the focus on a single brand. The speakers talked about the McDonald’s brand experience and what is being done to preserve and extend it. The exhibits were all about improving the brand. The concerts and contests celebrated the brand. It was remarkable the degree to which there is alignment globally about the brand. No wonder McDonald’s is doing well!

Randal Birkey
Managing Director
Headstand Media

About McDonald's - New Parents Section

Working with our counterparts at McDonald’s Corporation in Oakbrook, IL, we recently completed and launched a new segment for AboutMcDonalds.com, McDonald’s Corporate website. This new Parents section provides parents with all kinds of useful information about nutrition, health, and McDonald’s initiatives for kids.

An updated site navigation was also part of the launch, featuring some integrated social media icons that will allow users to easily connect to McDonald’s via Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr.

The new AboutMcDonalds.com Parents section is yet another website solution built with Day Software’s Communique (CQ) technology. Headstand Media is a Day Software Professional Partner and has been working with Day technology for several years.