 |
||||||||||||||
jo&co BeginningsWhat has now been termed the "Airport Story" essentially liberated many qualified professionals to take control of their work and home life by "My Sizing" their careers. It was Jennifer J. Johnson's story. After an almost disastrous attempt to hand off her children to her traveler husband at the Salt Lake City airport before running to another terminal to catch her own flight, she decided that she had to make a change. Although she was certainly qualified for her marketing executive position with Novell, Inc., the demands of travel, long hours and a strenuous commute were not qualified for her life. With a leap of faith, she started Johnson & Company, The Virtual Agency™ (jo&co), in June of 1997. Not only did Johnson, principal and senior marketing strategist for jo&co, have an extensive blend of corporate (Novell) and agency (Dahlin, Smith, White) experience, she also had a unique talent for finding qualified people to help service her clients. In a pioneering effort, she gathered together several home-based individuals and began a new kind of full-service, PR and marketing agency. Top. Trying to understand the concept of The Virtual Agency may be difficult for some. But simply put, it is working "anytime, anyplace, any way, at any pace" Jennifer J. Johnson discovered many individuals who were highly qualified, yet opting out of Corporate America to dedicate more time to family, personal interests and other life priorities. She pooled these professionals from diverse marketing and public relations backgrounds into a team of highly motivated employees ready to hit the ground running with their experience. "If you are highly talented, skilled, and intelligent, you are the architect of not only your career, but also your life, " Johnson says. "We call our idea 'My-Sizing,' just like you would do with your meal at McDonald's. You should put the things most important first, then get the 'small fry' for work. The highly talented will no longer operate with their job as the center priority of their life." Top. Johnson & Company AssociatesWhile they have various experience and background, these individuals do have one thing in common. They want flexible schedules to take care of their family or personal needs, while maintaining their professional status. That means that they are still doing, or even in some cases, start doing high-stakes marketing and public relations work and are able to raise a family, snowboard in fresh powder or pursue a hobby that would otherwise be difficult. Top. Johnson & Company associates are located from coast-to-coast in many of the country's top technology media centers. They work hours of their own choosing. They don't commute to work, in fact, they just walk to an office in their house. However, their home-based status by no means makes them isolated. They have constant interaction with clients or associates who share the same account. They have periodic meetings as an agency, either by phone or in person. They have retreats where associates get to meet face-to-face and share ideas. "This is really about paying tribute to the new code of work," says Johnson. "For me, that means treating the agency talent as customers. I try to be as flexible as possible to accommodate people's lives." According to Johnson, one of the most important parts of this agency model is that virtual employees at Johnson & Company aren't doing trivial PR tasks just because they work at home. "Our associates are doing high-stakes PR work, like talking with major national media, launching new e-business companies, and orchestrating important analyst tours. Top. Strategic PartnershipsAlthough Johnson & Company began its focus on the high technology training, education and knowledge management markets, it has since launched strategic partnerships with large bricks-and-mortar agencies with heavy rosters of growing technology startups and dot-coms. Our clients have included Niehaus Ryan Wong, Blain Olsen White Gurr Advertising and Benjamin Group. In one of its inaugural projects for NRW, jo&co secured 60 percent more appointments than expected. This analyst tour for NRW PR client Documentum, Inc. allowed it to forge new relationships with e-business and Web content analysts and facilitated Documentum's business expansion into these areas. In addition to strategic partnerships, Johnson & Company still focuses on client relationships like Astrocenter.com and Helius and is always looking for talented individuals with experience in the marketing and public relations field who want to "My-size" their career. For more information about how to become a part of the jo&co team, visit the jo&co "Want Ads" for an online job interview. Top.
|
