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Upcoming Speaking Engagements
September 28, 2011
Jason Mlicki, President and Lead Strategist for the service branding agency, Mlicki, will be a featured speaker at the following upcoming events:
DMA: 2011
Boston, MA
10/5
Topic: Keys to Innovation in Direct Marketing
Jason is co-presenting with Tom Foti, Manager of Marketing Mail at the USPS.
http://www.dma11.org/
IABC Professional Development Mini-Conference
Columbus, OH
11/4
Topic: Internal Branding - Creating Brand Advocates "Inside the Walls"
http://columbus.iabc.com/upcoming-events/
Columbus Chamber Small Business Forum
Columbus, OH
11/15
Topic: How Internal Branding Drives Profitability
http://www.columbus.org/member-center/events/?id=197
We hope you can join us.
Janova Takes Pain of Software Testing, Spreads it Across Cloud for Clients
August 3, 2011
As more businesses of all sizes offer customer interaction online or move business processes there, the many frustrating problems that make those websites stop working has created a business opportunity for a Central Ohio information technology veteran.
“Anything that you bring up in a browser is what we test,” said Jeff Lusenhop, CEO of New Albany-based Janova, which started with a test run in September and publicly launched in April.
Janova has grown to 35 staffers with plans to hire at least 100 more over the next three years. The company this summer was approved for Ohio tax credits that would be worth up to $1.3 million to Janova over six years if it adds all 100 jobs for $10 million in additional annual payroll over the current $2 million. It also has been offered about $100,000 in assistance from New Albany.
Testing, testing
Lusenhop, a consultant for the past 12 years after IT executive positions with NCR Corp., AT&T Inc. and Columbus-basedNationwide Mutual Insurance Co., created the company because customers at his former generalist IT consulting practice kept coming to him with the same type of problem: They’d rewrite one section of software powering a website, and a function elsewhere would stop working. To prevent it, they need to do what’s called regression testing: Launching the program and testing all its features to see where bugs crop up.
“The tools that did that before were pretty clunky and not very automated,” said Ron Savoia, CEO of Stratus Innovations Group, a New Albany cloud computing consultant. The scripts need to be written by highly paid and hard-to-find software developers, who have to be hired on a temporary basis or kept on staff even when not needed, he said. Plus the testing consumes dozens of hours of computer processing time.
Savoia has known Lusenhop since the late 1990s, when Savoia was with Microsoft Corp. and trying to sell its products to Nationwide. Now he refers clients to Janova.
“It really simplifies and decreases the time to do this,” Savoia said.
Janova allows customers to write test parameters in plain English – such as, “When I enter a ZIP code, the site should return a correct list of our agents in that ZIP code” – and Janova’s programmers translate that into code for the test.
Janova then divides the work up in batches and runs them concurrently in Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud network, an Internet-based computing power not tied to any one bank of servers. For one client, Janova runs 93 hours’ worth of testing daily in 3 hours and 45 minutes.
“You can do whatever else is on your plate and we’re running the test in the cloud,” Lusenhop said.
The results returned to the customer show exactly where in the testing a feature was buggy, and can show the error messages that appear, but do not suggest specific fixes to the underlying coding.
Janova’s software was developed by Powell-based EdgeCase LLC, which specializes in Ruby, the programming language behind online powerhouses such as Groupon and Twitter.
Software as service
Another selling point for Janova is customers no longer need dedicated hardware for tests.
“We can offer a price point that’s lower because we don’t have a reserve that’s sitting idle,” Lusenhop said.
Janova charges a flat monthly fee, usually $10 to $25 per user with custom fees for high-volume clients like the unnamed 93-hour company. Customers include software developers, IT consultants and cloud-service providers that bundle in the Janova product.
“They’ve taken a very user-friendly approach to solving that problem and they’re doing it as a software-as-a-service model,” said Chris Anderson, TechColumbus director of venture development and also its on-site consultant for New Albany businesses. “You see a lot more businesses going that way.”
“Just watching what they do, I think they’ve got some great potential,” said Kevin Hiser, president of Columbus tech startup development company QStart Labs. “For organizations that have on-and-off testing needs ... you don’t have to build a three-person team of highly technical people.”
But because testing has been expensive and time-consuming, many companies have learned to live without it, Savoia said, which could be “hamstringing” Janova’s market prospects for now.
“(Those companies’) customers do their software testing for them, which isn’t a good thing to do,” he said. “They’re definitely coming around.”
Lusenhop said Janova will start testing desktop applications by year’s end and move into the mobile market next year.
See the article in Columbus Business First here.
Janova Selected as a Red Herring Top 100 North America Tech Startup
June 17, 2011
Janova Selected as a Red Herring Top 100 North America Tech Startup
Janova Named to List From Hundreds of Candidates for Its Vision, Drive and Innovation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 16, 2011 – Red Herring announced its Top 100 award in recognition of the leading private companies from North America, celebrating these startups’ innovations and technologies across their respective industries.
Red Herring’s Top 100 North America list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors were among the first to recognize that companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, Skype, Salesforce.com, YouTube, and eBay would change the way we live and work.
“Choosing the companies with the strongest potential was by no means a small feat,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “After rigorous contemplation and discussion, we narrowed our list down from hundreds of candidates from across North America to the Top 100 Winners. We believe Janova embodies the vision, drive and innovation that define a successful entrepreneurial venture. Janova should be proud of its accomplishment, as the competition was very strong.”
“Janova is honored to be selected as a Red Herring Top 100 North America winner,” said Jeff Lusenhop, founder and chief executive officer, Janova. “This recognition from Red Herring further validates Janova’s vision and innovation. Our revolutionary technology is changing the software testing industry as we know it, and for others to recognize and celebrate that achievement is humbling.”
Red Herring’s editorial staff evaluated the companies on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, technology innovation, management quality, strategy, and market penetration. This assessment of potential is complemented by a review of the track record and standing of startups relative to their sector peers, allowing Red Herring to see past the “buzz” and make the list a valuable instrument of discovery and advocacy for the most promising new business models in North America.
About Janova
Janova is a provider of web-based automated software testing solutions designed to streamline the often cumbersome task of software development and implementation. Janova’s solutions are based on years of experience consulting with companies who struggled to find an efficient way to test software. Leveraging the power of the cloud, Janova’s solutions are English-based and easy to implement, with no equipment investment and nothing to download. Janova requires no long-term commitment and offers free support with packages available to fit any size organization, from a single user up to the enterprise. Janova is privately held with headquarters in New Albany, Ohio. For more information, to view a demo or sign up for a free 15-day trial, please visit www.janova.us.
Read the article in PRLog
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Wins The First Ever MAIL Award
May 3, 2011
This week, Mlicki was recognized as the winner of the first ever MAIL Awards. The program, sponsored by Deliver Magazine, recognizes the best direct marketing program in the country. Criteria for the award included innovation, creativity, and business outcomes.
Mlicki was recognized for our 2010 product launch campaign with Gorman Rupp, coined "The Blue Octo." The four month long campaign combined social media, email marketing, print advertising, online videos, a microsite and direct mail to introduce a new line of submersible pumps.
Jason Mlicki traveled to San Diego to accept the award at the National Postal Forum, an event sponsored by the USPS. The National Postal Forum brings together many of the country's largest direct marketers and mail service providers for a dialogue on innovation in direct marketing, new technologies changing the industry, and changes at the USPS to enhance its relationship with the many businesses that use the mail for marketing and shipping. Jason also spoke in a break out session on the topic of, "Innovation in Direct Mail." The campaign will be featured in the August issue of Deliver magazine, and the article is now available online at http://www.delivermagazine.com/2011/08/mlicki-lands-a-whale-of-an-award-with-blue-octo-campaign/ .
View a short video highlighting the integrated campaign.
Mlicki is Recognized Twice Among the 2011 REBRAND 100 Global Awards Winners
February 25, 2011
Janova and Mlicki were named two of the world's most effective rebrands in the seventh annual REBRAND 100 Global Awards. This prestigious accolade is the highest recognition for excellence in brand repositioning, and is the first and only global program of its kind. Mlicki's rebrand of Janova lead the company through renaming, repositioning and rebranding. The company has grown from 5 employees to over 30 in 12 months and plans to acquire over 25,000 customers by 12/31/2011. Mlicki was also recognized for the rebranding of its own internal workspace, earning a second REBRAND 100 Global Award. The agency workspace has been recognized in publications locally, regionally, nationally and now internationally.
"There's been some great work over the past months, and it wasn't an easy task to shortlist the showcase projects," said Sajag Patel, Managing Director and Principal Creative, Breathe Branding in United Arab Emirates and 2011 juror. To select winners, a new, international panel of multidisciplinary experts convenes yearly to review the best of the submissions. They consider "before" and "after" representations of brand transformations with written summaries.
Emphasis was on executed strategy that made an emotional connection, and met the stated objectives and needs of the identified customers and prospects. Jurors were unaware of the brand strategists' name and size when reviewing the projects. Consequently, a small consulting firm had as much opportunity to be selected as did global organizations with exponentially greater budgets.
Over 32 industries and 34 countries are represented among the 2011 winners. They ranged from Australian Diabetes Council to luxury car brand, Audi, United States Mint, Brazil's Grupo Boticario, and Amrop, a Belgium-based global search firm. Some of the competing branding consultants included FutureBrand, Interbrand, MetaDesign, Siegel+Gale, in addition to in-house teams, small agencies, and representatives of multinational corporations and non-profits.
Some 2011 jurors included Marty Neumeier, Director of Transformation, Liquid Agency and author of Zag and The Designful Company; Fred Gelli, Creative Director and Partner, Tatil Design de Ideias in Brazil; Janelle James, Vice President, Account Director, Leo Burnett Worldwide; Chris Butler, Vice President, Newfangled; and Inese Silina of Nike Golf Global Brand Design.
About REBRAND and the REBRAND 100 Global Awards:
REBRAND is the world's leading resource for effective brand transformations. The REBRAND 100 Global Awards is the first and most respected recognition for repositioned brands. Featured in such media as The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money, Bloomberg Businessweek, various magazines and books, the annual competition has entry deadlines in late September. The full 2011 winners showcase is at www.rebrand.com.
View the 2011 REBRAND 100 Global Awards Showcase
Jason Mlicki and John Randle Speak at SMPS
February 15, 2011
Jason Mlicki and John Randle spoke to 30 marketing and business development professionals from the A/E/C community today at the Marketing Idea Exchange hosted by the Society for Marketing Professional Services. The topic of discussion was improving the proposal development process. Jason spoke about the role of the proposal in the overall business development process while John shared insights on how to design a proposal that stands out from the crowd. Kimberly Kaylor of Constructive Communications joined us to talk about best practices for proposal writing. Thank you to SMPS Columbus for hosting the event.
Learn More About SMPS
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Adds Managing Director
January 28, 2011
In late 2010, Mlicki welcomed Jon Quinn aboard as our Managing Director. In this newly created role, Jon will act as a senior client contact and will manage daily operations for the agency. We're excited to welcome him to our team. He brings a strong client and agency-side background in research and analysis, client service and marketing communications. His brand strategy experience spans multiple industries including restaurant, retail, airlines, telecommunications, insurance and financial services. Jon received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon and his M.S. in Marketing from Penn State University.
Mlicki office wins Merit Award in Architectural Design from AIA Columbus
November 3, 2010
This past Friday, our office was recognized for its architectural design winning the Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects' Columbus Chapter. We were one of 10 2010 Design Award winners, included six honor awardees, and four Merit awardees. The architect, Columbus-based Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design, received high praise from AIA for its exemplary work with redesigning the Mlicki office work space.
"The architect achieves an exciting transformation of two traditional residential structures into one expressive of a contemporary graphic design practice," says Jay Chatterjee, former dean of the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati and Design Award juror.
Read feature in The Metropreneur Columbus
Mlicki Client, Milton, Featured on "The Metropreneur Columbus"
September 17, 2010
Metropreneur recently interviewed Eric Ralph, founder of Milton, on his experiences launching a new brand. The author, Melanie McIntyre, describes Milton as "an efficient personal assistance." Eric goes on to describe the ups and downs of launching an entrepreneurial venture and all the resources (including the branding agency, Mlicki) that helped him along the way. Our very own Mlicki workspace even gets a nod. Congratulations Eric.
Columbus-based branding agency, Mlicki, partnered with Milton in brand strategy and identity development, corporate website and product usability design.
Read Metropreneur Article on Milton
Mlicki Client, Milton, Featured in Entrepreneur Magazine
August 24, 2010
Chicago-based technology writer, Jason Ankeny featured Mlicki client, Milton, in the September issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. In fact, he coined Milton "your management guru."
The article describes Milton as "a virtual office manager for small businesses in need of supervision." It goes on to describe the integrated nature of the application -- which, for the first time ever, combines contacts, projects and finances in one place while specifically tailoring its use for small, service-based business.
Columbus-based branding agency, Mlicki, partnered with Milton in brand strategy and identity development, corporate website and product usability design.
Read Entrepreneur Magazine Article
Mlicki Sponsoring Panel Discussion: Leading in the New Normal
August 19, 2010
On September 23rd, 2010, Mlicki, in partnership with Sequent and Definity Partners, will present an exclusive event for Columbus top executives: Leading in the New Normal.
Please join us at Sequent for an interactive panel discussion of leading B2B executives from service and manufacturing industries. We'll discuss how the "New Normal" has forced changes within companies, their partners and their clients. Our panelists include Greg DiFrank, President of River Consulting; Dan Rogovin, President of US Bridge; and Rusty Thompson, President and CEO of Evans Adhesives.
This event is invite-only and space is limited. If you would like to attend please call Amy Johnson for details at 614.486.0286.
More Information on Panel: Leading in the New Normal
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Partners with IMS
August 13, 2010
Mlicki is excited to announce its recent partnership with the Initiative for Managing Service (IMS). IMS was launched in 2004 by the Fisher College of Business to address the increasing importance of services issues in today's business environment. IMS is well on its way to being a global thought leader in services management, and Mlicki is excited to become a part of its select group of 22 member companies, which include Cardinal Health, Nationwide, NetJets, Resource Interactive, and Scotts among others.
IMS supports student education in services management and funds a variety of research programs and events aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of service delivery in organizations of all types and sizes.
As a nationally-recognized leader in branding service-based organizations, we're confident that the insights shared through IMS will be valuable tools in helping our clients enhance the quality of their service experience towards building more distinct, more compelling brands.
As a member organization, Jason Mlicki joins the IMS Advisory Board.
Learn More About the Initiative For Managing Service
Mlicki Client, Janova, Featured in New Albany News
August 9, 2010
Jeff Lusenhop, founder of Janova, was recently featured in New Albany News. We know Jeff as a visionary leader with the insight to create a truly innovative product. Janova is a revolutionary plain-English, web-based, automated software testing tool which allows for users to quickly and efficiently create and communicate changes in development while eliminating error.
We are thrilled to be chosen as Janova's branding agency. Over the past eight months, Mlicki has led the former Arc Consultants in a comprehensive rebranding and repositioning initiative, transitioning the organization from an IT consulting firm to a software business. Mlicki partnered with the firm to establish a new brand identity and marketing plan, resulting in the renaming of Arc to Janova. In addition to developing an extensive brand strategy, Mlicki also designed the new Janova website. The recently launched site provides for dynamic content management and e-commerce functionality while informing users about Janova products and services.
Pre-register for Janova at www.janova.us and you will be automatically entered to win a free iPad.
Read Full Article on the Janova Brand Launch Here
Re-Energize Your Marketing Plan with Branding Agency, Mlicki
July 27, 2010
While the worst of the recession may be over, its effects may have lasting change on buyer behaviors, decision-making processes and customer motivations. Join Jason Mlicki on July 27 for a half-day Summer Camp Seminar with Business First geared for business-to-business and service marketers. Jason will offer insight and guidance for navigating the New Normal. Mlicki is sponsoring the event.
Additional speakers include Jim Competti, Director of Marketing for Commercial Works, Inc. and Barbara Beardsley from the Columbus Metropolitan Library. Jim will share his experiences over the past year as he and many other marketing professionals and marketing departments have been asked to do more with less. Barbara will share a host of resources for marketers including books, periodicals, websites, programs, professional organizations, blogs and much more.
Cost to attend is $99 and includes lunch and a one-year subscription to Columbus Business First. Click on the link below for additional details and registration information. Alternatively, contact Melissa Price at 614.220.5436 or mprice@bizjournals.com to request an invoice.
Register for branding and marketing seminar
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Wins National Gold ADDY Award
June 14, 2010
Saturday night marked the culmination of the 2010 ADDY Awards, and Mlicki was proud to stand next to some of the largest advertising agencies in the world as a Gold ADDY Award winner. The National ADDYs draw over 60,000 entries from across the country, but less than 100 win Gold. In fact, in the last 10 years only a handful of Columbus-based agencies have shared such an honor. John Randle and Jason Mlicki attended the event in Orlando to collect the hardware. Mlicki collected a Gold ADDY for its work on the Mlicki brand environment -- a creative expression of the agency's philosophy on building authentic stand out brands.
Visit ADDY awards site with Mlicki environmental branding program
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Wins Regional ADDY Award
April 6, 2010
Mlicki won a Gold ADDY in the American Advertising Federation's Fifth District ADDY awards for environmental branding at the Mlicki workspace. The Fifth District is the second tier of the ADDYs competition. The contest consisted of 465 pieces in more than 75 categories from 10 cities in the three-state district (Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky). 32 Gold ADDYs were awarded and only 7 of them went to Columbus-based agencies. The Mlicki environmental branding program will now compete in the national ADDYs competition to be considered as some of the very best creative in the world.
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Wins Judge's Choice. Again.
February 26, 2010
For the second year in a row, Mlicki won a Judge's Choice Award at the 2009 Columbus ADDYs for the environmental branding work we did within our new space. In a show where only the best of the best is recognized for their contribution to the central Ohio creative community, it was both exciting and humbling to be chosen as the recipient of this award. In addition, Mlicki won 1 Gold and 3 Silver ADDY awards for its package design work for Plucker's Pick Tea, as well as the new Mlicki corporate website redesign and other self promotional items.
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Featured in HOW Magazine
October 11, 2009
By Jessica Kuhn
For Mlicki, the space is a reconciliation of the team's philosophy with their daily lives. "Great brands are built from within with equal parts of honesty and relevancy. In the end, they stand out by defining their own belief system and expressing a unique personality only they can own. Our building packages all of that thinking in one physical form," says Jason Mlicki, the company's president.
Download HOW magazine PDF featuring the branding agency, Mlicki
Mlicki Environmental Branding Featured in CMH Magazine
September 22, 2009
By Jonathan Barnes
Creative-for-creative (C4C) relationships are a lot like their better known cousin, business-to-business (B2B) relationships. C4C relationships offer something a little different - namely the potential for greater creativity, innovation and fireworks. C4C springs from mutual understanding, language and goals beyond making money and deals.
Read full article about Mlicki environmental branding.
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Featured in "Best of the Brag Room"
April 27, 2009
This direct mail piece introduced to the laboratory segment a new product that featured unparalleled ease of use and trademarked One Click functionality. The campaign, a follow-on to a previous product launch, used subtle humor to create awareness. Titled "One Click Wonders," the mailer was sent in a silver glamour envelope with the cover phrase "What if everything was this easy?" Playful illustrations demonstrated life's daily tasks performed with One Click functionality - filling your gas tank, feeding your dog, building your body and, of course, performing complex lab tests - and created instant buzz and product awareness.
Read full article about direct mail program developed by Mlicki.
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Featured in Deliver Magazine
April 27, 2009
By Phaedra Hise
Business-to-business campaigns are sometimes accused of taking themselves too seriously in their marketing pieces, pontificating about mission statements, intoning about the extraordinariness of product features or congratulating themselves for winning largely obscure industry awards.
Jason Mlicki just wants them to lighten up. President of the eponymous Mlicki, the marketing veteran and his shop have garnered a well-deserved reputation for creating whimsical, sometimes edgy direct marketing campaigns that knock the stuffiness out of B-to-B traditionalism. Campaigns for its clients and itself are as unpredictable as they are effective, the pieces leveraging everything from nostalgic touchstones like a vintage toy picture viewer to startling imagery of circus clowns to old-school, fuzzy rearview mirror dice...
Read about the branding agency, Mlicki, in Deliver Magazine
Branding Agency, Mlicki, Grabs Judge's Choice
April 27, 2009
Last night, Mlicki won one of three Judge's Choice Awards at the 2008 Columbus ADDYs for its work with Max The Salon, a Charles Penzone Brand. John Randle, Creative Director, described the Judge's Choice as "a great honor. We're very proud of the work we do with all our clients. But, it's really special for one of our programs to be selected among the very best, in a show with over 500 entries."
In total, Mlicki won 4 ADDY Awards for creative developed last year both with Max The Salon and Avizent. Our work was selected across a variety of disciplines including advertising, environmental branding and brand identity.
Read full article about Mlicki ADDY awards
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