A Closer Look at Innova Ideas & Services

by cgooding on February 21, 2012

AMA Iowa takes a closer look at one of its sponsors, Innova Ideas & Services:

What does Innova do?
Innova provides complete creative and marketing services.  What does that mean, though?  Ultimately, we bring your brand out into the real world – where people can touch it, taste it, buy it, share it, feel it.  And we do it by whatever means possible.  Design a logo. Write a newsletter. Build a website. Throw a party. Post a tweet. Book an elephant. If we don’t do it yet, we will.

What’s the Innova story? 
Innova Ideas & Services began in 1998 as a spinoff of Sigler Printing, a longtime commercial printer in Ames, Iowa. Adding a creative services firm to an already successful print shop was the brainchild of Innova’s founder, Steve Cohen (the first of many great ideas!). He saw Innova as a way to better serve print clients who needed professional design, copywriting and marketing expertise. It was clearly a service in demand, and we quickly outgrew our first office – a conference table and a few phones. Today, we have a building in Ames and two offices in Des Moines.

Does Innova have a niche? A certain industry focus?
We really specialize in being the creative spark at the front end of a complete marketing supply chain. Thanks to our parent Sigler Companies, we can take an idea all the way from concept through to distribution. But we can also work as an extension of clients’ internal teams and outside vendors when necessary. We truly work across the board, but some of the more common sectors we serve include finance, insurance, ag, tech startups, education and non-profit.

What sets Innova apart from other agencies in the area?
It starts with our people. We hire bright, fun and passionate people who exhibit our corporate values of dedication, integrity, professionalism and positive behavior. Innova also benefits from a pretty casual, inspirational workspace. It’s conducive for energetic and highly productive brainstorming sessions, and also makes it easier to tackle those days – and sometimes nights – when deadlines come into play.

Where do you provide your services?
Innova is everywhere.  As we’ve grown in services, we’ve grown in geographic scope. Today, we can legitimately say Innova and Sigler Companies has an international presence. In the last year, we’ve logged miles to New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Lansing, Orlando, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Copenhagen, to name a few. Of course, we’re proud to do work for great places right here in Iowa, including Des Moines, Cedar Falls, Algona, Marshalltown, Carroll and more.

Anything else you’d like to add?
Innova’s always been fortunate to be a part of a thriving creative scene in central Iowa. We are also proud to support a number of area causes that are close to our heart, including Habitat for Humanity, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Variety the Children’s Charity, the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bras for the Cause and Free Clinics of Iowa.

How can people reach you to learn more or discuss a project?
Visit our website!

 

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Five reasons to join AMA Iowa

by dlund on February 17, 2012

Thinking about joining AMA Iowa? Or, are you already a member? As an AMA Iowa member, AMA International provides you with five resources that are available to you at no charge.

  1. Free webcasts and podcasts on topics ranging from “Driving Change with Creativity” to “Thinking Outside the Survey”, and many more.
  2. A variety of AMA publications—my two favorites are Marketing News and Multi-Channel Marketing.
  3. A marketing tool kit that includes Branding & Marketing Essentials, Social Media Essentials, and Website Development Essentials. There are over 40 reference materials, including social media templates, SEO maturity assessments, key marketing metrics dashboard, and many more. Several of them are also supported by how-to videos.
  4. Free AMA TV provides a variety of entertaining and informative short segments on industry news that covers a plethora of topics, such as Pandora’s marketing success to career tips.
  5. Access to AMA Access E-Newsletters, including B2B Marketing (monthly), Career Update (monthly), and Professional Development Digest (monthly). Subscribe to all or pick and choose an issue of interest to you.

If you’re already an AMA Iowa member, take a few minutes and get acquainted with the different AMA International tools and educational avenues available at your fingertips. These are in addition to the AMA Iowa Monthly Luncheons and special events. If you’re considering an AMA Iowa membership ($280 or less per year with discounts available for corporate group memberships), look at all the extra tools and resources available. The AMA International and AMA Iowa have exactly what you need for your next project, while also providing an opportunity for continued education and networking.

To find out more about AMA Iowa visit, www.amaiowa.com. To access the variety of resources AMA International offers, visit www.marketingpower.com.

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Q&A with AMA Iowa sponsor Garner Printing

February 15, 2012

Q: Could you give us a quick history lesson on Garner Printing? A: Garner Printing has been in business since 1927. We were a privately held company until 1996 when we were purchased by Consolidated Graphics. We have many in-house capabilities, including digital printing, offset printing, grand format printing (so we can serve the trade show [...]

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Social Media in Central Iowa: Share Your View

February 1, 2012

Please take a few minutes to complete the third annual survey on social media: https://bitly.com/dsm2012 By completing this social media survey, you help chart the evolution of these tools and their utility to Central Iowa organizations of all types and sizes. You are encouraged to participate even if you aren’t using social media tools, and [...]

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Quick Chat with Applied Art & Technology, AMA Iowa Sponsor

January 28, 2012

How long has Applied Art been in business? Applied Art & Technology was started in the fall of 1993 with the goal of “applying art to technology.” 1993 was a great time for technology. The World Wide Web was released by CERN, and the Macintosh computer was 9 years old, having developed into a capable [...]

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How to build a culture of innovation

January 24, 2012

Where are your next great ideas coming from?  What does it take for an organization to build and keep a culture of innovation?  Find out at the February 8, AMA Iowa Monthly Luncheon. Led by Glenn “The Idea Guy” Karwoski, this presentation will share the details of what it takes to become an innovative organization, [...]

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Marketing in the Experience Economy

January 18, 2012

What is the experience economy, and how does it impact you?  Find out at the Marketing in the Experience Economy Presentation & Interactive Workshop, co-hosted by AMA Iowa and the Drake University AMA Student Chapter, on Friday, Feb. 3. Today’s consumers want experiences—engaging events that create lasting memories.  During this interactive session, acclaimed author, speaker and [...]

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Sponsor Profile: Kelly Moore Consulting

January 11, 2012

The birth of Kelly Moore Consulting (KMC) came just a few months prior to the birth of owner Kelly Moore’s first child, now a first grader who will turn seven in the spring. Specializing in public relations and writing services, KMC is dedicated to helping business-to-business clients find their stories, which Moore notes often have [...]

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The Iowa State Fair coming to AMA Iowa

January 5, 2012

There’s more to the Iowa State Fair than fried food on a stick.  On Jan. 11, Des Moines marketers will learn what marketing channels and PR tactics drive more than 1 million people from all over the world to attend one of the most recognized state fairs when AMA Iowa hosts Lori Chappell, Marketing Director for the Iowa [...]

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How to Deliver Greater Marketing ROI

November 23, 2011

Asked to do more with less, today’s marketing professionals are more challenged than ever to drive revenue. On Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011, join AMA Iowa and learn how to deliver greater marketing return on investment (ROI) from author, researcher and professor Mark Jeffrey. The event promises to explain why data-driven marketing has emerged as the newest [...]

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