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Grotto Communications, Inc., Evanston, IL

BLOG: The Grotto Weblog

15 June 2007
Pro Cycling Comes to Downtown Evanston
The Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Grand Prix of Cycling will transform downtown Evanston into a sporting festival on Sunday, July 22, 2007. Grotto Communications is proud partner with The Turin Bicycling Society for this momentous — and fun! — event.

22 May 2007
Dog Trainer Emphasizes Gentle Approach on New Web Site
Chicago area dog trainers, kona's touch, premiers it's newly remodeled web site. Designed by Grotto, find tips and pix for dog lovers.

27 April 2007
Jim Marsh Selected as President-Elect of the Evanston Chamber
Grotto Communications is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Marsh as President-Elect for the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. After two years on the board and as a founder and driving force behind the Young Professionals of Evanston network, Jim is looking forward to partnering with this year's ECC President Don Huff of Merrill Lynch.

22 March 2007
Give Thanks or Give Cash on World Water Day
Our modern water systems provide most Americans with a seemingly endless supply of fresh, clean hydration. But many parts of the globe still do not have the infrastructure to support this basic need. PlayPumps International created a remarkably innovative system to address the problem in rural Africa: Merry-go-rounds! Kids not only clamour over a great toy at recess, but their spinning pumps clean water from an underground tank. Check it out for a marvel in creativity or to make a donation.

15 March 2007
Grotto Reviews Web Sites for Evanston Business Owners
Jim Marsh and Kim Pierceall take their popular program — "Is Your Web Site Effective? How to Strengthen Your Web Presence" — to the Evanston Chamber of Commerce Home-Based Business Network luncheon.

15 February 2007
Kim Pierceall Presents Web Tips for Women Entrepreneurs
Grotto founder and prez Kim Pierceall joins the West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs and hosts an interactive presentation, "Is Your Web Site Effective? How to Strengthen Your Web Presence."

23 January 2007
Welcome Health Traditions to the Web
Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist Stephen Bonzak's Health Traditions premiers his web site this month. Stephen bridges the gap between modern American medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine through research and collaborative efforts with major health sciences centers throughout the Chicago area.

19 December 2006
Keep an Eye on This New Boutique
Evanston welcomes a new optical expert to town. Check out the state-of-the-art facilities and gorgeous designer frames at Dr. Fakhoury's Lakeside Eye Care and Eye Wear Emporium in Sherman Plaza. (Another web design by Grotto!)

7 December 2006
Wellesley Group Site Debuts
Congratulations to The Wellesley Group on launching their web presence this month. Their executive search services benefit many diverse industries across the U.S.

25 August 2006
Grotto Goes Global
Once in a while, we get a chance to do something extra lovely. Nancy Floy, director and owner of Heartwood center for body mind spirit (another happy Grotto client), asked us to help her promote Snow Yak. She'll be providing health care services and medicine for this organization of Tibetan youth who are gathering resources to assist fellow refugees. Check out the petite Snow Yak web site we created for them and watch for updates in the coming months.

20 July 2006
Do You Need to Get Buzz-Whacked?
At Grotto, we love words. Word play, ruthless punning and (hopefully) elegant, true communication. We like to be hip to the latest craze, in part to suss out the useful from the ludicrous. BuzzWhack: The Buzzword Compliant Dictionary helps keep our evolving business language in perspective. If your marketing copy includes lots of these words, it may be time to rethink your messaging.

6 July 2006
Sauganash Wellness Center Cracks Open HQ, Web Site
Warm wishes to Dr. Deanna Minkler, Elizabeth Coye-Monte and Rachel Shaffer on opening their new chiropractic and massage therapy center in Chicago. Be sure to check out events on their new web site; they've got friends in sporty places!

24 June 2006
Save the World One Design at a Time
Intriuging ideas for a sustainable planet. This pretty blog features new products and designs to inspire, educate or dress up your home: Inhabitat.

15 June 2006
Area Fairs Feature Home Restoration Company
Visit the Custer Street Festival or Andersonville's Midsommarfest this month (or the Dempster/Chicago Sidewalk Sale in July) and say "hi" to the folks at Superior Exteriors. We've been working with them on advertising and other marketing materials to get your attention. What do you think of their new banner and presentation book?

23 May 2006
Taking Up Residence on the Web: Beal Properties
Online, "bricks and mortar" usually refers to a store you can go to in-person versus shopping online. But Beal Properties deals with real bricks as property managers for some of Chicago's premier apartments. Check out the new web site Grotto helped them launch this spring.

24 January 2006
Welcome Roberta Stein PR to the web
Creating buzz takes connections and tenacity. Roberta Stein PR struts her stuff on the new web site we created for her. She can get you and your business the publicity you want, too.

18 January 2006
Metrist Partners rolls out shiny new web site
Our affiliate partner in web analytics—Metrist Partners — asked us to give their site a make-over to tie in with other promotional materials we developed in the fall. If you are clueless about web traffic and how to improve your user's experience with your site, you can't afford not to bring them in.

17 December 2005
Grotto Communications launches new logo and web site for writer Lucy Elam
Check out Lucy Elam's new web site where you can learn more about her medical and scientific writing and editing services. Be sure to check out some of her photos, too.

12 December 2005
A Unique Way to Make a Difference
Teens reach out to help with their own light-hearted spin. These great caped crusaders are heading for Mississippi.

15 November 2005
Jim and YPE featured on TV's Our Town Evanston
Watch for Jim on the Evanston's community station, Tuesday, Nov 29, at 7:30 pm and Saturday, December 3, at 1:00 pm. They're discussing what's new and exciting with Young Professionals of Evanston.

31 October 2005
Designing some agreements with Chuck Green
Hardly a science, designers and clients sometimes struggle with the rules of the road. Author and designer Green takes a stab at The Design Constitution. Good reminders included, but as the comments suggest, may not be manageable. You decide.

27 September 2005
The Human Organization web site debuts
Congrats to Dana Pearl and The Human Organization. The Grotto team designed and launched the site which describes the company's EEO training and consulting services.

15 August 2005
Young professionals sail to success at Milwaukee conference
Armed with new ideas and enthusiasm, Jim and fellow YPE colleagues Jill Norton of Jill Norton Photography and Ian Carswell of Dizpersion had rave reviews for the conference. Meanwhile, I've become captivated by the awesome souvenir from the Milwaukee Art Museum (scroll down on that page to see the animation). The art and interior are equally fantastic.

2 August 2005
Floods in Bombay threaten the future of MarketPlace artisans
Torrential rains recently devasted Mambai (formerly Bombay) and the cooperatives guided by MarketPlace: Handwork of India suffered terrible losses. Founder Pushpika Freitas sent us an urgent email requesting assistance. Grotto has been fortunate to provide MarketPlace with marketing help in the past. Now, we urge you to join us in contributing financial assistance to help them recover. See more at this web site.

26 July 2005
What's New and Blue?
Talk about taking a brand to the next level. The U.S. Open series announced a big change: Every court in this summer tennis spectacular will now be ... blue. Officials claim it improves visibility for players AND viewers. But clearly, it's a coup for marketers as this striking new look quickly becomes synonomous with this tournament. [Go Venus!]

22 July 2005
Welcome to the web: The Dinges Gang
Celebrating the arrival of its brand new web site, The Dinges Gang, Ltd., joins the ever-growing list of happy Grotto customers. Give them a ring when you need a communications consultancy to take on chewy public advocacy issues. In the meantime, check out Barnaby's blog for insights on the industry and Chicago at large.

12 July 2005
Congrats to Q4 Consulting on the new web site!
Grotto Communications is pleased to announce the launch of a new site we developed for business coach Dr. Chris Johnson of Q4 Consulting. We also designed the brand identity for the Oak Brook-based firm.

29 June 2005
Young Professionals of Evanston debuts
Check out this new networking and social group on the North Shore. Jim heads up Business + Talent issues for this sister organizaton of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce.

21 June 2005
Welcome to the new edition of our web site!
Just posted the site and looking forward to sharing new tips and enticing new clients to work with us. Let us know what you think!

15 June 2005
New Zealand columnist skewers major bank marketing campaign
Banking on you -- today, tomorrow, whatever
Aside from using some perhaps unfamiliar regional lingo, Tom Eaton jauntily takes issue with a new ad series. His premise: The corporation may have successfully trimmed their marketing budget, but seems to have ended up entrusting "its re-branding to a band of rhesus monkeys chained to typewriters and supervised by crack addicts." A cautionary tale.

13 June 2005
Rediscovering Mark Twain
Tripping westward for a family reunion meant seeking other fun to eliviate driving fatique. Our visit to Hannibal was a mellow delight with a chewy literary center. Did you know Twain penned a fictionalized, but deeply researched bio of Joan of Arc? It's lovely.

29 May 2005
Bike the Drive
Could be Jim's favorite day of the year. If you were peddling up Lakeshore Drive this morning and heard the announcer welcome someone from "Sunnydale, California," then Jim was near to you.

1 May 2005
Test driving new phone tech
Grotto HQ lept into a new age of telephony this spring. We're experimenting with a VoIP (voice over internet protocol) service from LINGO. Good price. Nice to get voice messages via email for handy storage. But the occasional dropped call is making me nervous. If you experience any odd phone thing when trying to contact us, do let us know. And, if you are interested in trying it for your business, holler. We can email you a discount coupon.

17 January 2005
Jim in the News!
The Daily Northwestern:
Self-employed share advice to take home
Commenting on the Home-Based Business Network of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, Jim and Tom Rath (the Chamber's marketing and membership director) describe some of the special qualities of the self-employed.

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