ArcStone Spotlight: Jerod Greenisen

Jerod Greenisen

Title: Digital Strategist 

Start date: August 2016

Forward thinking. I went to the University of Minnesota for political science and journalism, and I got my start in 2012 working on the campaign for Barack Obama. That’s how I got my foot in the door with digital strategy and using different communication methods to push awareness and engage with people. I noticed how much of an impact we were making with our digital strategy, and I got really into our email campaigns and social media.

Tune in. After the campaign, I went to Radio K, the U of M campus radio station, and worked there as the digital producer and interned at Frist Avenue downtown. It was so much fun! Radio K has a new band or more in every week for a live performance, and I got to go to a ton of shows around town. I worked with 20 podcasts, making sure they were sticking to guidelines and uploading their content, and social media. I helped volunteers with their broadcasts, promoted the website and started a few video initiatives. I failed a lot here, learned a ton, and had a great time. 

Breaking news.  As I continued to DJ at KUOM, I took on a new challenge at the U of M newspaper, the MN Daily, and worked as a front end developer. Within a few months, I ended up taking on the Department Manager role. It was fun to start off as a front end developer in design and production and to take the helm of the technical vision, steering a massive organization with over 100 years of history through an infrustructure redesign.

Learning by accident. I got in a bike accident in May of 2016. I had graduated, and I was working at Surly Brewing Company as a professional beer snob. I was on my way to work and got hit by a bus. 

I knew I was going to be at home sitting on my butt, and I thought, “I could probably sit here and watch Netflix for four months and hang out, or I could really focus and live in a bubble and learn something. So I listened to podcasts and bought books and I read as much as I could. I took some online courses. I took my freelance knowledge, which was practical and project-based, and expanded on that. When I ready to get back to 'work' I realized I had wide set of skills ranging from media production, web development, design, and user experience. I thought an agency sounded perfect.

Before and after. Before ArcStone, I didn't have a ton of applied experience with the more complex aspects of web marketing. Since I’ve started here, I‘ve gained a lot more specialized experience meeting business objectives through strategic design and online marketing. It's been great to learn so much about our clients and their industries. Since starting I feel I know so much more about lawyers, healthcare, and even networking IT. It's been a great leap from one-off web design projects.

I've been on this path of discovery – I've always been curious – understanding the internet has been a rewarding direction. People often ask, so you studied political science, why are you working at a digital agency? It all fits together; just like how I got started on Obama's campaign in 2012. My civic passion carries through in the work that I do, whether it's better web design that works to help people, effective marketing that can connect people together around an imporant issue, or helping businesses reach their mission– it all makes the world a better place.