GROW / Blog

To encourage the community to vote in our city council elections, Grow jumped aboard an ice cream truck and handed out free ice cream to voters. Nothing says democracy like the choice of chocolate or vanilla!

We’re anxiously waiting for Norfolk to finalize plans for a large hotel on one of the most prominent corners of downtown. In the meantime, we’ve been working with a group of volunteers throughout the city to create a temporary park to hold the place for what will one day be a grand addition to Norfolk’s skyline. The committee of volunteers has been corralled by Downtown Norfolk Council and our friends at Work Program Architects have inspired us all with their incredible vision and dedication to make The Plot something the community will treasure.

The Plot is being constructed using reclaimed materials from throughout the city and is relying almost entirely on volunteer efforts. Grow has designed the signage package and we will be shutting down our office on May 25th to get our hands dirty installing all of the signs on-site. Our employees are excited to help out the community and to experience a little change in pace from our normal routine.

This project is rapidly progressing and should be ready for the community to enjoy the first week of June. However, there’s still lots of work to be done and we can use any help you can give! A large Volunteer Weekend is scheduled for May 4th – 6th. People are needed to build benches, paint planters, move cobblestones and more. If you or anyone you know can help, please contact The Plot via Facebook and someone will get back to you shortly.

Don’t forget to “like” The Plot’s Facebook page, for more information and to keep up with the progress!

From the outset of our company, we made it our goal to never do the same thing twice. In addition to helping keep our clients thinking about us for their most inventive projects, the diversity of work is something that our team members enjoy most about working at Grow. As a result, we have a portfolio of work that runs the gamut of creativity and technology, identifying us as innovators amongst our clients and contemporaries, and consistently positioning our team to do their most amazing work.

No year better represented how we realize this goal than 2011.

We began the year by creating an interactive, live action video experience in “Shaun White’s Driving Upgrade”. Users follow Shaun as BFGoodrich Tires put him through a performance driving gauntlet. The experience features multiple chapters of video episodes, within which users can unlock content like exclusive videos, games and interactive experiences.

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We’ve recently picked up several company bikes, encouraging employees to ride any time to meetings, meals, or simply take an afternoon ride. The bikes are cutting down on the need for our automobiles during the day which makes Grow and the Earth happy. Customizing the bikes was a joy, too, with Republic’s 3D bike shop—a perfect marriage of digital and customized manufacturing technology.

With the addition of the new bikes, it also makes it easier for our employees to turn to public transportation to get to and from work each day. So much so, that we’ve adopted a new transportation program. We now pay our employees to come to work by any means except a car—be that on Norfolk’s new light rail, bus systems, carpooling, biking or walking. The money we would normally spend on a parking pass is refunded to the employee on each paycheck. Everyone wins. So far, about a third of our employees are taking advantage of these alternate forms of transportation.

We’re currently working with city leaders to improve the viability of public transportation systems, increase bikeability throughout Norfolk, and encourage a bike share program. Speaking of which… HRT, how about a viable and cost-appropriate solution for small businesses to take advantage of GoPasses?

Last summer, Grow was chosen as one of 80 top interactive agencies from 27 countries to be part of the FWAwebTV project. For one hour per week, agencies across the globe broadcast a live video stream from their offices, leading to some extremely creative, inspiring and down right hilarious results. While the project has now evolved away from the live feed, we thought it would be nice to recap and share some of our favorite live moments. Grow’s escapades ranged from a full-on live rock show in our kitchen, to the tail-curlin’ “Pug Cam”, hosted by our very own Eegor Parker.

Here’s some highlights from our summer vacation (albeit only for an hour):

Louis Fisher’s Social Dance-A-Thon saw self-proclaimed illustrator, writer, graphic designer, and oh yeah, wunderkind dancer Louis Fisher tackle 35 user submitted dances. For 60 straight minutes, Louis cut rug to popular dances like “The Dougie”, “Thriller”, “Flashdance”, and the staff approved “Dance Up On Drew.”

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