For many businesses, their website represents a frontier for them. Their facility is as big as it’s going to get for the time being, and they have as many employees as they can accommodate, but their website can convey directives and ambitions that go beyond the limits of their current facilities.
TAG Communications has made it a top priority to create websites for new Quad-Cities businesses. To achieve that objective, web projects are produced by TAG team members who specialize in the specific stages of developing websites. These websites will help the businesses to grow and meet the goals and ambitions of their company owners.
Don Farber, Chief Creative and Digital Officer, creates site maps for each website. He determines the different messages that need to be presented by the website and divides up the information accordingly.
Don shares the information with Brianna Roseman, Marketing & Communications Specialist, who then assigns writing projects to TAG Team copywriters. These experienced writers research the specified topics and provide the information that web visitors need to know.
Andy Erickson, Lead Web Developer, and Kevin Schuster, Front-End Web Developer, work to provide the online framework that will become the client’s website. Copy and graphics are added to the client websites. Plus, there is more to a website than just the visual content. Coding is added to enhance search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO makes it easier for search engines to find content on a website, so that more visitors will be drawn to the page.
Other professionals at TAG Communications create video to enhance the website, since sound and movement do much to add compelling messages. The addition of video can also be used with the company’s social media – another digital frontier that helps a company to grow.
TAG Communications is located at 230 East Second Street, Davenport, IA. For more information, visit www.tagteamagency.com or call 563-355-2200.
Don Farber, Chief Creative and Digital Officer
Throughout Don Farber’s career, his efforts have been focused on creativity and marketing expertise. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies/Advertising. With time, he has become well-versed at big-picture thinking and now offers 15-plus years of expertise in developing creative content, from conception to execution.
Don is skilled at managing multiple projects with accuracy and precision, along with providing strategic direction by utilizing exposure across an entire industry. Don enjoys the fast pace and variety of projects in his work. “No two days or clients are ever the same,” he said. “I’m always learning and always doing something new.”
Don is adept at managing complex website projects that require many different creators and client team members who must provide input. A recent project of such complexity was the Davenport Community School District website. “That project required multiple sites with multiple decision-makers,” he said. The completed website has proven to very popular, since it now includes many more features to make it more efficient and useful.
Don is experienced in branding, consultative sales, marketing and promotional campaigns, public speaking, operations management, talent acquisition, and customer retention. The job titles he has held over the years reads like a wish-list of creative jobs to which market students might aspire.
At TAG Communications, he has served as a Chief Creative and Digital Officer, Executive Vice President, Vice President of Digital Experience & Strategy, and Director of Web & Digital Services. At SNG Internet Innovations, LLC, he held the position of Vice President of Product Development & Marketing. At Lee Enterprises, he worked as Senior Product Manager and Online Director. At the Quad-City Times in Davenport, he moved from Senior Graphic Designer to Media Sales and Marketing Manager. Don has also served as a volunteer for causes that help children, including the HAVlife Foundation and Junior Achievement of the Heartland.
Being part of TAG Communications during its 30th Anniversary means much to Don. As the Internet grows more complex, his workplace requires more of his unique ability to embrace technology. He’s also understandably proud of the company’s longevity. “It’s great to be a part of something that has lasted 30 years in an industry where this does not always happen,” he said.
Andy Erickson, Lead Web Developer
Andy is always busy – whether he’s at work, developing a complex website, or spending time at home with his wife and three active children. Andy has worked in the position of Lead Web Developer at TAG Communications for nine years.
Andy studied Art and Biology at Monmouth College. He has worked at KLJB/KGCW and as a Senior Online Producer at Quad-City Times, among other positions. Over the years, he has developed a remarkable array of video/graphic/online skills. He has learned to design and develop interactive applications, and develop company and client websites. He has created Flash ads from concept to completion, and designed and scripted Flash interactive web applications. He has shot and edited video for multimedia use and created promotional and educational cartoons.
What does Andy like most about his job? “Developing a website is just like one big puzzle to me,” he said, “and I love using my skills and knowledge to solve these puzzles.” He has excelled at every digital communications format he has tried because he’s not one to give up. He enjoys his work, and it shows.
One recent project was especially memorable for him. “Working on the Davenport Community School District's website was a great project for me,” he said. “Not only was it a large-scale project, but all of my children go to school in that district. I felt I had more of a personal investment in the project. It was like I wasn't just helping the school district – I was helping all the kids throughout the district.”
He is especially excited to be working for TAG during its 30th Anniversary. “It's nice to be able to work for an agency that has become a staple in the Quad-Cities area for so many years,” he said. “I enjoy driving down the street and seeing businesses that either I've personally served or I know that TAG has served.”
Kevin Schuster, Front-End Web Developer
Kevin is a hard-working professional web designer and game developer with a passion for art and computer programming. He has worked as a front-end web developer at TAG for two years. Before that, he worked for more than eight years as a freelance web developer.
For 15 years, he has been the guiding force behind his own game development group, Toxin Games. In this role, he writes, designs, programs, and publishes video games for PC, Mac, and Linux, while also maintaining the organization's website.
Kevin enjoys his creative duties at TAG Communications. “I absolutely enjoy building things, programming, and helping people and that is essentially what web development is,” he said. “It is a very rewarding experience to know that hundreds to thousands of people use the sites that I helped build. Plus, I get to work with some of the most creative and friendliest people. It is purely awesome.”
With every project Kevin works on, he tries to make a goal to learn something new. He noted that this progressive attitude keeps their projects as cutting-edge as possible for him, while building his own personal skillset for future projects. “It keeps things fresh and new,” he added, “which is important in the creative world. While constantly learning new techniques, I try to always be there for our clients and our team, providing support with a smile.”
Kevin stated that it is awesome to be a part of a company that has 30 years under its belt. “It is quite impressive that TAG has been in business since 1990,” he said, “and has seen the evolution of media throughout the 30 years while in business. An interesting fact is that web developers were non-existent back in 1990. Time flies and things really change. Look at us now: most of our media is consumed online.”
Brianna Roseman, Marketing & Communications Specialist
Brianna Roseman is creative, enthusiastic and energetic. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications/Creative Writing from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. Her skills include shooting and editing video, live-event coverage, storyboarding, animation, copywriting and editing, print design and graphics, and social media management. She takes pleasure in exercising her creativity and said she is eager to prove herself in the field. She has created her own film projects, and once worked on a professional documentary shoot.
“My time at TAG Communications has been enlightening,” Brianna said. “It came with a four-hour move to another state, and I’m using parts of my degree I didn't think I would use that much. This is my first office job with a 40-hour work week and my own desk and a laptop.”
Brianna’s role at TAG has allowed her to learn the intricacies of marketing from the experts. “It’s been a great learning experience,” she said. “Most of my time is spent keeping track of web projects, making sure websites are getting filled with content. I'm really proud of the work I accomplish on the web team.”
Brianna noted that she is happiest on the job when she gets to work with the video team. “I went to school for Mass Communications and had a focus on television and radio,” she said. “Production is what I know and love and can immerse myself in for hours upon hours at a time, and love it still. I'd say I typically spend about 90 percent of my time doing web stuff and the other 10 percent doing video, but I feel that number is changing in my favor over time.”
Brianna mentioned that a few years ago, she took a job as a housekeeping supervisor at Denali National Park in Alaska. “It was their 100th year anniversary,” Brianna said. “It felt monumental – as monumental as Denali. And now I've joined TAG Communications – doing a job that’s in line with my degree and passions, and it's the 30th anniversary. Thirty years of anything is monumental in itself.”
by Mark McLaughlin, Public Relations Specialist, TAG Communications