EG Rewind: Oh, the Things You Can Thank

When we started our 25^th-of-the-month tradition this year called “EG Rewind” — celebrating the people, places and things that have helped us achieve 25 years in business — we knew the focus would mostly be on the people. That’s why we’ve already had so much fun talking with Ed’s high school art teacher Carol Quinn; one of Estipona Group’s first (and STILL) clients, Jane Tors; and revisiting with one of the agency’s first creative directors, David Branby. And we have many more interviews to share before the year is up (that’s a promise not a threat, Jeff Dow).

But we also knew we needed to dedicate one entire month to the cornerstone “thing” that has had so much direct relevance to our success: the “t” word.

No, not “tacos” — though a good taco is fundamental. And also, we just realized we’re hungry.

But we digress. Because this is about technology, silly.

So in keeping with the rewind theme, let’s take a stroll down memory lane for those of you old enough to remember. Who recalls the process of laying out ads, pre-technology?

We know you’d rather forget. Because it was another “t” word: TEDIOUS.

There were the pictures, separated on transparencies of cyan, yellow, magenta and black, that had to be physically taped down in the hopes they were perfectly aligned.

There was the photocopying of images over and over again in order to achieve the correct size. There was the X-ACTO knife that would be used to meticulously cut out the image, then the wax and the roller for mounting.

Funny aside: You could always tell the designers “back in the day” because they were constantly rubbing their fingers together to get the wax off.

But back to the process. There was the exacting process of proofreading, because if there was even one small typo, you had to recreate the whole damn group of type.

There were the couriers dropping off and picking up ads, and there were endless runs to FedEx (along with a memorized pick-up/delivery schedule) — and the subsequent feeling of “fingers crossed” because somewhere in shipment, something could — and often did — go horribly wrong.

Technology, friends: It changed the entire advertising landscape. And Estipona Group was one of the first agencies in town to do start-to-finish advertising creative on a computer.

Edward was (and always has been) an early adopter, and his first computer looked something like this:

Kidding, of course.

But in all seriousness, it did look like this:

Isn’t it beautiful? The Macintosh LC-III was our first, and the agency has stuck with Apple products throughout our entire 25-year history. In conjunction with game-changing software like Adobe, our computers have allowed us to be far more efficient and creative.

And they’ve also enabled us to stay connected.

Have Wi-Fi, Will Travel

Our team often works remotely in a virtual environment, connecting through technology in addition to coming together for regular in-person meetings. So in the absence of a bricks-and-mortar office, we’ve developed a healthy cloud-based ecosystem that allows members to stay hyper-connected. Through technology applications like streamlined project/client management software, instant messaging, file-sharing applications and voice-over IP phone and conferencing services, walls are broken down constantly with “virtual” side-by-side sharing of information, ideas and resources.

Oh, and each team member is on-boarded with a total of about $5,000 in Estipona Group technology to complement our existing home offices. We’re very big fans of this.

Working remotely has increased our productivity and helped to break down the figurative and sometimes literal walls that sometimes exist in traditional agencies, as no longer are departments like public relations, media buying, account management and creative separated spatially. Instead, we all work side by side, around the clock. We share information, resources, ideas and insights constantly.

Sometimes too constantly (true story: some of us on the team are infamous for messaging each other into the wee, wee hours). Though, to be fair, we could turn our phones off if it bothered us that much.

To this day, the agency has the latest and greatest computers, thanks to Ed’s geekiness technological vigilance. And we’re always exploring further cutting-edge pursuits, like a partnership we entered into last year with a technology company with 40 programmers — a partnership that is allowing for new, cutting-edge communication innovations for our clients. Stay tuned for some awesome updates on this front.

Technology, man. It has been a game-changer, and the Estipona Group is here — and better equipped to tell our spectacular clients’ stories — because of it.

So if you’re reading this and feel so inclined, head over to our Facebook page, and respond to our thread about technology that has changed your business or your life. Let’s take a few minutes today to celebrate the nerdy few who have helped us do our jobs and live better lives.