At a meeting in Columbus, Wednesday, April 28, 2010, The Ohio Cooperative Education Association named Ideopia a Distinguished Employer, and bestowed the Coolest Co-op Award on Ideopia graphic designer, Emily Babel.

One of three college students honored statewide, Babel received her award for an essay entitled “High Heels, Swim Suits and a Casual Atmosphere.” Said Babel, “It felt great to know that my designs were helping families and making a difference.”

For its commitment to cultivating college students and interns, Ideopia was named a distinguished employer along with General Electric, Target, Procter & Gamble – Germany, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Incidentally that rumor about Ideopia forcing interns to wash our cars is just not true.

This month, Ideopia welcomes two new employees to our creative group: graphic designer Emily Babel, and copywriter, Eric House. Eric and Emily will both assist with our rapidly growing business in web site design, web marketing and social media.

For Emily the transition has been especially easy. A recent graduate in graphic and interior design from the College of Mount St. Joseph, Emily worked at Ideopia as a co-op student and part-time employee for the past two years. She’s worked on creative for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Cincinnati, and our medical and food clients. Emily is an avid runner, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, and a wicked web animator. And recently she won the Coolest Co-Op Award (see below).

Eric is an Ideopia newbie, but his work with animals has helped him fit in with our team seamlessly. Eric graduated this past May with a degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. While there he reported on a variety of entertainment, social and technology topic for one of the nation’s largest student newspapers. He also worked in public relations in the Ophthalmology Department at the School of Veterinary medicine. Eric looks forward to making the transition to humans.

Ideopia just helped the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Cincinnati launch a Twitter presence. They’ll use it to promote their important fundraisers and share the uplifting moments from their work, too.

Each year, RMHC provides food, accommodations, and sanity for 100s of families whose critically ill children are cared for at Children’s Hospital Medical Center. That’s where their budget goes. Not marketing. So help us out by clicking the follow button @RMHCincinnati. The good Twitter karma will come back to you soon.

After working on the Raleigh-based Urban Food Group’s Vivace restaurants for several months, Ideopia will now handle all UFG eateries, including Coquette (French bistro); Porter’s City Tavern; and Frazier’s (steakhouse).

Working our way up the East Coast, we’re pleased to announce a new partnership with Long Island-based MDI Doors. MDI doors are sold in over 500 Home Depots. Ideopia won the branding, web and public relations business in competition with four New York agencies.

Thanks to our new client, celebrity hairstylist DS Parada, Ideopia, Raleigh, is getting a buzz. Don is a favorite of the New York fashion scene and tames the shag for a who’s who in politics, Hollywood and business.

Huge kudos to our friends and clients at the Ronald McDonald House for their most successful Red Tie Gala fundraiser ever; and to Vivace and Urban Food Group on their new restaurant in Charlotte.

Oh yeah, and some people here want you to see a video about what happens at Ideopia when the executive branch leaves town.

A warm welcome to OD-OS, and big thank you for naming Ideopia agency of record. A big shout out to our friends and clients at Haag-Streit on receiving FDA approval for their new LENSTAR Biometer. Closer to home, Bill spoke to a class at Raymond Walter’s College about Social Media. BTW, it’s all Facebook on campus, not Twitter. Emily smoked her Mt. St. Joseph teammates in a recent 5K. Congrats to our latest Fresh Pot T-Shirt winner, Jamie Johnson of UBS in Chicago.

A mini eVitalize makeover for pro bono client Anderson Community TV yielded a 300%+ increase in traffic, and doubled the time visitors spent with the site… Design intern Emily Babel learned how to use a jackhammer and took a “vacation” to help build Habitat for Humanity homes in New Orleans… Incidentally, Emily more than proved her mettle and continues this fall as a real part-time employee. After a summer of crunching numbers until they scream, Sam Brode is back to school at Eastern Kentucky University as a senior psychology major. Presumably this will help him cope with his summer vacation. We’ll miss you, dude!

Cincinnati, OH, November 12, 2009 —At first glance, the gathering at Eyechat seems like an awkward cocktail party. Its followers include renowned ophthalmologists, medical students, an outreach program seeking volunteers to provide eye exams to the homeless and a persistent salesperson pushing glasses frames.

“Eyechat is like an online version of the bar Cheers,” says its founder Bill Abramovitz, ceo of Cincinnati advertising and interactive agency Ideopia. “It’s a familiar place with familiar people ‘sitting around.’ To Cheers, its 50 regulars were worth more than a thousand other beer drinkers.”

That, according to Abramovitz, is the paradigm shift of social media. It’s about finding the best possible match instead of volume.

He’s crossed the line from creating advertising to providing content through two social media forums—an Eyechat twitter following and a new spin-off blog with the same name located at www.eyechatblog.com. His agency represents several ophthalmology industry clients and has identified an information vacuum as well as the need for a personal community where people can gather.

Enthusiasm for Eyechat is evident by the immediate interest the blog attracted. It was live less than 24-hours when the first updates were posted to the calendar—the only one that includes any and all ophthalmology and eye care events. An article from a leading ophthalmology publisher quickly followed. Within 10 days, another 227 calendar updates had been posted.

A “causes” section highlights not-for-profits, and any philanthropic organization interested in tackling eye care issues is invited to post there. A link to products showcases everything from lasers to fashion eyewear, including content from competitors to Ideopia clients. Reviews are expected shortly, but Abramovitz is quick to point out that’s up to the users.

Ultimately he’d like to see all of the content entirely driven by the site’s followers.

“What is Eyechat?” asks one new Twitter follower. Amidst conversation ranging from slit lamps to Mark Twain, the dialog continues as ophthalmologists begin making the blog their own.

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Ideopia is the advertising and interactive agency that lives and breathes to create great ideas. Located in the clouds at www.ideopia.com and on terra firma in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ideopia’s mission is to be a catalyst for change—improving the outlook for clients and the world at large.

With the addition of Liz Vogel, public relations, and Debbie Immesoete, senior art director, Ideopia continues to deepen its talent pool. Liz, a graduate of Rice and Yale Universities, has major national account experience , including vice president of public relations agency PublicisDialog, (Manhattan Division).

Debbie Immesoete is a native of Rochester New York, and a graduate of Marywood University. She’s an award-winning art director with strong broadcast and print credentials, and a rock ‘n’ roll drummer. She’s worked on consumer and B2B accounts for a wide-range of clients in Cincinnati and Syracuse, New York. Join us in giving them a big fat Ideopia welcome.

Think we’re pandering? Think we’ll sell our souls for a few clicks? Think we made the intern do it? Think you want some? Learn about Ideopia’s eVitalize web marketing.