A Digital Focus

Paperbacks fill the bookcase. The Heartbreakers’ Hard Promises LP serves as bookend. And ticket stubs for day baseball at Wrigley Field clutter the shelves.

So, while Michael Theodore’s apartment shows a digital native can still appreciate the analog and traditional, since earning his bachelor’s degree in journalism – in 2008 – he’s embraced a digital career using his strengths as a communicator, problem solver and leader.

After leaving Champaign and graduating from the University of Illinois, Michael succeeded in a content strategist role at Northwestern and was promoted to digital team lead. In this role, he researched, vetted and helped implement digital tools and solutions. He also expanded his management knowledge by obtaining an Agile Product Owner certificate for Scrum project management methodology. He used this new education to transform business processes in his leadership role.

Before leaving Northwestern, Michael established the department's video strategy and web identity by delivering a responsive website (the school's first such website) while working with a content strategist and front-end developer. Together they used wireframes to prototype the site and set editorial guidelines and calendars.

Outside the office, he learned HTML and CSS to code an ebook, publishing two titles on Amazon Kindle. He built companion marketing sites and launched a twitter campaign to market the books on social media.

As digital project manager at Avenue, a B2B strategy and marketing firm, he worked closely with creative, strategy and development teams to deliver high-quality digital projects for a portfolio of six clients. 

In his current role as a digital marketing Manager for Digital Third Coast, Michael is responsible for leading strategy for the top three digital marketing goals of the agency – driving leads, increasing brand visibility, and recruiting of prospective talent. This includes working with sales and other marketers on our team to create and document strategic initiatives that will drive more leads and clients to the agency. 

He also leads the strategy for a handful of inbound marketing campaigns for clients. This includes setting campaign strategy, managing client expectations, consulting clients through the inbound process, working with inbound tools to execute campaigns, and providing monthly reporting. 

And today, you might even see Michael reading on his iPhone, listening to The Waiting on Spotify and enjoying night Cub baseball. But while the books and vinyl won't disappear completely, his career remains focused on digital strategy.