Sheffield is proud to announce its newest team member, Megan Palicki, as Senior Designer and Animator. In this position, Megan is responsible for the creative development of motion graphics and animation, helping ensure that Sheffield fulfills its role as expert visual storytellers.

Megan has been in the industry for ten years. For the past four years she served as a Lead Designer for The Oprah Winfrey Show, working on several high profile projects such as “Oprah’s Australian Adventure” and her final shows at the United Center.

“I’m very excited to be working at Sheffield. The influence of design and its crucial role in telling a story is vital to Sheffield’s clients,” said Palicki. “I am fascinated by how an organization can express itself through a story that combines beautiful imagery, illustrations, art, words, video and music.”

Megan completed her Bachelors in Fine Arts in Graphic Design at DePaul University.

Sheffield is proud to announce that Angelo V. Pileggi has been named Director of Operations. In this role, he is responsible for a variety of managerial functions such as finance, human resources, planning, project management, information technology and professional development. Pileggi is completing his MBA at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and has held Management and director-level positions at VISANow and Zebra Technologies. He’s a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago and serves on Sheffield’s senior leadership team.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for me to guide the growth and development of a boutique agency that has great appeal and an expanding client roster,” said Pileggi. “At Sheffield, it’s refreshing to see the fusion of entrepreneurial spirit with a deep commitment to strategic planning and healthy growth.”

For Companies Who Struggle to Communicate Complex, Conceptual Messages, Sheffield Offers A Fresh Approach to Online Presentations and an Alternative to PowerPoint

Sheffield Marketing Partners has introduced the Whiteboard Narrative™, a new product offering that helps organizations transform difficult-to-communicate messages into engaging visual presentations that tell a story on a whiteboard. The Whiteboard Narrative is a short three- to five-minute animated presentation format that makes complex information easy to understand and entertaining to watch.

“Our clients are constantly looking for new ways to connect with their audiences and deliver a story that make a powerful impact,” said Joseph McCormack, managing director and founder of Sheffield Marketing Partners. “So, we came up with a better way for them to explain complexity through a whiteboard illustration that’s animated and narrated. People use whiteboards every day to simplify their ideas. By illustrating those ideas and adding music and narration, our clients can share their Whiteboard Narratives online to anyone in a fresh and engaging way.”

The process to create a Whiteboard Narrative starts with creating a cohesive storyline. An artist is filmed while drawing a number of scenes and a narrator is recorded telling the story. With background music and slight animation, the short-form video presentation enables audiences to follow along and see the story unfold. What might take hours to explain is now easily understood as a clear narrative that immediately captures the attention and imagination of their audience quickly.

To learn more about this new product, you can watch Sheffield’s own Whiteboard Narrative at: http://sheffieldcompany.com/products/white-board-narrative/.

Sheffield Marketing Partners is proud to announce that its video production arm, Navigant Films, has received three distinguished honors for creative excellence in short-form video. Navigant Films is the winner of two Bronze Telly Awards and was named a finalist for The Stevie Awards, which are among the most coveted honors in marketing and online video.

“These distinctions matter greatly to our young organization because they reflect how much we love to tell our clients’ stories,” says Joe McCormack, Sheffield’s managing director and founder. “Visual storytellers are in demand, and this is proof that we are becoming experts at our craft.”

Telly Awards Honors

• W.W. Grainger: “First Choice Employer Series” – Navigant Films helped Grainger communicate why it is a “first choice” employer in its industry. A series of candid, documentary-style videos profiled three employees, all of whom shared their passion for working at Grainger and how they deliver the service and value their customers demand. The video series played a critical role in Grainger’s communication of its strategic vision to more than 18,000 employees.
• Dry Creek Vineyard: “The Story of Dry Creek Vineyard” – Navigant Films produced a gorgeously filmed video that told the story of one of California’s most respected wineries. The video narrated how the family-owned business was founded in the French tradition and how, throughout its rich history, it has continued to craft award-winning wines.

The Stevie Awards Honor

• iDirect: “Together at Last Trailer” – Navigant Films took a unique spin on the product launch campaign, developing an animated movie-style trailer to introduce a major software upgrade for satellite technology provider iDirect. The trailer personified the product’s features and cast them in a humorous underdog storyline. It created significant industry buzz and became the most watched video in their extensive portfolio.

“Navigant Films continually produces powerful stories that capture the messages of our clients in compelling ways,” says Matt Cornelison, director and video production manager. “These three awards in visual storytelling add to a growing list of achievements and display our passion for helping our clients elevate video production into great filmmaking.”

Navigant Films is a subsidiary of Sheffield Marketing Partners that crafts high impact, short-form videos that tell a powerful story for a variety of corporate and non-profit clients. Navigant is staffed by an executive producer, a director, writers and post-production editors and animators.