Wow, it is the end of an era. As a former BlueLine client, I wish all my brash and brilliant friends the utmost success in all their endeavors.

I learned a lot from the people at BlueLine, especially Justin, Tac, John, AJ and Mike (in order of appearance).

Hold on to the dream folks.

Wow, it is the end of an era. As a former BlueLine client, I wish all my brash and brilliant friends the utmost success in all their endeavors.

I learned a lot from the people at BlueLine, especially Justin, Tac, John, AJ and Mike (in order of appearance).

Hold on to the dream folks.

My time at BlueLine was the best working experience of my young (wink-wink) life. The friendships that I made, the connections I still have & the knowledge that was gained was, hands down, the best professional experience I have ever had. I would not be here at MPC if it wasn’t for BL. I feel impowered (yea, hear me roar baby) with my knowledge that I can help influence the way companies think about marketing & media. And, I have a new found respect for any and all references to Dumb & Dumber. Thank you boys, you are in my heart…go get ‘em
xoxo
-jen

oh no, what will they do with the mustangs? I always thought it was funny how the “anti-ad agency” advertised themselves with outdoor advertising on their cars. i probably would have no idea who blue line is (was) if I hadn’t seen them advertise themselves on those ‘stangs.

oh no, what will they do with the mustangs? I always thought it was funny how the “anti-ad agency” advertised themselves with outdoor advertising on their cars. i probably would have no idea who blue line is (was) if I hadn’t seen them advertise themselves on those ‘stangs.

Tac, thanks for posting this. I have pondered many times the rise and fall of BlueLine. The best analogy I came up with was that it was like Camelot, the idea was perfect but the people weren’t. It was an expensive lesson to learn, but one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of BlueLine. We now have the opportunity to go out and bring those ideas into our new organizations. I believe that none of us will cease to be advocates for non-traditional marketing because BlueLine, if anything, ingrained it into our souls. Good luck BlueLiners.

Tac, thanks for posting this. I have pondered many times the rise and fall of BlueLine. The best analogy I came up with was that it was like Camelot, the idea was perfect but the people weren’t. It was an expensive lesson to learn, but one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of BlueLine. We now have the opportunity to go out and bring those ideas into our new organizations. I believe that none of us will cease to be advocates for non-traditional marketing because BlueLine, if anything, ingrained it into our souls. Good luck BlueLiners.

Funny, I learned the exact opposite from Sir Thomas Mallory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur”
In addition, I thought we had the greatest team of rockstars boise had to offer ^^

But like rockstars, many of us were tempted by the almighty solo album.
There is something about the human condition that does not allow for complete fraternity and egality through socialism.

The team was perfect in my estimation, and the constant struggle for the appearance of a round table was a definate undoing. I learned more at blueline than I have ever learned anywhere and am very sad to see it go.

Good luck guys…

Funny, I learned the exact opposite from Sir Thomas Mallory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur”
In addition, I thought we had the greatest team of rockstars boise had to offer ^^

But like rockstars, many of us were tempted by the almighty solo album.
There is something about the human condition that does not allow for complete fraternity and egality through socialism.

The team was perfect in my estimation, and the constant struggle for the appearance of a round table was a definate undoing. I learned more at blueline than I have ever learned anywhere and am very sad to see it go.

Good luck guys…

Rich you are awesome man. A programmer that knows that kind of stuff is truly one of a kind …

It’s actually quite the opposite from Critchfield’s post. We had great people and a bad idea for a business.

Want proof? Look at where everyone is ending up in their new jobs. Great talent. Just a bad direction and use of that talent in the model. When Boise comes around to the new media bug there will definitely be enough knowledge in the area to succeed.

Lessons learned. Enough to write a book. Or two.

Rich you are awesome man. A programmer that knows that kind of stuff is truly one of a kind …

It’s actually quite the opposite from Critchfield’s post. We had great people and a bad idea for a business.

Want proof? Look at where everyone is ending up in their new jobs. Great talent. Just a bad direction and use of that talent in the model. When Boise comes around to the new media bug there will definitely be enough knowledge in the area to succeed.

Lessons learned. Enough to write a book. Or two.

To borrow from Greek mythology, BlueLine was like Icarus. We flew too near the sun, only to discover that our wings were made of wax. But the view from up there was exhilarating.

Like others who have commented, there are skills I’ve taken away from my BlueLine experience that I believe will serve me well on both a personal and professional level.

I too have great respect for the talents of my fellow BlueLiners. I think our downfall was the basic disconnect between our business model (which seemed to be in constant state of flux) and the receptivity of the market. Part of that was simply our inability to execute as well as we should have. In terms of concepts vs. deliverables, our reach often exceeded our grasp. I know that Sam, Justin and John are working hard to correct that failing through Tricycle, and I wish them great success.

My own personal reason for leaving the fold was that the BlueLine model shifted toward a consultancy-based business. I’ve always been the guy that enjoyed the “doing” part of the business. I tend to suffer through the protracted strategy process to get to the tactics. I’m not making a virtue of this by any means. You need both. But with the new BlueLine model (now expressed in Tricycle), I didn’t feel that I could add value. Once you come to that conclusion, the best thing to do is to bow gracefully out…before everyone else comes to that conclusion as well.

I’m now doing freelance work, including some projects with Brian Crtichfield and the Tricycle gang. So I still have the pleasure of working with folks I admire. I’ve also accepted the position as PR Manager at MPC Computers, and will start that gig in February. This will be the first time in my life that I’ve done PR on the corporate side, so I’m looking forward to the new adventure. I also get to work with Jen Harris, which is the icing on the cake. Life is good!

Peace!

To borrow from Greek mythology, BlueLine was like Icarus. We flew too near the sun, only to discover that our wings were made of wax. But the view from up there was exhilarating.

Like others who have commented, there are skills I’ve taken away from my BlueLine experience that I believe will serve me well on both a personal and professional level.

I too have great respect for the talents of my fellow BlueLiners. I think our downfall was the basic disconnect between our business model (which seemed to be in constant state of flux) and the receptivity of the market. Part of that was simply our inability to execute as well as we should have. In terms of concepts vs. deliverables, our reach often exceeded our grasp. I know that Sam, Justin and John are working hard to correct that failing through Tricycle, and I wish them great success.

My own personal reason for leaving the fold was that the BlueLine model shifted toward a consultancy-based business. I’ve always been the guy that enjoyed the “doing” part of the business. I tend to suffer through the protracted strategy process to get to the tactics. I’m not making a virtue of this by any means. You need both. But with the new BlueLine model (now expressed in Tricycle), I didn’t feel that I could add value. Once you come to that conclusion, the best thing to do is to bow gracefully out…before everyone else comes to that conclusion as well.

I’m now doing freelance work, including some projects with Brian Crtichfield and the Tricycle gang. So I still have the pleasure of working with folks I admire. I’ve also accepted the position as PR Manager at MPC Computers, and will start that gig in February. This will be the first time in my life that I’ve done PR on the corporate side, so I’m looking forward to the new adventure. I also get to work with Jen Harris, which is the icing on the cake. Life is good!

Peace!

Blueline, Thank you for the many years of innovation and leadership into a new world of markets and marketing. We, the “old ones’, who work to provide free assistance to the emerging companies of Idaho, learned that the e-age of business is filled with many new wrinkles..and you helped us, and others, straighten a few out.

Thanks for helping put so many small companies on the map, with real clients, real payrolls, real cash flow. They could not have done it without you.

Blueline will have its final resting place in the heart of the entrepreneurs in the Treasure Valley, who won’t forget the lessons learned, the excitement created, the vision shared and the possibilities considered.

We will miss you together, and are anxious to work with you, now alone.

Rick Vycital, C.F.A.
Region III DIrector
Idaho Small Business Development Center

Blueline, Thank you for the many years of innovation and leadership into a new world of markets and marketing. We, the “old ones’, who work to provide free assistance to the emerging companies of Idaho, learned that the e-age of business is filled with many new wrinkles..and you helped us, and others, straighten a few out.

Thanks for helping put so many small companies on the map, with real clients, real payrolls, real cash flow. They could not have done it without you.

Blueline will have its final resting place in the heart of the entrepreneurs in the Treasure Valley, who won’t forget the lessons learned, the excitement created, the vision shared and the possibilities considered.

We will miss you together, and are anxious to work with you, now alone.

Rick Vycital, C.F.A.
Region III DIrector
Idaho Small Business Development Center

[...] have not heard, BlueLine is no more [...]

Thanks for keeping up with everyone Tac. I can honestly say that enjoyed my time at BlueLine as I met some fantastic people and have retained some of the lessons learned for what I’m doing now. I’ll never forget the lunches at Sawtooth Pizza, John Hardesty sleeping in the TECenter construction area after a long work night, Brian Critchfield screaming to all of us that he wasn’t the alpha male after his 8th traffic violation in a year, Brian Packer firing a client over the phone on my very first day, Justin Foster playing really, really bad country music, Tac Anderson consuming 50,000 mg of caffeine in one day just to out do John on energy drinks, and Jen Harris trying to justify her cardinal sin of purchasing a PC laptop rather than a Mac. Ah, great memories! Thank you for all the good times …

Erik Jon Warila
Chief Marketing Officer
Risingline.com

Thanks for keeping up with everyone Tac. I can honestly say that enjoyed my time at BlueLine as I met some fantastic people and have retained some of the lessons learned for what I’m doing now. I’ll never forget the lunches at Sawtooth Pizza, John Hardesty sleeping in the TECenter construction area after a long work night, Brian Critchfield screaming to all of us that he wasn’t the alpha male after his 8th traffic violation in a year, Brian Packer firing a client over the phone on my very first day, Justin Foster playing really, really bad country music, Tac Anderson consuming 50,000 mg of caffeine in one day just to out do John on energy drinks, and Jen Harris trying to justify her cardinal sin of purchasing a PC laptop rather than a Mac. Ah, great memories! Thank you for all the good times …

Erik Jon Warila
Chief Marketing Officer
Risingline.com

It was only 7 traffic violations, Erik!

Good luck to everyone and I look forward to great things coming out of this group.

It was only 7 traffic violations, Erik!

Good luck to everyone and I look forward to great things coming out of this group.

I’ve purposely stayed my hand from responding to this post until now. I’ve been curious to read others points first. Now that some time has passed and I’ve had a chance to read through the various posts I gently wipe a tear from my eye. “They were the best of times, They were the worst of times”. Great people, but imperfect people. Great ideas, but imperfect ideas. Great execution at times, imperfect execution many other times.

I will never forget the lessons learned and the friendships kindled. For those of us who were a part of the building of a dream we called BlueLine - we were pioneers. The wagon tracks exist for others to follow. We can take some pride in that and I think we all do.

I appreciated the lessons learned from every person that either worked for us at BlueLine or with us. I thank the clients - especially the early ones that took a leap of faith with us.

It is a new season and a time for the principles of marketing espoused at BlueLine to be instilled into the others we will each touch in our future careers.

I’ve purposely stayed my hand from responding to this post until now. I’ve been curious to read others points first. Now that some time has passed and I’ve had a chance to read through the various posts I gently wipe a tear from my eye. “They were the best of times, They were the worst of times”. Great people, but imperfect people. Great ideas, but imperfect ideas. Great execution at times, imperfect execution many other times.

I will never forget the lessons learned and the friendships kindled. For those of us who were a part of the building of a dream we called BlueLine - we were pioneers. The wagon tracks exist for others to follow. We can take some pride in that and I think we all do.

I appreciated the lessons learned from every person that either worked for us at BlueLine or with us. I thank the clients - especially the early ones that took a leap of faith with us.

It is a new season and a time for the principles of marketing espoused at BlueLine to be instilled into the others we will each touch in our future careers.

[...] my previous post on Death of an Agency. I pointed out *one* of the major flaws in our business plan is that we were too far ahead of the [...]

[...] I couldn’t agree more, but of course me and my dead-pooled BlueLine cohorts were calling this “Be Your Own Media” 3-4 years ago. This is one reason why [...]

My time at BlueLine was the best working experience of my young (wink-wink) life. The friendships that I made, the connections I still have & the knowledge that was gained was, hands down, the best professional experience I have ever had. I would not be here at MPC if it wasn't for BL. I feel impowered (yea, hear me roar baby) with my knowledge that I can help influence the way companies think about marketing & media. And, I have a new found respect for any and all references to Dumb & Dumber. Thank you boys, you are in my heart…go get 'em
xoxo
-jen

[...] one of the the anti-traditional media people here in Boise.  What ever happened to everyone at BlueLine Marketing anyway?  ;)  (Tac, I think the post needs to be [...]

[...] agency, BlueLine Marketing. BlueLine specialized in Word of Mouth and New Media. If you want the saga on BlueLine you can read this old post. Basically we were loud, kind of annoying and preached that you didn’t need traditional media [...]

[...] dollar agency over 2 years and an acquisition of a web dev shop. (I then left 6 months later before it all imploded.) I’m now at a 800+ person global agency that’s growing like crazy. Technology scales, [...]

[...] several years after I sold it due to the recession but it still hurt. The next company, (a small marketing firm called BlueLine) went under after I left and I tried to warn them it was going down. But the next two startups I [...]