Noble’s East Coast Swing: Part 3

Noble Studios CEO Jarrod Lopiccolo and CMO Michael Thomas have just returned from a three-city East Coast trip to visit several Noble clients and partners. Michael previously reported in from stops in Chicago and Toronto. Today, the final installment comes from New York City, along with photos from Jarrod.

Thawing Out in the Big Apple

We survived customs and immigration at Toronto and landed in New York City. There is a good reason airlines strongly suggest arriving two hours early for an international flight. It’s not the most calming experience in the world, but I respect why it’s needed. The weather on arrival in NYC is a welcome thaw from the frigid conditions experienced earlier in the trip.

The first day was an opportunity to be a tourist. We took the tour out to Liberty Island and Ellis Island and were amazed at how powerful the sights and sounds were.

I always knew what Lady Liberty meant from an icon status, but had no idea how much of an architectural marvel the monument really is. Getting to touch the pedestal and look at the inside of the statue was amazing. The copper lining on the outside is only the thickness of two pennies. The support system to keep the Statue of Liberty standing remains a technological marvel.

Ellis Island is haunting and beautiful all at the same time. Definitely an interesting historical framing of the current political debate occurring on immigration right now.

The view back to New York is stunning from the ferry.

The new One World Trade Center is more impressive the farther you get away from it.

The World Trade Center Monument is as awe-inspiring as you have heard. Hard to imagine this Sept. 11 will mark 15 years since that tragedy.

A more upbeat walk to the High Line and SoHo district. An amazing adaptive reuse project that presented stunning views of the sunset.

Client and Partner Visits

Monday and Tuesday included jammed packed meetings in the city.

Got to experience one of the more popular co-working spaces and feels like that urban trend is only getting more common place. Having a traditional office seems less and less sensical in many cases, especially at full New York City or San Francisco rents.

Visited our partner Optimizely’s New York Office and was impressed with the touches put into culture and reinforcing why they are leading the personalization and optimization marketplace

Wrapped up with a stop at BrightEdge’s new offices off of 3rd Avenue. Great conversation and thoughts about what we can do to increase the stature of SEO as a critical part of our client’s marketing mix.

Tuesday concluded with a visit to Noble Client Mitchells located in Westport, Connecticut. The town is about a 45-minute train ride outside of New York City. Train commuting beats the alternative, hands down. Chillax!

Mitchells has been a mainstay in the community since the the family-founded retailer launched in 1958. Westport is quaint and dotted with eye-dropping mansions and estates. If you want a more rural existence, this is it.

It is impressive to see how Mitchells has maintained a customer-first focus even as they expand their footprint to the West Coast and enable more e-commerce touch points with their shoppers. We are excited to be helping them in that initiative. A very classy, authentic and forward-looking business in our view.

After a very long week, we got back to JFK Airport and the comfort of a non-stop back to Reno-Tahoe on Jet Blue. Our own beds never sounded better. Til we see you next time, Chicago, Toronto and New York City.