Kevin Ulrich
Principal / Digital Consultant
Bio
Native Texan, devoted family man, Snackologist, and well-rounded web technology expert is at your service.
Kevin is considered an industry leader. He possesses significant experience with a broad spectrum of online technologies. Name a technical acronym and he has likely utilized it to solve a problem at some point in his career.
Kevin has brand experience with some of the largest companies in the world as well as a long list of regional businesses.
Kevin is a key resource for clients and team members, delivering consistent solutions and an in-depth understanding of all things web-related. When faced with a question, a problem, or a need for direction, Kevin is there for clients and team alike to answer it, explain it or utilize extensive research capabilities to find the very best solutions.
In 2007, Kevin decided to leave his corporate career at TM Advertising (aka Temerlin McClain), at the time one of the largest advertising agencies in the southwest, to start Achilles Interactive.
Starting a new advertising/marketing agency during the 08' recession proved to be extremely challenging, but since 2010, he has successfully grown Achilles Interactive's revenue by an average of 25% every year.
Kevin provides his web expertise to small-medium sized business and functions as a technology director for numerous Dallas-based advertising agencies. On top of the web technology expertise, he also has extensive experience with loan management systems, manufacturing inventory software, eLearning systems, advertising management systems, and enterprise content management systems.
Kevin has served as a board member for the Dallas Fort Worth Interactive Marketing Association. He has been on the winning team for numerous ADDY awards. He has even won a couple Ad:Tech awards for breaking barriers in advertising technology.
Kevin also owns The Recipe Depot, and Uncle Kev's Snacks.
Achilles Career
- Oversee the design and development of a large number of websites, banner ads, email marketing campaigns, search campaigns, brochures, and logo designs.
- Information architect for Pampers.com, and Coors Light Silver Shoot Out, among other non-disclosed sites for Fortune 500 companies.
- Application Architect for Blue Moon Brewing Company’s worldwide Photo Mosaic.
- Consulted with a client on their website, branding, marketing, and numerous other logistical aspects of their small business to help them grow their startup ecommerce company from a fifty-thousand-dollar per year venture to a thriving online business that generates well over a million dollars per year.
- Web Application Architect for a financial services browser application that auto dealerships utilize to evaluate and pay off vehicles that they have on their lot. The online portal securely integrates with the Nortridge Loan System (NLS), Black Book®, AuctionACCESS®, and continues to add functionality related to automotive floor plan loans.
Early Career
- Web developer for AA.com, AAdvantage.com, AdamsGolf.com, BellHelicopter.com, DiscoverNetwork.com, Fossil.com, GreenMountainEnergy.com, Nationwide.com, ProStaff.com, Subaru.com, TI.com, TravelTexas.com, Venetian.com, Williams.com, XOM.com and numerous other marketing sub sites that supported these core websites.
- Won an Ad:Tech Award for an AA.com Banner Ad*
- Created one of the first rich media advertisements of its kind that was able take advantage of the entire browser window and float over a website’s content. The animated gif banner for AA.com featured a skier that appeared to come from outside the browser window and rode the lift into the main 468x60 banner ad. At the time, gif banners were all that were available on most websites and were required to stayed within their allocated space. Utilizing some early JavaScript techniques Kevin was able to make this multi-ad configuration run outside the 468x60 constraints. This type of online advertisement is now more commonly called an Interstitial Ad.
- Won an Ad:Tech Award for a Toshiba Expandable Ad Unit*
- Created an award winning banner advertisement for Toshiba that expanded into the main content area of a website. The ad won because this type of browser functionality was still in its infant stage and had only been accomplished in the latest version of Internet Explorer. Kevin's version was compatible on all browsers & corresponding versions that were on the market in 2001 which included Internet Explorer, AOL, Opera, Mozilla, and Netscape Communicator.
- Developed two-way communication within Flash banner advertisements* (All these ad units won ADDYs)
- Created a flight booking module for AA.com that returned flight information back into the banner ad.
- Created an option configurator for a Subaru vehicle in a banner ad unit.
- Returned a Nationwide Insurance quote request back into a banner ad.
*Some of these banner ads may not sound all that impressive nowadays, but these technical feats were accomplished more than 15 years ago when most online advertisers were still trying to figure out exactly how to advertise on the web.
- Architected, designed, and oversaw web development of an online software application American Airlines uses to traffic digital assets through an approval workflow.
- Architected, designed, and developed a web application that digitized an evaluation process for people in focus groups.
- Technical architect and lead web developer for Fossil.com's International multi-language ecommerce website.
- Promoted to Director of Technology at TMA
- Oversaw and trained technical staff that produced more than four million billable dollars a year in banner ads, websites, & email campaigns. Also cut unnecessary hosting costs, streamlined the web, email, & banner development process, made process changes to the department which increased agency profitability, and worked with executive vice-president to create and sell web applications that fed a recurring revenue model.
- Joined TM's new business team and presented to the C level executives at Discover Financial Services (DFS). The agency was awarded the business and Kevin oversaw the redevelopment of DiscoverNetwork.com at TMA as well as the integration at DFS.