rEvolution is an independent global sports marketing and media agency that is as unique to Chicago as it’s quirky name. This team-oriented workplace has somewhere between 20-30% of its staff in the Generation Y age range and they believe that this is an agency’s best kept secret.

PR Director Dan Lobring says, “Generation Y has impacted the workforce is a lot of different ways. rEvolution is a full-service sports marketing agency and we’ve seen a lot of our clients evolve from purely TV and radio campaigns to Facebook and Twitter campaigns. Generation Y is a huge help with the rise of social media. Having staff that lives and works in the digital space is a big asset, they’re in tune with what’s new before things become adopted by the rest of the world.”

Knowing that their young professionals are gems to the company, rEvolution continues to aid in their professional learning experience with a helpful training and development program. Their flexible office environment contains very few actual offices. Employees are organized in the office based off of what “group” to which they belong (creative, public relations, event planning etc.). It is a collaborative space and the agency is modeled around integration. Generation Y is encouraged to bring new ideas to the table and to walk around and visit with others in different groups.

rEvolution maintains an open culture that is team-friendly. There is a “no closed door” policy that allows for employees to freely share ideas, regardless of which aspect of integrated marketing in which they specialize.

Lobring adds, “I use the phrase ‘work hard, play hard’ quite a bit. This is definitely an agency where that is true. We want to be the best, especially in a competitive agency world. The mentality is to go above and beyond. It’s a fun place to be and business to work in. We want to have fun with what we’re doing.”

And play hard they do. By trade, they are a group of creative sports fanatics. By nature, they work with sports everyday, which can bring out a competitive streak in some. One holiday season, rEvolution opted for a Whirly Ball tournament as opposed to the standard company party. This isn’t the only time the company has tried something different. This year, they ditched the traditional holiday party and opted for a holiday pub-crawl to make things interesting. To celebrate their 10^th anniversary as a company, rEvolution chartered a boat cruise on Navy Pier.

Speaking of boats, ever heard of a regatta? Scratch that, have you ever heard of an agency that has an annual Summer Regatta? Each summer, rEvolution has a friendly sailing race on Lake Michigan. Cool, right? Also cool, the sports aficionados work with the Chicago Cubs, so naturally they have rooftop or bleacher events when the Cubbies are playing at home.

rEvolution’s mission is to “deliver industry’s best sports marketing and media services to brands for the purpose of helping them strengthen customer relationships,” (www.revolutionworld.com). It seems that rEvolution is just as invested in its young professionals and office culture as it is with its clients. Gen Y workers can expect to be challenged and valued at this agency that deservingly ranks on Brill Street + Company’s “2011 Top 50 Chicago Generation Y Employers.”