Back to the city: Web company celebrates 25th anniversary with move to Lakeview

In another sign of the revitalization of Birmingham’s City Center, web services company Infomedia recently moved from Vestavia Hills to Lakeview.

Infomedia brought 26 employees into the city — including those with its marketing company, Uptick Marketing — when it moved into the 5,000-square-foot space in May.

“We looked at other areas but felt downtown was the place we wanted to be because of the excitement that’s going on downtown,” Jason Lovoy, the company’s president, told the Birmingham Business Alliance in June.

And 2019 was already a momentous year for Infomedia, marking its 25th year in business.

“We’re excited to be reaching this anniversary, and moving back downtown is a great way to celebrate,” Jason Lovoy told Iron City Ink.

Infomedia builds websites; creates e-commerce platforms; designs digital marketing plans, including social media and SEO; and provides video and photography, according to the company’s website. The company currently supports over 600 websites. Customers have included Brasfield & Gorrie, O’Neal Steel and Coca-Cola UNITED.

“We’ve been blessed to build up a large quantity of wonderful clients that trust us to handle their website and digital needs,” founder John Lovoy said.

The new facility is located at 2717 Third Ave. S. near Pepper Place. Infomedia is leasing the building with an option to buy, John Lovoy said.

Infomedia is adding four more employees. 

“We’ve added those jobs at CrowneWorks, our video production and photography division that works with both companies,” Jason Lovoy said.

The staff at Infomedia and Uptick have very much enjoyed the new location, according to John Lovoy.

“We’re definitely glad we made the move,” Jason Lovoy said. “Everyone loves being close to Pepper Place.”

He noted that the employees and have enjoyed getting coffee at Red Cat and having lunch at such eateries as Bettola and Lumbar.

And while it’s become a common assumption in the business world that younger employees especially like working in an urban setting, Jason Lovoy said Infomedia staff members of all ages like the new location in the City Center.

“At happy hour, you can usually find a group of our people heading to TrimTab or Ghost Train — especially when Little London Kitchen is parked out front — and that group includes some of our youngest staff members, in their early 20s, and those of us in our 40s and 50s, as well,” he said. “And my dad enjoys being downtown as much as anyone. He’s known to grab lunch from Edgar’s [Bakery] or from Full Moon BBQ for lunch meetings.”

There are also practical advantages to the new location, he said.

“It’s also been great to have both companies in one building,” Jason Lovoy said. “We’ve always tried to collaborate whenever possible, and this move makes that even easier.”

The company’s history goes back to 1994, at the dawn of the internet, when John Lovoy started Infomedia at the Office for the Advancement of Developing Industries, a UAB business incubator that was the predecessor of Innovation Depot.

“A quarter of a century is a pretty big milestone for any company, and especially for a web development company, since the web itself hasn’t been around for much longer than we have,” Jason Lovoy said.

However, in a rapidly changing tech landscape, with new shops opening all the time, being a 25-year-old tech company can have “a negative connotation,” he said.

That means that Infomedia must continue to innovate. This is a fun challenge, but it’s also tough to keep that edge and excitement, according to John Lovoy.

However, Infomedia “thrives on the energy of innovation,” Jason Lovoy said. “You won’t survive in the tech industry if you don’t enjoy the challenge of change.”

The company’s long history can also be a strength. “The way to succeed and build a strong company is to be able to see where the changes should come and build on the foundation you have without letting it hold you back,” John Lovoy said.

The Lovoys said they try to remain active and make a positive impact in the community and encourage their staff to do the same. John Lovoy enjoys working with new businesses and has served as a board member and a mentor with Young Business Leaders for over 20 years. Jason Lovoy has served as president of American Advertising Federation and serves on the boards for the Entrepreneurs Organization and First Priority of Birmingham.

At press time, the company was also hosting its annual Magic City Makeover, a chance for nonprofits from the Birmingham metro to win a digital marketing makeover.

Infomedia also hosts a monthly series of presentations at Innovation Depot called “Lunch & Learn.” The events are free and cover a wide variety of business topics. The next event is to be held Sept. 19 at 11:30 a.m. To sign up, go to infomedia.com/lunch-and-learn.