We love Kentucky, with Lexington in particular holding a special place in our hearts. We were born here, both personally and as a business. We love the rainy springs, warm and humid summers, beautiful orange falls, and snowy winters. It feels as if on most levels that Lexington has the perfect balance of meaningful and lasting tradition, fused with modern technology and culture. And in a way, that reflects Oculus Studios’ approach to business: We strive to remain on the cutting edge, but embrace traditional ways of client relationships, with an emphasis on custom, unique work that reflects our clientele’s needs more fully than their competitors.
For us, the landscape of Lexington advertising is divided into two categories; free and paid. Of course “free” is never really free, but is perceived by many as the best deal in town. Basically, local TV stations and radio stations will offer to produce a free commercial in exchange for airing it on their station (i.e. buying ad time). Obviously buying ad time has to be done anyway, so why pile on more cost producing the ad? Simple answer…quality.
The television ads, in particular, are shot over the course of a few hours, rushed through the editing process, and put together by people that will openly tell you it’s not their specialty!
A similar experience is taking place in the web design world, except worse: the client doesn’t actually know they are being had. Unfortunately, Lexington is filled with companies claiming “custom” when it is in fact, nothing of the sort. When we talk with clients about these experiences, we’ve never encountered someone who enjoyed it. Even worse, many times much of the creative burden is put on the client to come up with how to market their business. And in the end, the final product looks like every other local commercial or website. Which brings us back to our question: Why pay for an ad? Again, simple answer…quality!
The process of creating an advertising campaign or even just a single ad, is very delicate. Reaching people in Lexington or Kentucky as a whole with your advertisement requires more than just shots of your store, with punchline text. It requires being heard. Someone seeing your commercial or hearing your ad but not truly listening to it is actually losing you money. You’ve paid for advertising time but haven’t received a return on your investment. So was the ad really free?
When we meet with clients, one of the main questions we want to know is “What is the best part about your company?” The response is usually a few simple notions all hinged on the idea that their company is the best. Their product is the best. Their service is the best. Their customization is the best. Their honesty with their clients makes them better than their competition. But that’s not what their ads say. Their ads say, “SALE! SALE! SALE!” or “We are the cheapest in town!” When it comes time to make advertisements, why not send a stronger, more meaningful message?
Lexington is a vibrant, wonderful city that we here at Oculus Studios are proud to be apart of. When we look at Lexington advertising, we don’t simply want to put “something” on the air, in a magazine or on the web. We want the best. The best message, the best content, the best custom work that will stand out to your customers and end users. We want to send a message of commitment to quality in all aspects of your business. We often say to our clients, that getting seen isn’t enough, you have to be truly heard.
What does “Your business. Out loud.” really mean? What it means to us, is a partnership. Oculus Studios doesn’t make your ads for our own sake, we make ads for you. Our job is to be invisible to the point that people can only see and hear your company. You built a business, but our job is to turn it into a brand. Excellence doesn’t come easy, but having happy customers means raising the bar at every turn.
We want to craft advertisements and branding, not just get paid to throw something together. This requires commitment on both our part and that of our clients. The process takes longer, and costs a bit more, but the returns are easy to see. You hear people talking about your commercials. You see the visitor statistics of your website start to climb. People hear you. People see you.
We think that if reaching customers is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. So it’s time to change the way we shout from the rooftops. It’s time to advertise, better than ever before. It’s your business. Out loud.