Is Your Marketing Message Clear?

New England Multimedia has been around for over 10 years now, providing web design for small- and medium-sized businesses, churches, and nonprofits. Over time we began doing a lot more, including on-hold marketing, photography, multimedia projects, audio recording and editing, and anything else that fit under the umbrella term of “multimedia.” It just happened that we became a true “multimedia” company, so we changed our name to fit.

We found a way to clarify our marketing message and make our dreams come true at the same time.

But for a business, the message can get murky when you’re able to do anything and everything. You need to focus your vision, simplify your message, choose a path. That’s been hard for us. People still ask us, “What do you do?” and I have to think for a minute, “What does this person NEED?” before answering.

Back in 2008, Scott began getting requests from several web clients for video production services. Most people I know would’ve just passed that kind of work onto someone else, but not Scott — he saw a new venture, a new challenge, and in true Scott Quillin fashion, he began immersing himself in learning video, and then dreaming of starting New England HD, a full-service video production company doing true HD video. He even snatched up the domain name right away, when the idea was just a seed. (Yes, we own a LOT of domain names — don’t you?)

I’m the one with both feet on the ground, while he’s the dreamer and visionary, so he had a lot of work to do to get me on board with this whole video thing. Why couldn’t we just use the handheld video camera we had? But after explaining all the advantages of the investment he was proposing, and making me a few promises, I agreed — provided we stuck with New England Multimedia and didn’t start a new business right away. I wanted to see results first. We invested into a Sony Ex3 HD Cam and accessories, and New England Multimedia officially became a video production company as well as a web design business.

The message got murkier.

While Scott wasn’t happy about that (he really wanted New England HD), he started doing some corporate video projects right away. The first big project, the one that said to me, “We can do this!” was for the Consumer Electronics Association. (He landed that project while waiting in line for coffee in Wakefield, RI — that’s a story I’ll tell someday!)

We headed up to New Hampshire so Scott could practice, shoot some video to feature his music, and introduce ourselves to local businesses. But while we were there we caught a greater vision: doing corporate video all across America so we can travel the country in an RV. Because of that single trip to New Hampshire, Scott and I began to formulate a plan that will ultimately lead to my greatest dream coming true — seeing America in an RV! So over the last year and half, while we’ve been making a living doing web design, Scott’s been sharpening his skills shooting corporate, live event, and artistic video, studying lighting and videography, and brainstorming with me behind the scenes about our Dream Project — the final details to be revealed when the time is right.

Today, on our 19th wedding anniversary, the cornerstone is laid. New England HD has been born, and Scott’s two-year dream of starting a full service HD video production company has come to fruition. The marketing message there is clear as day: “True HD video for web video, corporate events, seminars, sales and marketing, promotions. We’re creative, fun and affordable unless you sleep in your car.”

Hey — we know “affordable” is subjective.

Scott’s going to be doing all the social media for New England HD, and you’re going to love him. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook, and get to know the adventurous, exciting guy I’ve been in love with for 23 years. I promise you’ll learn a lot from him about video and a whole lot more, and he’ll make it fun at the same time.

Happy Anniversary, Scott! Here’s to another 19 years!