We were lucky to catch up with Travis Matheny recently and have shared our conversation below.

Travis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear from you about what you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry and why it matters.

There is a huge difference between hiring a production company and hiring a creative media agency. When we are “dating” a prospective client, we often find that they don’t know the difference. A production company will aim the camera and record where you point. Or they will set up lights, sound, and stage for your event. But when you hire a creative media agency you get so much more for the same price tag. Our team has decades of experience producing learning, development, and marketing media in both video and event production. We know what effective media looks like and how to make the message come to life on the screen and stage. The more our clients work with us the earlier they bring us into new projects. Sometimes we’re able to get in at the very beginning to brainstorm the initial concept. That is how clients get the most for their money; translating our experience, skill, and cool technology into something that will really resonate with their unique audience.

Travis, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Fresh out of school I was a youth minister with a passionate interest in leadership development. That path ultimately led to being the executive director of a non-profit that focused on offering leadership training through both produced media and live events. Early on that meant learning the ins and outs of operating cameras and editing software, but ultimately the role of producer was what felt like home (and what I enjoyed the most). Fast forward a few years – a friend and colleague of mine had a media agency start up in Dallas and asked if I’d consider coming on as a partner. Together, we built Five Stone Creative into what it is today. Our clientele consisted mostly of large, national brands in need of training media and leadership development events, so the fit was natural and the results were terrific. We entered a growth phase that would see doubling of revenue for 4 straight years. The equation for that kind of growth is pretty simple: strategy, hard work, and lots and lots of good luck. The good luck came largely in the form of great clients. And while it could be called luck to land a client, what makes them “great” is the relationship, and that is a two way street. Company culture is huge for us. From coworkers to contractors to clients, we work hard to create an environment that keeps people wanting to work with us . Our clients love us and that’s why we’ve been successful.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

We keep a very active social media presence and we add new client profiles to our website regularly. We dabble in email marketing, but we don’t like a lot of emails and figure our clients don’t either, so we keep it to a few times a year. We don’t really post so much about the products and services we offer, we just show our team having fun working in cities across the US and even around the world. It reminds our ongoing clients of the good times they’ve had with us on site and gives prospective clients a glimpse into how we operate. We’re selling a feeling as much or more than a service. We’re selling confidence and fun: confidence that once they hand us a project they don’t have to worry about it, and fun in joining our production team and the vibe we bring.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Our clients love us for two reasons: we treat them like our friends and we deliver the goods. It may sound cliche, but it’s the only way we know how to do it. Our clients know without a doubt that we are completely bought into the success of the story they are hiring us to help them tell. Be it a video series or corporate conference. More than that, they have fun working with us, and that is the secret sauce. Of course we have poured time and resources into marketing our services, but we are where we are because our clients feel like they can’t repeat results without us. When that happens we don’t worry about keeping them because they keep us. If we do that with each new client, then referral business and market reputation takes care of itself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fivestonecreative.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_fivestone/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fivestonecreative
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fivestonecreative
• Other: https://vimeo.com/fivestonecreative

Image Credits
Five Stone Creative