Meet the marketing masterminds of I.E. Productions
By Britni Storer
What do you get when you combine a former floor-sweeper and a renowned rock star? What sounds like the start of a bad joke is actually a winning combination for a wildly successful strategic marketing, video, and audio production company better known as IE Productions - Idaho Falls, ID.
ABOUT
If you’ve ever been to the Eastern Idaho State Fair, then consider yourself familiar with some of the work produced by ie Productions.
With a slew of services that range from traditional marketing materials (graphics, print, video and audio production, social and digital media, a professional recording studio, web development, technical support...just to name a few) the variety of services that ie Productions offers doesn’t end there. With all the best equipment that is usually found in bigger cities, the company also acts as a booking agency and handles live events and concerts including performances at the fair and the Celebrate America event at Huntsman Springs.
“We do everything from the identity logo all the way to the video website. All our departments are so close together that at the end of the day...the look and feel is exactly the same and it looks cohesive,” shares Vice President Gary Stewart. “Between all of us [who work at ie Productions], we all have different talents...the fair is the perfect example of a bunch of our divisions working together.”
“The number one thing that separates us the most from everybody else when working with our clients is that we focus on the overall goals for a period of time and then come up with the strategies to achieve those goals,” shares Chad Hammond, President. “We focus the message to hit your exact target.”
Along with a clientele list that includes the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, Johnny’s Seasonings and Spices, Bear Creek Country Kitchens, Petsana, Green Giant, Potandon, Melaleuca, and JD Premium, it’s no small wonder ie Productions has received countless (literally) advertising awards from The Rockies (a regional advertising competition) as well as a national Addie award for their Super Bowl commercial, “Monkey Butt.” [Go ahead, you know you want to check it out on YouTube now.]
The Faces Behind the Madness: Chad Hammond and Gary Stewart
“My whole life, ever since I was little kid, watching those Super Bowl ads...I loved commercials, and that was my first inkling of the whole thing. I’d watch commercials and go ‘those are cool, and how fun would it be to do that?’” says Hammond. “My freshman year of college, I decided I really wanted to go into marketing and own my own agency. I put that in my head, and that was my dream.”
Hammond was no different than the rest of us college graduates who have experienced the sad dose of reality that comes after realizing one usually doesn’t land their dream job right out of college. However, what sets him apart is that he did what he had to do and then shaped his life’s circumstances into what he wanted.
“I got out of college and my brother-in-law hired me as a sweep boy. At first, I hated going to work...it was a miserable job but I figured I’d make the best out of it,” says Hammond.
“I had good relationships with people on the phone, and we were doing a lot of work in the community. My boss eventually put me into promotions which got me going closer to what I liked doing. It’s amazing when you put your mind to something...I found myself going more and more into that position,” Hammond reminisces.
Along with a successful track record for sales growth, Hammond also became the youngest president ever to chair the Chamber of Commerce at age 30 in 1998. “People started seeing what I was doing around town so they began asking me to help with their marketing. From there, I was able to start Innovative Edge Productions [now i.e. Productions],” Hammond says. “I actually thought I would hate sales and I love sales! I love the challenge of it.”
“There have been a lot of rough years and a lot of hard knocks getting here. But at the end of the day, we’ve been able to pound through,” shares Hammond. “When we started, I took a huge leap of faith in this business—we had what nobody had. It was stupidest thing I’ve ever done but also the best thing...in a weird way.”
In addition to owning and running a company, Hammond also serves on the state board of directors for the Better Business Bureau. “I still like the exact same thing I liked about it [marketing] when I was a kid. I love the creative aspect, and I’m very solution based.”
To all you hopeful entrepreneurs: let Hammond’s story inspire you to live your dreams!
Gary Stewart
After a year at Ricks College (now BYU-I), Stewart realized that all he wanted to be was a rock star and that his current situation (back then) was not going to work well for that dream.
After seven years on the road while touring the country in a rock ‘n roll band, Stewart knew that was something he couldn’t do for the rest of his life to support his family. “We played regionally, semi-nationally, and I took it upon myself to be the group leader. While I played the drums and did vocals, I also handled all the promotional stuff—everything I do now [at ie Productions] was learned in those years,” shares Stewart. “Honestly, I thought I would have come out of that and gone into radio.”
After spending some years on the road and moving onto installing fire sprinklers, Stewart then managed the Retrix Club in Rexburg. Once the club sold, it was by pure luck that Stewart’s wife attended an event where she met Hammond, told Hammond about her husband’s talents, and the rest was history. (Men, let that be a lesson to you—stick with your wife and you will go far!)
“If you want something crazy and out there, then I’m your man!” Stewart laughs. “Chad’s best talent is the sales and marketing strategies, and how things turn out. Me? I come up with the crazy ideas that scare the crap out of some people...Chad then makes sure that I tone my ideas down enough to please the client and make it something we can produce. “
The Evolving Process
So how does one build a company that first began in the backroom of a building and then become a nationally-recognized marketing firm?
In the beginning, ie Productions began like any other startup company—they went local and stuck with what they knew. “When I first joined, Chad had it set up more like a traditional agency, not what we are now, which is a full-service marketing and production company,” shares Stewart.
“Our company...we were never ever just a media-placement based company. From the very get go, it was always about strategy,” shares Hammond. “The coolest part of marketing is figuring out a way to sell something that nobody else can sell . . . and that’s all in production.”
Hammond and Stewart seem to have more exciting stories to tell than Indiana Jones. From photo shoots with grizzly bears, to creating the world’s largest traveling fountain, the stories they share are endless as the company grows in their nationwide success.
“What we’re doing now is different than anything we’ve done before,” shares Stewart. “The stuff we have for video capabilities is just amazing. Not only the equipment but the talent we are surrounded with . . . I’m excited to be here—this is where we’ve wanted to be for the past five six years.”
“Two reasons why we’re still here: we truly stand behind what gets you results, the other thing is that we have always embraced change, and always embrace technology,” shares Hammond. “If there is a new thing out there, if it’s new, cool, or hip thing, we try to be the innovators and not the early adapters because it’s so important to us to keep the edge and to be the first one out there doing it.”
“We have been blessed. The only reason we are still here today is because our clients have come back. That says a lot for us...we don’t lose clients. Once they get past how quirky we are . . . they appreciate our work so they keep coming back. You look at our clients and you go back to the people I started working with 16 years ago, and still are working with...I couldn’t name on my hand five people that we’re still not working with.”
Vegas in Idaho Falls
If you’ve ever found yourself out in the Sunnyside and Yellowstone area, I’d recommend stopping by ie Production’s building just for the building’s interior view alone.
While the outside may look like a standard business building, upon passage through the fronts doors into the world of these creative minds, you’ll feel like you’ve stepped inside a building found only in places like Las Vegas. With store fronts and a cobblestone road, the variety of office spaces include (but are not limited to) a high-tech recording studio equipped for any wannabe rock star, a video production room that feels like a theater, and a comfortable meeting room where Hammond and Stewart are often found kicking their feet up onto the table. “We’re not the suit and tie guys. That’s not comfortable—our style is loose, fun, and why be something you’re not? You don’t have to take everything so seriously,” shares Hammond.
“The biggest thing is our talent...we have great people...but it’s also our facilities. Literally the building,” shares Stewart. “This building that we work in everyday is built to make people comfortable and to give you a sense of creativity. We literally built it this way to remind ourselves to be creative and have fun.”
COMMUNITY
“We don’t do a lot of local campaigns that are seen but we do a lot of community service. We love the fair and it’s our showcase to the community,” shares Hammond. “We just love this community—sponsoring the community is hugely important.
In addition to organizing and marketing the fair, ie Productions are also the wizards behind the Huntsman Springs Celebrate America event every year which is presented by the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
For more information about the Huntsman Springs Celebrate America event, visitwww.celebrateamericaevent.com.
SUMMARY
“Having someone come to you with a problem, and having every marketing tool in the toolbox that you can choose from and then trying to create those tools that will make them successful, it’s a kick in the pants,” shares Hammond.
“All in all, what we’ve learned in our 18 years of doing this, and seeing hundreds of different styles and companies do it...we go ‘what’s your story? Where are you at right now and where do you want to be in a year or two?’ Then we stop our clients right there and say ‘Let us develop what we would consider that strategy for you, let us present what we would want to do to help you hit your goals. After we move forward with it, come back to us and let us know how well it matched your goals. People will come back to you if you give them a product and then fully implement it. That’s what keeps us going.”
Contact Information
Phone: 208-528-9593
Website: www.ieproductions.com
Address: 2975 McNeil Dr., Idaho Falls, ID 83402