rAVe Pubs Evolves, Grows Into THE rAVe Agency
October 17, 2018 by Dave Haynes
Gary Kayye is a very smart, Type AAA guy who has been around the AV industry for 20 years, watching it grow and evolving his business to address gaps in services he believed he could fill.
He started with an AV marketing consulting firm, and that led to rAVe [Publications] – which is by probably any measure the most active, resource-rich online publication in the AV industry.
Kayye has since added all kinds of other services – including consulting, speaking, and content production, all loosely under rAVe. Now that’s all been consolidated under what has been branded as THE rAVe Agency.
The pitch:
Whether you are partnering with us as an editorial partner under [PUBS], as a creative partner under [CREATE] or relying on us for the strategy you need under [CONSULT], we are here for you. And we have what you need to get it done.
The pitch also includes work with events like trade shows, under [NOW].
The interesting part, to me, is the CREATE capability. As I have noted many times, it is completely nuts how the digital signage and, by extension, the display side of the broader pro AV industry, is almost devoid of creative agencies focused on the sector.
Mark Bennett of MicroGigantic – one of few agencies that do focus on this – mused about it in a recent 16:9 podcast.
That said, rummaging through the CREATE offer suggest it is less about pretty visuals and motion graphics and more about things like social media, editorial, video and VR production. This is all right in the Raleigh, NC-based company’s wheelhouse – as Gary just about invades several trade shows with teams of young editorial hires who flood the exhibit halls, shooting and rendering 100s of smartphone video interviews and tweeting their brains out.
I’m sure rAVe has some talented creatives, but I’m not (sorry) much of a fan of the company’s loud graphic design and color choices. Year after year, they’re variations on this … :-]
To their credit, the styles have calmed down – 2018 version.
Gary also has a monstrous database to leverage, and the trust/respect of a lot of pro AV people.
Smart move that I think will do well.
Thank you, Dave!