Locals Only: Q&A WITH ERIC ROJAS ON LAUNCHING SIX+ONE STUDIOS

 

By thelaegotist / /

Minority-owned independent creative agency Six+One has just launched a full-service production arm, Six+One Studios, with the aim of helping brands achieve the holy trinity of speed, high quality and cost-efficiency in their content production. It has already signed eight well-known photographers and filmmakers to exclusive deals, has full-service locations in Los Angeles, New York and North Carolina and has created exclusive content for the likes of Hippeas, Rowdy Energy Drink and Virus Apparel. We spoke to the agency’s Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Eric Rojas, about how Six+One’s approach to production is unique, how they selected creators to headline the offering and why so much of their talent is based in LA.

Egotist: What hole in the market is Six+One Studios intended to fill?

Rojas: We live in a culture of immediacy and are always looking for more–more content, more entertainment, more engagement. For brands to keep up with this high demand they have to put out content daily. The challenge this creates is making sure the content they produce is up to par with the brand they have established, and often that level of work comes with a high-end price tag. We created Six+One Studios to exceed our client’s expectations of producing content with excellence, efficiency and value that helps their audiences stop scrolling and start engaging with their brand. 

Egotist: It’s famously hard to optimize for speed, quality and cost at the same time. How does your approach solve for this and how does it differ from what other agencies/production companies are doing?

Rojas: We’ve accounted for speed, quality, and cost by bringing eight award-winning photographers/filmmakers in-house to our full-service ad agency. The combination of our strategy and creative departments working closely with our content creators brings a level of excellence and speed to the process. And when clients are on a 6-month/yearly retainer, we can do this for a fraction of the cost. In addition, the work produced is not only ripe for consumption on social media but is also suited for digital, OOH, and POS assets. In essence, we are providing our clients with a library of hundreds of strategic, creative images and videos over the course of a year. 

Egotist: How did you select the first eight creators?

Rojas: After decades in the industry, we built fantastic relationships with the people we work with, so the decision of which eight creators, or “disruptors” as we call them, to bring on our roster came together very organically. Each talent has mastered their discipline, whether in tabletop, food, electronics, fashion, lifestyle, or sports and entertainment, which provides our clients a high-end quality range for each of their particular needs.

Egotist: There’s a heavy focus on LA-based talent. Was that intentional? Talk about the LA talent pool a bit and why it’s so crucial to have an outpost here.

Rojas: LA is an amazing place for production. With so many studios (streaming and traditional) and PR companies there, it’s an ideal place to find incredible talent. And with perfect weather and natural beauty all around, it’s also a great place to take advantage of from a scenic standpoint for our clients. Additionally, though our main Six+One ad agency offices are in New York, we have multiple team members based in LA. 

Egotist: Was exclusivity a tough sell in today’s freelance marketplace? How did you convince the creators to come on board?

Rojas: It wasn’t a tough sell at all, as we provide each of our disruptors with a rebrand, tightening their positioning to help sell them to existing and new clients. They also have the strength of our full-service agency at their disposal to help with any projects at hand, from strategy, creative, and/or production. In essence we are both stronger together than we would be working together at random as we had typically done in the past. 

Egotist: What types of clients is this offering best-suited for?

Rojas: We cover a wide range of offerings for our clients, so it’s hard to pick one category that’s best suited for us. Our physical studios are ideal for tabletop, portrait, and full-video production. Our post-production facilities cover editing, producers, and re-touchers for brand videos, social content, and print. So, our offering truly facilitates any client looking to engage their audiences daily with high-quality content for organic, paid, digital, or traditional marketing needs, whether your brand is in CPG, fashion, electronics, financial, wellness or telecommunications.

 

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