Member Spotlight: The NW Collective

Bend, Ore., July 18, 2022- The NW Collective was started in 2013 when Eric Parnell and his wife moved back to Bend after a three year hiatus in Albuquerque, NM. Utilizing the skills Eric learned while working in film and television in New Mexico to bring high end production opportunities to clients, he began looking for a Bend based content partner.

We sat down with Eric to learn more about how The NW Collective is impacting businesses both locally and nationally.

EDCO: Tell us about yourself/background and The NW Collective.

Eric: Shortly after starting the company I got more work than I could handle and made a couple hires, but we have stayed relatively small since then. We have maintained our base of three full-time employees and take pride in always bringing our "A team" to each project. Our work is probably 60 percent local projects, a fair amount in Portland, and a few national projects each year that take us to shoot in fun places like Boulder, New York, or most recently on an Organic Farm in southern Idaho.

EDCO: Tell us about what services you provide?

Eric: We create content for many different channels from Amazon product videos, YouTube preroll ads, Broadcast TV Commercials, Social Media content, and Brand Films ("About Us" type videos). In all of those outputs we operate as a full service production company providing creative development (brand work, scripting, talent casting, locations, etc), Directing/Shooting the content, and a post house offering edits, music, titles, and animation services.

EDCO: Who is your ideal client (size, location etc.)? How do they find you?

Eric: Our ideal client right now would be outdoor/athletic or food and beverage. We've found that beautiful people, in beautiful places, doing interesting things is kind of our sweet spot. But we really get excited about taking a company's values and communicating those in a way that will connect with customers and compel them to action. If we can do that, we're open to all industries.

EDCO: Why operate a business in Central Oregon?

Eric: Honestly, as a video production company we've probably been somewhat inhibited by being in a smaller market like this. But that is something we all are 100% okay with in exchange for getting to live in beautiful Bend, Oregon. We are excited by the recent growth, and it gives us confidence that this is somewhere we can stay for a long time.

EDCO: Do you have a story of success you’d like to share about your business?

Eric: Several years ago we were in talks with Microsoft about doing a series of training videos for their Azure AI arm. At the time, the idea was for us to go to Seattle and create this content. In our pitch we offered up the option of shooting here in Bend, and rather than flying our team to them, their team could come and visit a gorgeous new and interesting location that would have all the geological diversity we needed to shoot five unique spots in one week. They ended up loving the idea and we shot with their team for a week all over Central Oregon. This unique juxtaposition worked really well and they let us know that those videos were some of the most well received video content they've done. The training videos ended up becoming required viewing for 35,000 employees in the company. It went over so well, that when they needed to create a series of recruiting videos for this same department, they hired us again and flew one team member from India, China, UK, and New York to Bend to communicate messaging about their tech in a beautiful outdoor environment.

EDCO: What does your future look like and what are some of your goals?

Eric: I recently decided that the two markets we're serving - local, small-business focused work, and enterprise level clients - are different enough that it would make sense for us to run these as two separate companies. By streamlining our product offerings for local small businesses we'll be able to be much more efficient and have more affordable services. In turn, The NW Collective will stay focused on very customized, higher end projects.

EDCO: What else would you like to share with us? What makes your business unique?

Eric: I think video crews can often take themselves too seriously. We like to keep it laid back and fun and we often hear how refreshing that is. I really get excited seeing our work help businesses grow, so if you think a great video marketing campaign could help your business, please don't hesitate to reach out. Some people think they need to have a script or a full video idea before making contact, and I'd say don't wait that long. We can help with those early stage pieces and would love to brainstorm with you even before you greenlight anything.

EDCO: Any recent news stories you’d like us to share?

Here's a fun Western themed commercial for Visit Central Oregon that we did that aired on Cowboy TV. https://vimeo.com/540397715

This is an active wear laundry detergent commercial for a Boston-based company that we shot here in Oregon. https://vimeo.com/481384680

Here's one of the Microsoft spots I referred to that we shot here in Central Oregon. https://vimeo.com/440455806

EDCO: How do you support EDCO and why?

Eric: I became an EDCO member because I saw the value in being a part of this community. I believe a rising tide lifts all boats and I've learned that together we can do much more than we can alone. It's been really fun connecting with other business owners at PubTalks and other EDCO events and I'm always ready to advise or contribute in the areas I can.