Rising Star: Robin Desjardins
Name: Robin Desjardins Age: 39 Hometown: Southington Occupation: Principal, First Image, Hamden Biography: The media industry is evolving at a breakneck pace as new and improved communications technologies roll out seemingly by the day. To forge success in the field of television, radio and Internet marketing, a company has to take advantage of the greatest benefits these vehicles have to offer. Anyone with the right equipment can produce a video or radio broadcast. However, it This is where the owner of First Image of Hamden, Robin Desjardins, truly shines. First Image is a broadcast design and multimedia production company specializing in new media, marketing and sales CDs and DVDs, business-to-business products, corporate image programs, television commercials, direct response materials and infomercial campaigns.Jim Cardosi, president and CEO of PathPro Golf in Chicago, which developed a golf-training device to eliminate hooks and slices and help golfers hit longer and straighter, keeps driving back to First Image for his marketing efforts, including a 30-minute infomercial and other broadcast programming. The Hamden firm's one-stop quality service suits him to a T.
"We selected First Image based on reputation for creativity and their approach of blending marketing and sales techniques in a way that interpreted my vision and demonstrated our product well," Cardosi says. "With full capabilities in 3D and animation, we had it all in one package." Cardosi says he also likes the fact that First Image never "has a cookie-cutter approach to anything."
Born and raised in Wethersfield, Desjardins attended Central Connecticut State University for a degree in television and media. She then put her creativity to work at WHCT-TV in Hartford as a quality assurance operator and then at WSFB-TV in the capital city as assistant director for news.
This experience made her a perfect candidate for Bristol sports-entertainment giant ESPN, which she joined as assistant director of live sports programming, including basketball, golf, auto racing and bowling. While still working for the network, Desjardins was building a client base of companies that hired her as a producer for their own in-house video and film projects. She went out on her own in 1998.
At first, like most new entrepreneurs, Desjardins had to scramble for work. However, she was soon getting calls from referrals based on her reputation as her mix of creative talent and technical know-how spread. First Image now has produced award-winning commercials for local, national and international clients such as Arla Foods, Cadbury-Schweppes, Fleet Bank, the Knights of Columbus, Quick Chek Stores and Leading Jewelers of the World.
In addition to producing for other companies, First Image creates its own programming for sale to corporate marketers and broadcasting stations. The firm just completed a 30-minute pilot for a show called C, which will include lifestyle, travel, entertainment and political connections in the Connecticut community - including themes such as country cuisine and civic concerns.
Its business of seven employees continues to grow in sales and clients, especially with the use of the latest technology of high definition (HD) video. For companies such as Garden Center Group in Baltimore, which wants only the highest quality broadcasts to display the vibrant hues of its flowers, HD provides the perfect answer.
When Desjardins made the decision to set off on her own, she said to herself, "What do I have to lose? I can always go back to a nine-to-five job."
That was the last time she had such a thought. As long as she makes other companies stand out, so will she.
Achievements: Desjardins' work has earned 18 Telly awards - for excellence in local and cable TV advertising - over five consecutive years. The last one received in 2004 for Swingeye Pro, a high technology golf swing-improvement product made by Swingeye Systems of Weston, Fla.
Goals: "We hope to develop more of our own productions and rely more on the latest technology, such as high-definition broadcast as well as continue to develop the latest web-based multimedia vehicles."
