Founded in 1992, Dempsey Film is known for its creativity.
That’s because Demp Dempsey’s philosophy, which he confesses probably isn’t typical, puts creativity first. “Then I just handle the business side as best as I can.”
But that philosophy has served the company well. It now employs 30 people.
“The people we’ve hired are better than I am,” said Dempsey. “They have a passion for the work. And I don’t stay on top of everyone. I allow everyone to do what they do best.”
The company, which makes film and video productions, television commercials and corporate videos, also produces a national TV fishing show – FLW Outdoors.
“The biggest challenge,” Dempsey said, “is to convince people locally to do their work in state. It’s always more glamorous to go to New York or Los Angeles … but you can get a really good TV commercial without paying L.A. prices.”
As proof of that, Dempsey Film was a finalist for a Cleo award for a national spot done with Stone & Ward for Nickelodeon. The company has also won a gold medal at the Houston International Film Festival and won “hundreds” of Addy awards, the biggest creative ad competition in the United States.
Dempsey Film “strives to give clients more work than they paid for,” Dempsey said. “We are very service-oriented. All business is about relationships.”
Building relationships with clients has proved to be a worthy strategy for the company. Dempsey Film has done work across the United States, though it tries to focus in the region. Last year was the film company’s best year, and with production of the national fishing show with the largest tournament in the fishing business, the future looks positive.
Dempsey’s wife, Paula Dempsey, handles the finances of the company. “I couldn’t have done without her,” Dempsey said. One son left the engineering field to become chief operations manager of the company.
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1999
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