The High Rock Story

We've recently been working on an updated press kit and portfolio for some big announcements we'll be making soon. As we were interviewed by our PR firm on how High Rock came to be, it was interesting to look back... We've bootstrapped this thing called "High Rock", took crazy risks, waited to hire only the best we could find and in the end, dare we say it, "advanced" our business. It's our mission to stay grounded in our efforts and continue to help our clients "advance" as well.

THE HIGH ROCK STORY

High Rock Studios has garnered a diverse list of local, regional and national clients in less than five full years in business. Headquartered in Hagerstown, Maryland with a Greater Baltimore office in Ellicott City, High Rock provides a powerful synthesis of graphic design, web development, video production and strategic marketing services to transform client goals into effective, market-sensible solutions for success.

The firm began in 2005 when Rich Daughtridge joined forces with fellow designer, entrepreneur and Hagerstown native, Dave Schleigh to launch High Rock Interactive. For the office that Rich would run, they bought The Clock Tower Building in the heart of downtown Hagerstown and began operating from two of the building’s four floors. For the office that Dave would run, they rented space in The Can Company along Baltimore’s waterfront.

Within two years, High Rock was winning ADDY awards – (including a District Award), serving clients in a variety of industries, and developing a particular niche among real estate and economic development organizations.

Following the decision to add video production to its scope of services, the company opened an office in Frederick, expanded to eight employees, and began operating as a full-service firm with a new name: High Rock Studios.

To accommodate growth, High Rock bought a 2,200-square-foot historic Ellicott City farmhouse – one of Maryland’s oldest structures dating back to 1730 – and refurbished it into the firm’s present- day Greater Baltimore location.

High Rock expanded to 15 people in 2008 with the acquisition of web development and graphic design firm, Ranablue, LLC. With continued growth came continued success. High Rock racked up more industry acclaim, including Best of Show honors at the Greater Frederick Advertising Federation's ADDY awards.

To ensure quality control, the High Rock team set out to find an effective time tracking and project management system. After scouring the market they realized the ideal system didn’t exist, so they decided to create one. The result was called LeftBrain and worked so well that High Rock began the process of marketing it for use by small businesses worldwide.

Since its founding, High Rock has given back to the community by providing pro bono work for several non-profit organizations. Taking it one step further, the firm established the LeftBrain Foundation to support worthy causes. In its debut, the Foundation donated an iMac computer and Adobe Creative Suite software to the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County. High Rock also taught youths in the Boys & Girls Club how to build a website (using the donated iMac) for Children in Need, another local non-profit organization.

2009 is shaping up to be the firm’s biggest and best year ever. Already, The Baltimore Business Journal has ranked High Rock Studios among the Top 25 Web Development Firms in Baltimore and the Surrounding Area.

As technology and communications strategies evolved to include e-mail marketing, search engine optimization, RSS feeds, blogs, Web 2.0 strategies and social media, so did High Rock’s service offerings.

High Rock recently developed the Social Media Toolkit: an easy-to-understand and practical approach to using social media applications. In addition to creating a client’s Twitter account and Facebook fan page – and building templates for additional applications, High Rock advises on how to use the tools effectively for industry-specific marketing needs.

By summer 2009, High Rock had grown to a staff of 20 talented, experienced and innovative professionals. To thank the employees for their hard work and dedication, High Rock’s principals announced they would take the entire staff – and their families – to Walt Disney World in January.

No doubt, 2010 will start off with a bang for High Rock Studios.