Desai Communications has been in business for 30 years and in that time has seen cutting edge go from slide shows to electron-borne wonders.
“We started very basic,” said Sandra Ruiz-Desai, co-owner of Stamford-based Desai Communications.
The company was formed in 1979 as Slideffects, focused on photo-slide duplicating, slide and photo processing and creating slide shows for corporate events. Her husband Bharat Desai is co-owner.
“We went through the slide era,” said Ruiz-Desai. “This was before PowerPoint came in, even before computers came in. We also went into typesetting. We were really like a production facility and photo-lab in the beginning. As the different industries change, you have to maintain relevance and find out what else we can do.”
Eventually Desai Communications emerged, a design studio with major printing capabilities that include corporate event backdrops, bus ads and subways signs. Desai”™s 14-person operation works with large companies like Heineken, Pepsi and Diageo.
“A lot of the work we”™ve done we start with concept and blow it out,” said Ruiz-Desai. “What we are right now is a company that can jump into any part of the production line. A lot of things that we did do are gone, nonexistent.”
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Ruiz-Desai said even now the technologies and services that are offered are beginning to find the tail end of their life while new more relevant technologies are coming on.
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“That”™s why we”™re constantly reinventing,” said Ruiz-Desai. “When there”™s new technology, it requires two things: It requires learning something new so there is fear of the unknown; and it requires capital. It”™s an uncomfortable risk but you have to do it and go full-steam ahead.”
Ruiz-Desai said the company has in the last five years begun to parlay its capabilities to supporting the event sets they help design.
“In California, in addition to designing the sets, we”™re bringing in 20 servers,” said Ruiz-Desai. “Now in addition to just being the production we”™re actually involved in the logistics of where the production ends up. We”™re to a point that along the time line we can fit anywhere. We work with companies and their agencies and we can work in lieu of agencies.”
Ruiz-Desai said that in the past few years there have been two trends she has seen: one in the growth of online media and the other in the presentation and event field. Desai Communications has preferred to specialize in presentation and event.
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“We collaborate with the advertising agencies; they”™re who have the budget,” said Ruiz-Desai.
Ruiz-Desai said admen were placing a lot of money into TV spots and now they”™re looking at a new place.
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“We”™re living in a white space between what was and what will be,” said Ruiz-Desai “Anyplace in the work flow, we show up. We”™re a benefit to these agencies, as well; they know that we can work with their concepts and bring them to life. I don”™t care how good your product is, if you can”™t get the message and brand out there, nobody”™s going to know.”
Ruiz-Desai said Desai Communications plans to continue its history of staying lean and maintaining its ability to turn on a dime to dictate its future course.
Ruiz-Desai”™s daughter Amanda Desai and niece Neha Desai-Jimenez head up client services for the operation and will eventually take over Desai Communications.
“Survival of the fittest; what are the chances of a small business in this industry surviving 30 years?” said Desai.
