Remembering milestones is much easier if you begin them at the turn of the century. Eventually, after writing the correct year enough times, you’ll soon realize that 25, being a nice, round, notable number, also carries some significance.
So maybe it took us a few weeks to take note, but 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of Innovations Branding House as a business. 25 years of innovation, imagination, and impact. 25 years of serving Paducah, the surrounding region (and beyond), building brands and helping businesses realize their fullest potential.
Back in the year 2000, Todd Duff was a recent graduate of Murray State University who knew which way the wind was blowing as far as the future of business and technology was concerned.
As he tells the story, he bought a computer, bought some software, built a website and then set about the sales circuit to offer local businesses the future. “If you were going to continue to compete as a business in the modern world, you were going to have to be ‘online’ to do it.”
We didn’t know it at the time, hell, he didn’t know it at the time, but like some other keen-eyed and creative-brained tea leaf readers, he had a hunch, and the idea for IVS, Inc. was hatched.
To make a very long story short, we’ve been creating authentic brands and providing them with more than just marketing (but a whole lot of that, too) for 25 years now.
But, in the short story version, you miss some pretty incredible details that highlight (to humble brag for a moment) the dedication to our clients and perseverance it took to get us here, 25 short years later.
It Began With A Dream (And A Sale)
Fresh out of college, young and hungry and seeing a gaping void where the future and Paducah would eventually merge, Todd had a simple dream in mind: to own his own business.
At this point, Todd’s expertise was in 3D renderings & design. His first opportunity came from a meeting he set, along with an engineer (who was also a friend and classmate), with international sensation and Paducah-based Dippin’ Dots. Using his rendering experience, Todd was able to secure some patents for the Dippin’ Dots company.
Shortly after a similar success with Pepsi, Todd had an idea to reach more customers.
He knew that 3D rendering & design was a useful skill, but not one that would have a wide customer base. There was, however, another computer-forward opportunity there for the taking: websites for businesses.
IVS, Inc. actually began by happenstance. Todd had gained a reputation for his digital renderings after the Dippin’ Dots and Pepsi contracts, and a cold call presented a new opportunity. Making the loose connection between “digital” renderings and “digital” websites, Todd got a call, asking about his capabilities for website building.
In the year 2000, the internet was still a fairly new concept. Flip phones didn’t even exist yet. The best place to find information on a business or service was in the Yellow Pages. But, advantageous businesses across the country were starting to jump on an emerging trend: having a digital space to promote their business on this newfound “internet.”
So, having a grasp on the graphic side of the digital world, Todd had a meeting with this new contact in his modest apartment. She sat in a chair, explaining the desires for the business’s digital footprint. He sat on the edge of his bed (the apartment was not very big), heard her pitch, and made the first sale for what would soon be IVS.
The only challenge was, in his words, “Now I have to figure out how to build a website.”
He immediately headed down to Books-A-Million and bought a book on HTML, bought a server, and then hired a designer to help build it.
Needing more space than his apartment could hold, Todd found an office on Kentucky Avenue in an old apartment building that had been retrofitted as commercial space. Here, with his server, his employee, his (now several) books on website building, he added to the repertoire a sport coat and red tie to accompany the church pants he had already invested in and hit the streets.
“Have you thought about having a website?” He’d ask business after business, hoping to keep the momentum going for this newfound venture.
Here’s how he described that process:
“I’d set a goal. I’d say ‘Today, I’m going to get 20 no’s,’ and I’m not stopping until I get to 20.’ I chose to quantify the no’s because if you go out on the sales path thinking ‘I’m getting 2 yes’s today,’ you’re going to get disappointed really quick. If you go out and don’t stop until you hit your ‘no’ quota, you’re going to end up with some ‘yes’s’ along the way.”
In filling those “no” quotas, IVS ended up with a fair share of “yes’s” and momentum continued as more and more businesses got serious about their digital identities.
The Broadway Days
IVS, Inc. had now been operating a successful website and graphic design company for a few years. Business was steady, but rent was always due. It was about this time Todd decided to take the next step, which in his mind was buying a building to own and operate the business. “Real businesses own buildings,” he said to himself.
At this point, Todd and his wife, Laura, had just purchased their first home and had saved up enough money to begin the first necessary renovation on that project: a new kitchen. The day the interior designer came to go over the plans for this badly needed upgrade, Todd had a question. He asked if she knew of anyone selling office space in the downtown area, and as luck would have it, this same designer had a building for sale at 404 Broadway, right downtown.
Not only was the location perfect for Todd’s vision, but it also happened to be just about the same price as a home kitchen remodel. Laura, having been the first champion of IVS’s mission, agreed that the kitchen could wait. So the business relocated to its first Broadway address.
With a new location and some much-needed extra space, it was also time to grow the team.
Enter the Sherri Era.
The Sherri Era
Sherri has been with Innovations for 18 years now, doing the critical work of being the glue that holds us all together. Handling day-to-day activities, nurturing client relationships, planning and strategizing everything from project management to snack management, while also serving the role of being the shoulder to lean on for the Innovations team. An irreplaceable human who our continued success has hinged upon throughout the years.
But to start, Sherri was the first salesperson on the IVS team.
At 404 Broadway, Todd and Sherri ran the point while the now two-person design team handled the website building. At about the same time, another website was gaining worldwide popularity on the ever-expanding internet. This website was YouTube.com.
Only the youngest readers might be confused by the thought of A. YouTube not yet existing, and B. The fact that it was just a website and not the app we’ve become all too familiar with in the decades since.
But YouTube’s emergence sparked a local interest in having a well-produced, technically proficient “about us” or “how we work” type of video on their soon-to-be-created website. It was actually first brought up in a meeting with a potential client who wanted the highest quality video we could provide, and Todd assured him he’d be blown away by the results.
The only problem was up to this point, IVS was just shooting basic videos with the same camcorder you/your dad/your grandad used to film opening presents on Christmas Day. While we could’ve gotten creative with the tools we have (an unofficial Innovations motto from early on), Todd wanted to be sure this video not only knocked the socks off the client, but could also impress the many, many folks who’d see the video and ask where it was produced.
So he did what only he knew to do at that moment and called B&H’s customer service department.
He gave the B&H consultant a rundown of the video he wanted to create, and the next day, which was a Friday, we had a brand new studio on our doorstep. Todd spent the weekend learning the equipment, creating his shot list, testing lighting, and just a few days later, produced a pretty killer “about us” video that had this client over the moon.
Turning the Page: Innovations Is Born
Sherri had decided sales was not her passion. In fact, her exact words to Todd at that moment were “I hate sales.” (It’s not for everyone!)
We had also accumulated a significant amount of photo and video equipment, computers for the growing team and not enough office space (or space between the single restroom and Sherri’s desk) that sanity requires for a workspace.
The year was 2009. The economy was in the tank. Businesses were scaling back and people were losing jobs while recent graduates struggled to find one. Todd decided this was the perfect time to go all in and rebrand. And not just that, “let’s change the name AND move, just to confuse everyone.”
Ok, that wasn’t actually how the plan was drawn, but in hindsight, that’s what it felt like.
It stood to reason the IVS name no longer fit the mission of this website-building, photo-taking, video-producing digital team Todd had built, nor did the building physically fit the many components that made up our business.
On top of that, 2010 was around the corner. We were embarking on our 10th anniversary, so it felt like the right time to make the change of all changes (everything).
Wanting to keep a connection to the IVS name, Todd limited his name search to things that utilized those letters, and Innovations was an obvious standout.
Through years of meetings, sales, and too-close-for-comfort bathroom accommodations, IVS had also become something of a family, so Todd wanted there to be a “family” aspect to the name.
In addition to those points, he also thought toward the future. After he made the video purchase from B&H, he had a vision: that he would somehow use that equipment to do product work… product videos, TV commercials, maybe even new logo reveals, and ultimately, he wanted Innovations to be the place people came to realize their ideas.
With those three points in mind, Innovations Branding House was born.
He had also stumbled upon a bigger, MUCH bigger, building for sale just a couple of blocks away at 612 Broadway. It was an old building with a rich history and 6000 square feet to work with, and he knew this would be the home for his newly established brand.
Having met the annual spending allowance, the newly anointed Innovations team had to get creative when it was clear movers weren’t in the budget. So, the business made its two-block trek on rolling carts, elbow grease and true grit.
Taking New Shape
From here, growth ensued for the Innovations team. One by one, Todd and Sherri built departments to handle the different arms of the business tasked with building brands: a photo and video team, a graphic and website design team, and a content and digital team.
Todd will be the first to tell you his method in team building: find and hire the experts who know more than he does about their given field.
Our departments grew, our experience helped fine-tune our expertise in each of these areas, and we were able to adapt with each new phase of digital marketing.
SEO for websites, websites built on CMSs, social media marketing, digital advertising, and copywriting for all of that and more. We were full-throttle in the world of building brands, helping clients big and small, local and national to realize their fullest potential.
The coffee was hot, the ideas were free-flowing and the successes (and a few awards) mounted. It was a tried and true example of strategic business growth adapting for the modern times.
And that’s exactly how it played out until the first major hiccup, one that happened to affect the entire world.
Got It On Lock(down)
COVID was a pivotal time for many people, and in turn, many businesses. We were thankful and humbled that we sustained the blows the pandemic brought by reworking our collaboration tactics, pivoting to a video-forward communication method with clients and potential clients, and quickly providing our team with the ability to transition to remote work.
Not only that, but we were also able to help our clients and other businesses along the way by helping them adapt to the ever-changing environment of that time.
Perseverance and resilience have long been traits of Innovations, not because they are written in our brand statement, but because that’s the type of team Innovations has always been. One prepared to move on the fly; one prepared to assess and regroup at a moment’s notice.
These traits came in handy in 2021, just as we were about to all return to the office post-COVID. A faulty A/C unit from one of the apartments above exploded, turning Innovations Branding House into Innovations Burning House, a name iconized with a fresh logo design to commemorate the event.
Thankfully, everyone in the building was OK, and only “stuff” was lost. Stuff that was easily replaceable. And, still just being on the heels of COVID, working remotely wouldn’t be a problem for our then seasoned WFH veterans.
Still, it did slightly take the air out of our “Reunited and it feels so good!” party plans. Assessments of the building’s damage were going to take months, not to mention the extensive rehabilitation efforts it would take to get the badly burned building back up to operating standards.
So, just past the time of our 20th anniversary, Todd found himself right where he began after that first apartment bedroom sale: looking for a place to rent in downtown Paducah.
Lo and behold, as was the case back in the early 2000s, a right place/right time conversation took place, and Todd had found a rental space above the famed Grill 211, which could accommodate a long-term resident.
Quarters were CRAMPED, aromas were plentiful, and many stair-steps were achieved, but Innovations finally had a space to meet and collaborate again. (Unless it was a meeting-meeting. There was no space for those!)
Feelin' Fine at 609
Having had quite the transition, going from working remotely to practically having our desks stacked on top of each other, the most remarkable aspect of those years is that Innovations never lost a beat. While those challenges affected us all, it was never in a way that hindered the work from getting done. A testament to the team-oriented mindset that puts our clients first while we navigate the “how-to’s” on the back end.
This is something that hit Todd particularly hard. While doing the important job of running the business and having client meetings, Todd was also having to deal with the deluge of insurance claims, building inspections, and working diligently to get all the ducks needed in a row so we could start rebuilding our (now, MUCH needed) space again.
To make a VERY long story short(er), it became clear after a while that Innovations Branding House’s days at 612 Broadway had passed. So an immediate search began for a replacement, and once again, a serendipitous opportunity presented itself.
Wouldn’t you know, a historic, excellent shell of a building had recently become available, just one block north of our old Broadway home, this one at 609 Jefferson St. It was basically four massive brick walls and a slatted wooden ceiling, and a whole lot of space in the middle to build out whatever we wanted.
And that’s where we are today.
25 years later, finally in what feels like a home that reflects the ideas and culture of the Innovations brand. A massive space to meet and collaborate. A designated space for our bar, both “coffee” and “full” depending on the time of day. A dedicated space for some of the arcade games Todd has meticulously refurbished over the years. A stylized room to hold our still-frequent Zoom meetings for our out-of-town clients.
It’s the culmination of 25 years of hard work, determination, and always keeping a plan and backup plan for progress and growth, whether it’s for the clients we love, or the work we love doing for them.
Join us in celebrating this milestone, one that you, our humble reader/follower/client/friend, have made possible by being the supportive entity that you are.
Here’s to the next 25!
