You may not know Jeff Shippee, but you’re probably familiar with some of his vintage work as one of Manhattan’s youngest producers of national television commercials.
He created a spot for the Broadway musical, “42nd Street” and won a Clio award for a commercial for a cracked wheat cracker company that featured 19 actresses playing nuns and a Mother Superior role filled by Portia Nelson from “The Sound of Music.”
Now, years later, Shipee is working in Rocky Hill as director of production services for Vrroomedia LLC, Pita Communications’ new media company. He is responsible for strategic development and production of video projects as well as e-learning systems.
“We want to help people do what they need to do and do it professionally for a lot less money than they’re used to spending,” Shippee said, noting that his firm does not have the high overhead costs associated with midtown Manhattan advertising agencies. “People can’t pay those fees for that kind of real estate. It’s no different than what’s being done in New York, Chicago or L.A. We’re doing the same production values in Rocky Hill.”
At age 55, Shippee knows he’s not a poster child for evolving technology — something usually associated with people decades younger. But he’s learned he has to stay ahead of the curve. “It’s necessary to reinvent yourself. You can’t do the same things you used to,” he said.
Shippee said an evolving medium for advertising is going to be telephones. The challenge is going to be setting rates for delivering that message. “You’re going to watch stuff on your telephone, but how do you charge for that? People are going to want to make money,” he said.
The Internet as a platform also presents challenges for marketers reaching customers used to the video quality of YouTube and similar sights. “The big question is: Will people not buy product if money is not spent on producing the ad? I don’t really have the answer to that.”
One of the best benefits of his new job is that he no longer commutes five hours a day to and from his former Easton home to New York City. Now, it’s just a quick zip from Middletown to Rocky Hill. He can be home in time for dinner with his wife and daughter.
“I was fortunate to find a gem of a company that had a need for a person like me,” he said.
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Keith Griffin is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
