What makes a producer use one rental company over another? It’s a question we often ask ourselves – and our clients – here at The Kit Room.
In particular, what do customers really value about our service? What keeps them coming back to us doc after doc, series after series?
The answers we get back are revealing: whilst the range, quality, and reliability of our kit is a given, the attributes that shine through repeatedly from our customer surveys is the friendliness, efficiency, ease of service and the great support we provide.
For a kit hire company, it’s a telling insight. Much like production itself, what you have – be it equipment or an idea – is only half the struggle. What you do with it – the service in our case, or execution of that idea in a production – is the key.
So we thought that if openness, clarity, and quality were what made us stand out, those were characteristics worth expressing in everything we do.
To reflect that, we’ve created a new website. The aim is a site that has a fresh, modern look with plenty of visuals, a user-friendly interface, easy navigation and lots of helpful information – from product reviews, blogs by programme-makers, to manuals, carnet information and more.
It’s meant to feel comprehensive but not overwhelming, much like The Kit Room itself. As a hire company, we feel strongly that our size helps mark us out: small enough to care about the little jobs and the charity and outreach programmes we support, such as The Grierson Trust Doc Lab and Eastside Educational Trust, yet big enough to secure ‘’preferred supplier’’ status at both the BBC and ITV, fulfilling the needs of major international productions whilst offering a boutique-style, personal service to all of our clients.
We’ve also given more prominence to our brand colour: green. We are conscious of the world around us – and our responsibilities within it – and are constantly striving to be an energy efficient rental company. We already offer a range of ‘’green’’ delivery options, and our lighting stock is made up almost entirely of energy efficient LEDs. Helping productions improve their ‘’green’’ credentials – and not only with Albert in mind – is central to our mission.
Stylistically, we wanted the images to reflect our reputation for servicing some of the most challenging documentaries and current affairs series around: the likes of Dispatches, Newsnight, Europe from Above, Rich Kids Go Skint and 999 What’s Your Emergency, where the quality and reliability – as well as the cost – of kit is at a premium. We are a hire company for real filmmakers, and so we wanted the photos to express that as much as possible.
The new website is only the next step in our ongoing redevelopment.
Recent investment into a range of new cameras, lenses, and lighting from manufacturers such as Arri has allowed us to extend further the reach of our services. Whilst traditionally focusing on broadcast series, we are now supporting commercial and branded content productions too, and continuing to keep our stock at the forefront of developments in the production tech industry.
Our team has been growing too – with Chris Fisher, a specialist in mini-cams and filming in extreme environments, joining the bookings team.
The Kit Room was born out of DV Talent to meet the growing demand from trainees looking for reliable, affordable kit hire and excellent service. Whilst now run and managed separately (we are still part of the wider DV Talent Group, working closely with sister companies www.thetalentmanager.com and Develop Talent Training), that remains central to our ethos.
We hope the new website makes the experience of working with us, and getting what you need, even easier and more pleasurable.
Have we succeeded? Let us know.
And make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter (@tvkitroom) and like our page on Facebook to keep up to date with our news and take advantage of our special offers and discounts.
