The POWER of STORYTELLING
WHAT we do.
We help you position and tell your story in powerful ways. From customers to employees to families, stories are the authentic "sparks" of purpose within the foundation of our lives, our brands, and our business culture which connects and unites us as human beings in tangible and intangible ways.
HOW we do it.
We consult, produce, film, photograph, compose, record, broadcast, write, transform, and dream. From internal organizational story discovery, cultivation, and business strategy to creative production for all external traditional, digital, and social media channels, we put storytelling at the core of everything you do.
WHY we do it.
A Cassette Tape Recorder and a Bit of Familial Disobedience
My love for stories began as a child documenting my family’s stories through an audio cassette tape recorder I would set up, sometimes unbeknownst to others, to capture daily family life. Though I was often told to turn off the recorder, I would keep recording as long as I could because I loved the honesty of my family’s stories, unique truths, and my personal connection to it all.
Getting Lost at the State Theater
The small town State Theater, a 1940s-era movie house, was my childhood escape. Buzzing neon, the scent of a bygone era perfumed by the aroma of freshly buttered popcorn, I disappeared into the illumination of incredible stories glowing upon my window to the world, inspiring my own creativity a single frame at a time.
Small Towns are Fertile Ground for a Budding Storyteller
Growing up in a small Kentucky town raised by a mother from an even smaller Kentucky town, I developed an early understanding and affection for the simplicity, wisdom, and truths which form the bedrock of small towns. My father was a local businessman, barbecue pitmaster/restauranteur, and publisher of a shopper newspaper which documented local business storylines for over three decades turning many local business owners into extended family who I would visit often as a child tagging alongside my father as he made the rounds.
Falling in Love with Food and the Restaurant Business
My mother was a master at Southern cuisine and my father's love of cooking barbecue led him into the restaurant business during my childhood years. However, my passion for food and the restaurant business was inspired by the Pulcini Family. Mike and Lina Pulcini brought their pizzeria business and Italian cooking talents from New Jersey to my hometown in Kentucky when I was nine years-old to open the Pizza Pub. Over the next decade, much of my childhood was connected to their family table in the restaurant dining room where they would take breaks to glance at the newspaper or smoke a cigarette. Occasionally, Lina would leave the restaurant early to go home and prepare a huge Italian feast and invite us over after the restaurant closed to join them for the meal. At age 18, I worked at the Pizza Pub part-time delivering pizza, making pasta dishes, sandwiches and occasionally a pizza or calzone out front. A couple of years ago I caught up with the Pulcinis in New Jersey and filmed a documentary short, Inside the Pizza Box, (pictured to the right) which you can watch by clicking here.
A Decades-Long Detour to My Authentic Story
Like many, self-doubt led me away from my authentic story and toward well-worn career pathways in search of a happy life. After a short career in politics upon graduating from the University of Kentucky, I found myself in the first year of law school longing only to pursue my creative life after losing my mother to cancer. I quit law school and moved to Chicago to live my authentic story and creative life, which led to independent film scoring, photography, and documentary filmmaking while enjoying a successful career in not-for-profit association marketing, communications and executive management.
How a Borrowed Piano and My Brother's Piano Lessons Changed My Life
Around age 10, family friends loaned us a small upright piano. Perhaps it was the pecking order of age or lack of disposable income which explains why my brother was given piano lessons but not me. Still, I was absolutely entranced by the instrument and began teaching myself how to play which led to telling musical stories through my own piano compositions which would lead to composing for independent film decades later.
Social Frequency is Born
In 2009, at the height of the economic recession, I again grew anxious to move even closer to my authentic story and made the risky decision to leave behind a c-level job to start up a creative production company which would encompass my deeply rooted creative passion for the power of storytelling working with clients and creating my own original documentary films and web series.
Unlocking the Power of Storytelling
A decade later, Social Frequency has worked with over 100 businesses, associations and other organizations on storytelling and consulting projects ranging from creative production to organizational strategy. Additionally, we have produced four original Social Frequency documentary films and an award-nominated web series consisting of over 25 episodes.
The road ahead is extremely exciting and I look forward to welcoming you to the Social Frequency family as we work together to unlock the power of storytelling for you.
STUART MEYER
Founder & Chief Storyteller
Social Frequency
