Oklahoma’s first full-service audiovisual solutions provider, Cory’s, has evolved significantly since its 1953 inception as a storefront for film projectors and sound equipment. Expanding to service theaters and schools, it moved into custom advanced installations in the 1960s, establishing a reputation for trust through reliable relationships. The 70s saw Cory’s capitalize on Oklahoma City’s convention boom with a large-scale rental operation. By 1982, Joseph A. Cory, the founder’s son, took over and added live-event production to their offerings, retaining many of these clients to this day.
In 2012, cousins Brad Poarch (now CEO and Partner) and John Cory (now COO and Partner) purchased the family business. Amidst a landscape of large-scale conventions and theatrical productions, their leadership ignited an era of substantial growth, fueled by a relentless pursuit of innovation. Now in its third generation-ownership, Poarch and Cory have seen great change, growth and challenges.
In 2020, Cory’s faced an unprecedented challenge — the COVID-19 pandemic. Events ground to a halt, revenues plummeted and layoffs were inevitable. Yet, adversity sparked ingenuity as the firm swiftly pivoted toward streaming services and health-related technology devices. Not only did Cory’s survive, but it also emerged stronger, ready to rebuild. By 2021, the team expanded with the addition of a longtime-employee Britt Gotcher as a partner, furthering the company’s focus on innovation, enterprise-level business and the transformative value of AV for clients.
As we enter 2024, Cory’s celebrates over 70 years in business and has rebranded the company into three distinct divisions: Cory’s Spaces (integrated AV installations), Cory’s Onsite (onsite technical services) and Cory’s Live (event production and rental). Today, Cory’s offers a multi-faceted offering of rental, live-event production, creative services, technology installations, system design, preventative maintenance, troubleshooting and in-house partnerships. The new rebranding is a testament to the company’s evolution.
The Cory’s Standard
Cory’s reputation as a trustworthy company began with founder Joseph F. Cory, who emphasized exceptional client experiences. CEO and Partner Brad Poarch remembers his grandfather’s vision: “We aim to provide such excellent service that clients return time and again,” he says. “Looking at our 70-year history, we still serve clients from decades ago. This is due to our philosophy of setting high standards that create lifetime customers. Our focus on relationships guarantees repeat business and total customer trust.”
The leadership team at Cory’s has transformed the business to a well balanced powerhouse enfolding events and integration services. Courtesy / Cory’s
Chief Operating Officer and Partner, John Cory, reminisces, “Our company’s ethos, from my grandfather’s era, has always centered around innovation in audiovisual to meet client needs. He was a pioneer, creating custom control systems for multiple screens in the 60s and 70s when none existed. His ingenuity led him to motorize a projector screen to eliminate reflections. Like him, I’m an electrical engineer at heart, constantly seeking ways to simplify complex technology for our users.”
Five core values have stood through the test of time: quality, honesty, innovation, client centric and collective mindset. “We infuse these values into every interaction, both internally and externally,” adds Poarch. “Our primary goal is to invest in each other’s success, making lives easier and better.” Cory’s strategy is rooted in prioritizing customer care and upholding integrity. Poarch acknowledges, “We’ve had instances where we undersold labor or equipment didn’t perform as expected. Regardless, our stance is always customer-first.” Britt Gotcher, SVP of sales and marketing and partner at Cory’s, adds, “As a small-sized company, our strength lies in people and relationships. We rely heavily on existing client relationships for growth instead of large marketing budgets.” This approach has led to tremendous growth and near 90% repeat customers.
Cory’s thrives due to its people, consistent values, and low employee turnover, with some nearing 40 years of service. “Over the course of 70 years, our core values haven’t changed much — we’ve defined them better,” says Poarch.
Pivoting Operations Amid Pandemic Challenges
In 2019, Cory’s faced the biggest challenge — the pandemic. The company experienced a significant workforce reduction, decreasing from 46 employees down to 16. Due to the company’s reliance on events, it faced a significant speed bump in operations. However, Cory’s was able to pivot, turning their warehouse into a studio for local nonprofit organizations to come in and pre-record fundraising messages, stream projects and other live events. Cory’s doesn’t have a lot of red tape — the company is able to pivot quickly. “Colleagues from other larger companies have praised us for our agility,” shares Poarch. “While they struggle with years-long change processes, we’re able to execute in mere weeks. It’s a testament to our strength and efficiency.”
Poarch adds, “We retained our sales staff throughout the pandemic, recognizing the importance of maintaining customer communication to stay relevant and understand their needs. We pivoted to installing streaming systems, expanding our presence in the house of worship market.” Additionally, Cory’s seized the opportunity to equip classrooms across Oklahoma for remote learning, as many educational institutions did not have such capabilities.
Poarch states, “Since Britt joined us and we navigated the COVID challenges, our company’s trajectory has changed significantly from 2012, building on the 60-year legacy before John and I took over.”
Cory’s Rebrand
“The last couple of years, the integration side (now Cory’s Spaces) has just really taken hold,” says Poarch. “It’s running about 60% of our overall revenue right now. Through strategic emphasis on service and support agreements, it has fueled new business opportunities for us. And our events department (now Cory’s Live) keeps growing as well.”
Cory’s rebranding aims to effectively communicate the company’s diverse service offerings to long-term clients and better align with those who can benefit from multiple verticals of the business.
Poarch shares, “Many long-standing customers are unaware we do integration work.” The rebrand aims to highlight that the company is more than just a technology provider — it also offers services, whether on call or onsite, Cory’s is there to take care of customers.
Courtesy/Cory’s
Following the rebrand, Cory’s has started to witness a significant shift in clients’ comprehension of their offerings. Poarch explains, “[Our] Spaces customers want to know about the technology – is it going to work, every time? Live customers couldn’t care less about what’s in the order. What they care about is the feeling that they’re going to get throughout the process of event planning. Our Onsite clients care about response time — how quickly can we have them taken care of? Those three customers are all close-knit, but it is three different sets of messaging.”
Poarch continues, “We’ve struggled through all the years trying to figure out how do we get one message across that represents everything that we do, and we couldn’t find that.” He adds, “The rebranding, by breaking into three sub brands [Spaces, Onsite and Live] and also visually representing all three together in one logo at the same time has really helped us get to that because even if it makes people ask questions, like, ‘what does ‘Cory’s Spaces’ mean?’ We can jump into how we convert spaces to help people communicate and help people connect with each other. After which they ask, ‘Okay, but what is ‘Cory’s Onsite?’ It’s forcing our clients to ask, what do these services mean, and it’s giving us business opportunities.”
At the company’s anniversary celebration and rebranding unveiling in January 2024, a longtime integration client was asking what Cory’s Onsite means and what a service contract looks like. “If we can convert our clients to utilizing all the aspects of our diverse services, that’s a win,” says Poarch. “We’re already seeing successes from that because we’re able to have clear messaging to each one of those segments, but also represent all of them together visually.”
Download: How to Set Up Service Contracts in 5 Easy Steps
Unparalleled AV Experiences
As the firm looks to the future, service contracts emerge as the most promising avenue for growth. Cory’s Onsite services have grown tremendously — a trend that is not only sustainable for the business but also pivotal to the company’s future growth. New client installed projects now come with a one-year service agreement, and Cory’s is proud to report a robust renewal rate of 60 to 70% over the past three years.
Poarch reflects on the company performance over the past year, noting both integration and service segments showing significant growth. The focus for the business has now shifted to scalability. Cory’s hopes to build an extensive hiring pool of contractors and freelancers, all with an unwavering commitment to executing with excellence.
Cory’s isn’t just growing — they’re evolving. In essence, they’re not just offering services, they’re creating life-long partnerships and unparalleled AV experiences.
Click ‘View Slideshow’ to see additional photos of Cory’s remarkable 70-year legacy. All photos courtesy of Cory’s.
