Smile & co
Story
Overview
Bringing one of our most viewed sites for a beloved client into the future.
- Brand refresh
- Brand refresh
- Extended on-site photo & video session
- Extended on-site photo & video session
- S8E8 Storysite writing, design, & development
- S8E8 Storysite writing, design, & development
Smile & Co. and Studio 8E8 go way back. When Dr. Ashley Joves bought her first dental practice in 2017, she started documenting her experience on social media and her podcast, The Making of A Dental Startup. Her openness and vulnerability in sharing her story struck a chord with us, and we reached out to her with an offer. We wanted Smile & Co. to be our first dental startup website.
Smile & Co.’s website became the groundwork for what we’d come to call StorySites. In working with Ashley we discovered just how powerful video could be in showcasing and telling the story of a dental practice–how it exists in a community, how it serves patients better, and who’s behind it all.
When that first site launched in 2018, none of us realized how much it would rock the world of dental websites. We kept hearing about how much other dental practice owners loved it and wanted something like that for themselves. It was wonderful, and both us and Ashley reveled in the attention and flattery it brought.
Fast forward to 2023. We’ve made hundreds of websites at this point, and Smile & Co.’s design, video, and photography are still fan favorites. But we started to wonder if we could push the boundaries of what a dental website could be again, with the same amazing dentist and the same amazing practice. Caroline brought this idea to Ashley, and it turns out she was thinking the same thing. With a new location for Smile & Co. on the horizon, it was a perfect time to redesign the website.
In this article
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the Creative Direction
WHAT ACTIONS DID YOU TAKE TO PREPARE FOR THIS PROJECT?
A challenge was the vision we had (high-end, Tom Ford-esque) vs. the limitations of the space. We cleared out the entire break room area and set up our own studio, complete with lighting and a backdrop.
HOW DID THE STEPS DIFFER FROM OTHER PROJECTS?
I t was much more involved [than a typical project] both for our team and the client, particularly on the front end. We planned out many, many details ahead of time instead of relying on our "typical" photo session flow. Also, thanks for our creative calls the design & development process was more intentional from the start. We worked backward, in a way: setting the style & flow of the site, then shooting the content we'd need to execute that vision.
Caroline Lohrey, Creative Director
There was a lot of pressure for this project because of what the original Smile & Co. website did for us as a company and for the dental community as a whole. We had to create something showcasing how the Smile & Co. brand had grown and evolved to complement the brand-new space and type of dentistry Ashley and her team would provide.
This meant bringing a crew twice the normal size to help construct a temporary studio in their break room for headshots and a custom smile gallery, as well as conducting interviews and testimonials all over the building to showcase as much of the space as possible.
Tyler Keller, Videographer
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the Production
WHAT WERE THE RESULTS OF THE CONTENT SESSION?
The results were so good! We delivered a gallery of images that showed the whole day, from the high-end studio look we were going for, to highly stylized patient model shots, and behind-the-scenes content. One goal was to get hero videos for each page, which meant a big variety of b-roll. We accomplished all of this by shooting at two locations over two days.
Caroline Lohrey, Creative Director
Iwasn't directly hands-on with any of the assets that made it onto the final website, but I played a fun role in capturing BTS and creating a short 'docu-style-esque' piece that told Ashley's story with Josh Scott by her side. This was my favorite piece I made in 2023. Tying together the BTS from the shoot and showing off how we work as a collective, and then lacing it with the Ashley’s emotional story made for a really cool piece.
Caleb Long, BTS Video Producer
T he most unique part of this project, from a video perspective, was being able to capture a live feed of our photography process from the viewfinder of the camera, showing the viewer what we see during a shoot, and what Ashley and her team would see when shooting after photos from smile design cases. This concept was brought to life as the hero video on the Smile Gallery page and drove home the Tom Ford, luxury photoshoot feel Ashley had cited as inspiration for her, allowing potential patients to see themselves laughing and being the star of the show after getting a smile they love.
Tyler Keller, Video producer
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the website
Dr. Ashley Joves is a huge name in dentistry, and I felt an immense responsibility to ensure the copy remained true to her story.
We knew this version of the site wouldn’t be as copy-heavy as Smile & Co. V1, so every word needed to count. I absorbed everything I possibly could about Ashley — listening to interviews, learning more about her background, and researching her on social. She exudes warmth and is such a genuine person with an incredibly inspiring story.
Once I really got to know her, I jumped into the project, doing everything I could to capture that same vibe in the copy — keeping things mostly light and conversational.
This was a challenge because it was a huge project. Many hands on deck, many moving pieces, many talented people giving it their all. I did not want to let anyone down. So, getting started was a challenge. Looking at a blank word doc is always scary, but once I got the structure of the homepage down, it guided the rest of the site copy. It was the first website I've ever written and will remain something I'm super proud of!
Katie Siegel, Copywriter
With copy that really captured Smile & Co.’s voice and story, plus the high-end photography and video, the design team had all the building blocks needed to create a work of art.
One of my favorite parts of this process was seeing Ashley’s response to the homepage. She loved it, obviously!
Caroline Lohrey, Creative Director
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH S8E8?
Icouldn't imagine a better marketing agency to help tell my story...because MY story is worth it. And Studio Eighty Eight has captured it more beautifully than I could have imagined.
Dr. Ashley Joves
Your Story Is Worth It.
New Albany, Ohio 43054
© 2020-2022
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