It all started back in the 70's

...when Dick Marendt was soliciting broadcast producers in distant cities to hire him to voice their clients' commercials. Already a seasoned radio and television announcer of nine years in his hometown--Louisville, Kentucky--Marendt had written, produced and voiced hundreds of commercials.

A 1973 move to Little Rock to become KARN's Production Manager added to his experience voicing, producing and directing TV and radio commercials. He wanted to offer that experience to others across the nation while working as a free lancer.

About this same time, Clyde Snider purchased the recording studio Steve Jaggars had operated for decades.  Clyde set about recording demos for singers, musicians and song writers.  A record album he recorded for a gospel group on the ABC label was nominated for a Grammy Award, a credit to his engineering prowess. Advertising jingles and commercials quickly became part of the business mix.  Producers were impressed with his engineering skill and "his good ear for the right sound!"

Meanwhile, Marendt's voice work was building but he was having difficulty with studio producers.  After recording his voice track and selecting music, he would leave the project in the engineer's hands for final production.  When he arrived at the time promised to pick up his master tape and radio station copies for shipment to the out-of-state ad agencies, the projects were seldom ready.  A better solution had to be found if he wanted to instill confidence in his new clients.

A friend introduced him to some struggling, part-time studio people who were creating jingles but having limited success in selling them.  They solicited Dick's help in making jingle sales, suggested that he buy into the company and voice all his commercials there and control production.  The mix worked.

Soon Marendt convinced other local free lance voice talent to bring him their commercial work.  Local ad agencies discovered the new supplier which was delivering on its promises and meeting tight deadlines.

Telling producers he could make their lives less stressful, Marendt convinced them to make just one telephone call to his company, and an entire commercial project could be completed to their specifications, on time, and for the price he would quote up front.  If they liked the finished product (which could be played to them over the telephone), they could count on the tapes being on their desk the next morning (thanks to dependable overnight courier service) for distribution to local stations. 

Since fax machines were not yet commonplace, the writer or producer was asked to carefully read the commercial copy into the telephone.  The call was recorded, enabling the commercial to be transcribed/typed for reading by the voices cast for the parts.  The producer was offered the choice of either "listening in" and directing the session by phone or of waiting until work was completed and hearing the final product.

That's all they had to do:  make one telephone call.  They did not have to cast the talent or coordinate a studio booking around everyone's schedules.  They did not even have to leave their desk!

The simple idea easily attracted followers. Soon, Marendt needed another well-equipped studio to handle all the new business.  That is when a merger took place between Snider's Pinnacle Sound and Marendt's On-Air Productions, resulting in the new corporate name, Audio Recording Corporation of Arkansas (ARCA).