Our newest client is internationally acclaimed architecture firm Perkins+Will, who this year will celebrate their 75th anniversary.  The firm, founded in Chicago, has asked us to tell their story in six parts.

The first episode, which features Perkins+Will CEO Phil Harrison, launched this week.  We will be launching one video a month leading up to the firm’s anniversary celebration.

The strategy behind this project is courtesy of our friends at Chicago’s 50,000 Feet.

For more you can visit the Perkins+Will 75th anniversary section of their website.

Episode #1 | “Phil”. Architecture and design firm Perkins+Will was founded on innovation in 1935. Seventy-five years later, P+W is still at the forefront with its emphasis on green operations and sustainable design. Phil Harrison, P+W President and CEO, says, “It’s exciting to think that you can actually make a really big difference.”

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Episode #2 | “Ralph”. This Perkins+Will video gives us an inside look at Firm Wide Design Principal Ralph Johnson – his buildings, his philosophy, his style, and his passion for creating meaningful solutions, with style, in architecture.

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Episode #3 | “Crow Island School”. How can our storytelling tell the history of an organization and still make it compelling and informative? The story of Perkins+Will and Crow Island School is a great example. We combined old and new media and found a great story along the way.

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Episode #4 | “Peter”. This story comes from Vancouver. We profile Peter Busby, an expert in Sustainable Design with Perkins+Will. Peter looks at the evolution of sustainable design as an organic process and that it can be used as to nurture nature and the people who live in and around healthy buildings.

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Episode #5 | “Haworth” This Video video takes us into the award-winning headquarters of Haworth Office Supplies and into the design mindset Perkins+Will used to create the celebrated space. “To truly help us, they had to know Haworth and believe in our vision,” Haworth CEO Franco Bianchi says. “They made our business stronger.”

Episode #6 | “Creativity” This Perkins + Will video shows us design exposed in some of the most stunning spaces in all of New York City. Perkins + Will’s Eva Maddox says, “Now that it’s been exposed, I don’t think it will ever go back in the box.”

Just launched!

Join the Kmart Apparel team as they travel to Barcelona and London to find the latest trends in shoes and accessories.

This is the latest in our BEHIND THE DESIGN series.

Directed in Barcelona and London by Jack Davidson.

Trend Trip #1: London.  Watch Kmart Accessories Designers, Robin & Ruby, begin the design process as they get inspired by colors & trends in London.

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Trend Trip #2: Barcelona.  Watch Kmart Footwear Designer Steve trek around Barcelona, getting inspired by European style for future Kmart shoe designs.

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Trend Trip #3: London.  Watch the continuation of Kmart Accessory designers, Robin & Ruby’s trend trip to London. They look for next year’s “must-have” items and find inspiration for women’s purses in a hot military jacket. Learn why they say design is a visual language.

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Trend Trip #4: Barcelona.  Watch the continuation of Kmart Shoe Designer Steve’s trend trip to Barcelona. Learn how it’s more than just sketching a great shoe…It takes years of technical experience to bring a great look with great quality at a great price.

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QUINN STORIES on Twitter

Political consultant and blogger Bridget Dooley praises QUINN STORIES — AboutFace’s video campaign for Pat Quinn’s Illinois gubernatorial bid.

Check out her kind (and astute) words and watch a video to see what all the buzz is about.

“I’m seriously impressed! Humanizing stories and testimonials that illustrate the character, personality, and positions of a politician make a huge difference to voters who otherwise don’t give politics more than 5 minutes a week of their time.

It’s a monumental struggle to capture the electorate’s attention span beyond that 5 minute mark! It requires expert targeting, ingenuity, and a lot of innovative thinking (if your campaign doesn’t plan to spend trillions of dollars on pricey media buys, anyway).

No matter where you stand on the race for Governor of Illinois, it’s hard to deny that David Rosen over at the Quinn Campaign has done a great job on these web videos. Keep up the great work!”

In December we launched “Quinn Stories” with this ‘teaser’ video:

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Ep. 1: AGRICULTURAL DAY. In this first video installment of Quinn Stories Governor Pat Quinn attends the 2009 Illinois State Fair. Follow the Governor as he meets farmers, attends an auction, and talks about the importance of agriculture in his state.

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Ep. 2: THE PRIMARY. In this second episode of “Quinn Stories” Governor Pat Quinn begins his primary campaign with a rousing speech to fellow Democrats, ending with a standing ovation.

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Ep. 3: TORNADO WARNING. In this third video installment of Quinn Stories Governor Pat Quinn attends the 2009 Illinois State Fairs Governors Day. Follow the Governor as he chats with people from all over the state, only to have his visit cut short due to a tornado warning

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Ep. 4: THE GOOD DOCTOR. In this fourth video installment of Quinn Stories celebrated Illinois doctor and social activist Quentin Young welcomes the filmmakers into his home to discuss Governor Pat Quinns integrity and friendship.

A 20 year proponent for healthcare reform, Dr. Young was a founder and served as National Chairman of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, which was formed in June of 1964 to provide medical care for civil rights workers, community activists, and summer volunteers working in Mississippi during Freedom Summer.

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Ep. 5: THE QUINN BOYS. In this, perhaps our most intimate, episode of Quinn Stories, Governor Pat Quinns sons, Patrick and David, share memories of growing up in Chicago. Follow the Quinn boys around town as they talk about a Weezer concert, “Hoop Dreams” and Gov. Quinn as a parent.

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Ep. 6: PIZZA MAN. In this weeks episode of Quinn Stories, we meet John Clark, owner of Reggio’s Pizza in Chicago. In 1982, Pat Quinn helped Clark complete a financing package that helped Reggios become the only African-American owned frozen pizza manufacturing operation in the U.S.

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Ep. 7: GOLD STAR. In this seventh video installment of Quinn Stories the families of fallen heroes discuss Governor Quinn’s dedication to those in the armed services.

Highlighted in this episode are touching and personal conversations with “Gold Star” parents and the signing of the “Line of Duty Benefit” into law by Gov. Quinn.

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Ep. 8: THE CAMPAIGN. It’s crunch time at Governor Pat Quinn’s campaign headquarters and we bring you a front row seat to all the action. In this episode of Quinn Stories we go behind the scenes at the bustling Quinn For Illinois headquarters where volunteers and staff work frantically, side by side, to make sure the Governor wins the primary on Feb. 2nd.

The TREK Belleville Bike

Jack Davidson directed the latest episode of our Trek Document series with episode 22, a profile of Trek industrial designer Michael Leighton.

This piece does a good job of using a ‘hero’ and his story to relay a company’s marketing message in an engaging manner.

The piece explores his inspiration for Trek’s new Belleville bike and provides insight into how it was built to reduce environmental impact.  This is a good example of getting across a “green” message in a nice, genuine manner.

From Trek’s Youtube description:  ”Take a quick spin with Trek industrial designer Michael Leighton through his ideas behind the Trek Belleville, the new eco-design bike. You’ll learn about his inspiration, and gain insight into what makes a truly better built bike designed to reduce environmental impact.”

Sears recently launched the second flight of our HEROES AT HOME video series. This time, the focus was on Sears employees who have served in the military.

Sears has a long history of supporting the military.  Our previous HEROES AT HOME mini-docs were profiling the work SEARS has done for veterans who needed home repairs, and SEARS worked with REBUILDING TOGETHER to make address their needs.

This second follow-up series was designed to help in recruiting and PR efforts.

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Lt. Col. Rick Coates leads the military veterans for SEARS HOLDINGS at the President of the Associate Military Network. Sears makes up the difference between what he makes in the military and what he would have made at Sears. “If your family is hurting when you’re gone you can’t focus on your mission.”

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Rosa Solano is one of 7,000 Reservists and Guard members who work for Sears Holdings. She joined the army when she was 17 and was sent to Iraq the following year. “People are not aware of the support that Sears gives to the military.”

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Joe Rudy is one of more than 35,000 veterans who works for Sears holdings. Meet Joe and his family. “We believe in talented people”.

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The SEARS’ Heroes at Home program ensures Capt. Hannah Lunfren full salary and health benefits if she is ever called back for active duty. “Sears has really gone out of it’s way to say ‘the military family IS our family.”

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Phil Dana recruits military veterans and diverse candidates to work for SEARS HOLDINGS, ensuring a job and full salary should they be called back to active duty. He was a naval air crewman on the USS Independent. “Recruiting from the military for corporate American just makes sense”.

If you would like to see more SEARS HEROES AT HOME videos from our employee recruiting series, check them out at Vimeo.

The first batch of designer profiles for our KmartDesign content initiative is live.  You can see them at KmartDesign and throughout the web on video sharing and other social media sites.

The profiles are supplemental to the Kmart BEHIND THE DESIGN webisodes, giving more in depth profiles of the people who populate the series.

Here are the first batch.  There will be many more to come.

KIMBERLY.  See where Kim’s passion as a Kmart Children’s Clothing Designer stems from as her own daughter interacts with embroidered girl’s clothing she designed.

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FABIAN. Whether designing women’s dresses or graphic tees, Fabian’s passion for beauty — passion to make people look beautiful and feel good — comes to life.

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CEASAR. Kmart Stores’ Graphic Tees are inspired by New York’s energy and art. Watch great design come to life as Cesar redraws graphic images.

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MILLER. Kmart’s Home Décor speciality products, like Christmas decorations, are influenced by Design Director Miller’s life and Martha Stewart Collection experience.

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JENNIFER. Watch Jennifer’s daughter, Sophia, delight in wearing the kid’s skirts and girl’s gloves her mother designed. Kid’s clothing. Great value from Kmart.

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THERESA. Theresa is inspired by Kmart stores’ customers, the pattern and color trends she sees, and her family. Design science influences her home products and her design team.

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GLENN. From comic book artist to menswear design, Glenn’s gift is graphic images. “I’m a very lucky man,” Glenn says, and he chose Kmart.

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ESTHER.  Great design doesn’t have to be complicated. See where Esther gets her home products inspiration and how fashion style relates to her overall life as she prepares for a dinner party

We recently finished a series of videos profiling alumni of Las Vegas company Rapport Leadership.

Rapport does leadership training for many large corporations… kind of a Dale Carnegie type of weekend boot camp for leaders of tomorrow.

Here are a couple of examples of the work we did for Rapport.  Jack Davidson directed these profiles of employees who have sponsored to go to Rapport by WHOLE FOODS. Shot in Austin TX.

First up… Whole Foods Gateway Store Leader Rory leads with love. He learned leadership from Rapport Leadership training, and he tells his team, “If you bring it every day you’re going to succeed in our company.”

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Mark “Flash” Dixon rose from bag checker to regional president of Whole Foods Southwest. He credits Rapport Leadership for helping him get there and also with maintaining a powerful culture within the company.

Raj Shukla is the Youth Coordinator for the Climate Project, an organization founded by Al Gore and has 3,000 young presenters around the world. His job is to educate the public on the importance of Climate Change:

In February, we were privileged to spend time with both Raj and NBA superstar Steve Nash at the NBA All Star Game in Phoenix.

When not playing point guard for the Phoenix Suns, Steve is a spokesperson for The Climate Project, and was using NBA All Star Weekend as a forum to speak to High School students in North America on the importance of climate change and what every individual can do to impact the future of the planet.

This four episode series profiled the event, leading up to Steve’s live webcast given with The Climate Project’s ‘Inconvenient Youth’ presenter Conti Kolokotronis.

The series is a great launch pad to the Inconvenient Youth initiative and speaks to many different audiences from students, to educators, and influencers on the issue and extends the message of what we can all do to affect our environment positively.

The series is designed as a recruiting initiative.  The first episode is appealing to potential volunteers at the ClimateProject.org.

The second episode appeals to students who might wish to volunteer to become presenters to help spread the message.

Episode three was used to get other celebrities (especially in the sports world) to volunteer to help out.

And the final episode was aimed at High School teachers and staff, encouraging them to show the Inconvenient Youth presentation in their class rooms.

Here, in episode 3, Conti and his dad meet Steve Nash just before the live Inconvenient Youth telecast:

By the final episode it’s showtime as Conti and Steve Nash as they deliver their live telecast to schools all over North America.

Note that we had two directors – Jack Davidson in Phoenix and Dan Ollman in Nashville — shooting the event simultaneously from two different perspectives:

The endless potential of the series could extend these messages in story through multiple video sharing sites, blogs, influencers like Nash and the NBA, and targeted online communities related to climate change.

It’s a great idea and project we look forward to contributing to in the future.

Case Study: The Quill Corporation.

Challenge: Change public perception of Quill, retain personal connection with customers, show Quill expertise.

Story: The experts at Quill personally help customers make the right choices for their needs.

Staples Inc.’s business-to-business division, The Quill Corporation, is a leading supplier of business supplies. This case study shows how AboutFace used new media to help Quill change the perception of its services while maintaining a personal connection with customers even as more and more business shifts into the online space.

You can see samples of the original work here>>

Real estate brokerage firms are a natural for social media video.

It goes without saying that anyone interested in buying or selling a home needs, at some point, to select a broker. How do they go about it Referrals are key. Who did my friends or neighbors use? Who can I trust?

To see an example of recent work that we are doing in this space, check out this example: a bio page for Corcoran Real Estate broker Traci Robinson.

Social media video makes it convenient for Traci’s friends and customers to easily help her pass this very human and approachable message around to prospects. By putting this video on her bio page, Facebook page, Youtube, email footers, etc., and then by optimizing the video for SEO, video provides an amazing and affordable tool.

There will be a lot more of these to come, but we believe this is a glimpse of the future of web marketing for real estate brokers.

Watch the video below, directed by Jack Davidson:

ASK QUILL "V-Blast" Email

We recently launched ASK QUILL, a web series for the business to business e-commerce division of STAPLES INC., Quill.com.

The challenge is how to make simple, useful documentary style “stories” that address common questions that customers have.

The videos are based upon questions that the Customer Relations team at Quill has received.  The pieces feature two members of Quill’s CR team seeking out answers.

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ASK QUILL MediaSite

The videos were promoted via email campaigns, on the company’s website, on the company blog and on video sharing sites.

Here are a few more examples:

PRINTERS.  ”When I hit print, I want a clean and easy to read document waiting for me by the time I get there. Everyone in my office will be using it and I dont plan on getting a bigger budget to have it installed. Please help!”

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G.P.S.  ”I’m constantly showing up late to my sales meetings because of the online directions I print don’t work well when I’m on the road. I need to keep my schedule flexible. I know a GPS is going to work for me, but there are so many to choose from. How do I know which one is best?”

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POWER STRIPS.  ”Going green is a big priority for my company this year and somebody told me that power strips can help the planet by using less energy. But that doesnt make any sense. Isnt it just more plugs? How does using a power strip help me Go Green?”

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ERGONOMICS.  ”It’s my job to buy the office furniture for the company. I know people who have had carpel tunnel injuries so I believe in ergonomic equipment. What can I afford that will make working in an office all day long, safe and comfortable?”

If you’d like to see more “ASK QUILL” webisodes, you can find them here.

A bunch of us at AboutFace have been hard at work over the last couple of months doing a series of videos for the Sears HEROES AT HOME program.

Sears has been a sponsor of Rebuilding Together, an organization that helps veterans and their families fix up their homes when they are facing hardship.

We shot these all over the country, with Jack Davidson, Casey Suchan, Frank Anderson, Manny Marquez and Dan Ollman all directing different episodes in different parts of the country over the course of two weeks in late summer.

Here are a few of our favorites of the more than twenty webisodes that we did.

They are equal parts heartbreaking and moving.  Thanks to Sears for the opportunity for all of us to meet these amazing people.

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83-year old Kenneth ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins takes American flags down every Friday to place in the center square in Lynchburg VA, to honor of the eight area soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hoppy is a veteran of WWII. In fact he was at D-Day on Omaha beach with the US Navy. The Sears’ Heroes at Home program helped Hoppy renovate, restore, and update the home he and his wife have lived in since 1948. “This is a great thing that they’ve done for me.”

Note that we did a brief profile of the shooting of the ‘Hoppy Hopkins’ piece in a previous post>>

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“God sent these people.” Howard Burke fought in WWII with Company A. He now lives with his wife in a small home in Lacey’s Spring AL. “We were in a predicament” his wife explains. Howard has trouble walking… he is paralyzed on one side. So Heroes at Home remodeled portions of his their home to make it handicap accessible. As Mrs. Burkes says… “These are our heroes.”

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“I don’t know how I got that name ‘hero’.” Wayne Johnson lives with his wife of Houston Texas in the house they had built in October of ’52. A half of a decade later the house was falling apart. They still didn’t even have a shower… just a tub. But then Sears and Heroes at Home helped by renovating, restoring, and repairing his home.

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Harold Hatton, a Navy veteran who lives in Tampa Bay Florida, plays cards with his fellow veterans at his local VFW Post. He comes from a military family — he is the oldest member of his local Post and his grandson is the youngest. But as we meet his wife Isabella we find out that she is partially handicapped. She has rheumatoid arthritis. Heroes at Home helps them both by making their house handicap accessible.

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Ruth Perry is a Gold Star mother for Chapter Four of “Rolling Thunder” in Lynchburg, VA. Her son Stanley was killed in Vietnam in 1969… she got word on Christmas Eve. The Sears’ Heroes at Home program helped with remolding her Lynchburg home.

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“They gave me a very good Christmas present that I will never forget” says Veora Collins. Sears and Heroes at Home traveled to the south side of Chicago to help renovate and make handicap accessible Veora’s home. She lives there with her son… US Army veteran Roosevelt Collins, who is partially paralyzed from a stroke. “When this came along it was god sent”.

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Blake Vanderwert lives in New Prague Minnesota. Her husband, Jonathan, has spent fifteen years in the service, but they never thought he’d be called into active duty. The Sears Heroes at Home / Rebuilding Together program helped the Vanderwerts renovate their home while Blake’s husband was deployed. There was a lot to do… nothing had been done to the house since 1950. “They wanted the do it because they actually cared.”

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Army veteran Christopher Joseph and is wife Barbara are having a neighborhood cook out at their home in Central Islip NY. Christopher walks with a cane and still doesn’t talk much about what happened in Iraq. His wife tells us about the critical renovations to their home they got from Heroes at Home. She is grateful for the help that her husband has well earned. After all… he paid a heavy price in the military… “protecting home away from home.”

Case Study: Meriter Health Systems.

Challenge: Humanize the doctors that make up the Meriter family.

Story: These are the Meriter doctors at their most genuine.

AboutFace Creative Director Nicolas Gagliano describes our work for Meriter Health Systems. The focus is on humanizing doctors in this case study, as we discuss how new media can introduce doctors to the public in a dynamic and intimate way.

You can see samples of the original work here>>

Check out the WMSE pledge drive videos. Good work Jack, Pat, Dave and Dan.

And, if you haven’t already, make sure you spend some quality time with Dave D. and Dannon (et. al)’s awesome series LOCAL LIVE on WMSE.

Sometimes you need a chili cook off to keep your sanity. Spend some time with WMSE Radio Station Manager Tom Crawford and his WMSE family in this video profile. Being “the sanctioning body for musical independent thinking” is definitely a full time job:

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“Are you Melissa from WMSE?” When WMSE DJ Melissa says old school, she means of the punk, brit pop, late 70′s CBGB type. Fair enough… but tell us the relationship between ladies undergarments and rock and roll again?:

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“Quasi” DJ, Bike Messanger and “Half Ass” Artist Eric Von Munz is a committed WMSE listner and fan. He takes us through his day and explains how he owes his entire record collection to WMSE:

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In this episode of WMSE Stories we meet Dewey Gill. By day he’s a painting contractor, by night he’s a DJ at MSE. Dewey’s music collection runs the gamut of progressive music, and he describes his show modestly as “transcending and groundbreaking”. Now if he could just figure out how to make money at it!

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The Ventures, Buck Owens, Gogo Bardello, Steely Dan and Guided by Voices are what’s playing at the Duris household. Music connects WMSE fans Jeff, Debbie, Margaret and their dog Pookie in this fan profile:

The Meriter Health doctor profile videos just launched. This series of up close and personal documentaries on key doctors at Meriter Hospitals are being used (at least for now) primarily on the company’s website.

Here is the first… meet Dr. Klaus Diem OB/GYN:

Note the genuine, realistic style of these pieces… how they are both professional and confident while lacking the cheesy trappings of typical health care marketing. Great work by director Jack Davidson.

There are no slo-mo shots of doctors putting up an X-Ray on a light board.

There are no groups of doctors with stethoscopes stacked in front of a white background, turning to face the camera, charts folded in their arms.

There is no sappy string background music… just the raw sound of a busy hospital.

So meet these doctors as they are, living their lives, at home and at work in these nicely crafted mini-documentaries.  Who wouldn’t want to meet their doctor through a video like this before walking into that office for the first time?

For this reason, we think there is enormous opportunity for expanding the use of this type of content in marketing hospitals through the passion and personality of their doctors and staff.

Meriter Health MediaSite

Imagine the possibilities for social media sharing, online referrals and search engine equity for the following sampling of videos. Here’s hoping that this won’t be the last time we profile doctors at AboutFace — it is such an obvious space for social media and video to come together.

Let’s hope they’re all as interesting as these folks from Meriter Health.

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It’s very good to be a patient person, as a parent and a doctor. Cate Ranheim, MD, is a mother and a Hospitalist. She takes us on her rounds at Meriter Medical Group Hospital, where, as she puts it, her job is to prop people up and put them on their feet again. It’s all about helping people.

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For General Surgeon Susan Toth, surgery is humbling, amazing and unreal. What’s her secret for getting through a tough day? “Treat people like you treat your family.” Not to mention riding her Harley Davidson.