Video | St. Louis Marketing and Branding Agency

Shared Stories: St. Louis Children’s Hospital Annual Report

Our office can get pretty busy, and a lot of times we start on a new project the minute another ends. This, of course, is a good thing. Every once and a while, though, we like to take a few minutes and reflect on the stories behind our work.

And so we created a video series we call Shared Stories.

This time around, designers Katie Werges, Beth Porter, and I share the story behind our work for St. Louis Children’s Hospital Annual Report.

Mike Spakowski is Principal / Creative Director of Atomicdust and is involved with the day-to-day design strategy, art direction and studio management.

Wed, January 16 | By Mike Spakowski | Posted in Our Work, Design, Healthcare Marketing, Video

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Battle of the Beans. Goshen Coffee Company’s Bean vs Bean Challenge.

When longtime friend and client Jay Beard bought Edwardsville’s Goshen Coffee Company last spring, we were excited to start working on developing a brand for a product we love - coffee.

Our first goal was to use social media to build hype for Goshen Coffee and the new bags and website that were coming this fall. We know that on Facebook, people typically respond to two things - things that are useful, and things that are funny. We wanted to create a promotion that people could laugh at and want to share with their friends.

And with that, the Bean vs Bean Challenge was born.

Tue, July 10 | By Danielle Hohmeier | Posted in Positioning, Social Media, Video

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Shared Stories: BWorks

As you know, we love to tell stories, some of them even about the work we do around here. Unfortunately, there's so much going on (trust us: we know that's a good thing), we're often starting a new project the minute one wraps up. We've been looking for a way for members of our team to share the story of the thinking behind our work – but to do so in a way that's quick, interesting and compelling.

That was the inspiration behind our new video series, Shared Stories.

This month, designer Jason Stoff shares the story of our branding and identity work for BWorks, a St. Louis nonprofit organization that teaches kids responsibility through three different educational programs.

Take a look, and let us know what you think of the approach. We have lots of other stories to tell, and we look forward to sharing these videos with you in all of the usual places – here on our blog, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Wed, June 20 | By Mike Spakowski | Posted in Branding, Our Work, Identity, Video, Web Design

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New Faces, New Places for Atomicdust

There’s a whole lot of moving going on at Atomicdust, and we’re not just talking about our shiny new location on Locust Street. We’ve also added three new faces: one to make things move, one to keep things moving, and one to move social conversations along.

Jeremy Cox will focus on bringing ideas to video, using his extensive experience in graphics, animation and editing. Jeremy studied Commercial Graphic Design and Marketing at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. When he’s not creating motion, Jeremy enjoys getting beat up by 10-year-old kids (in online gaming) and spending quality time with his Rottweiler, Riddick.

Of course, we’ve got to keep growing to keep our big new space buzzing, so we brought on Kevin Burford to handle new business development. Kevin holds an undergraduate degree in Business from the University of North Texas and a Masters of Arts from Fontbonne University, which is the perfect mix we need to reach out to new clients. Kevin is a family-oriented Texas transplant, but we won’t hold the Texas part against him – we’re happy to have him on board.

Everyone’s talking about social media – and Tara Nesbitt is going to help us keep that conversation going. She’ll be helping with social media strategy and management, SEO and paid search advertising campaigns. Tara has a sales background and is currently studying Business Administration at Washington University - St. Louis. Her favorite thing about Atomicdust’s new location? Afternoon milkshakes from the Fountain on Locust.

We’re happy to welcome Jeremy, Kevin and Tara to the team!

Tue, November 8 | By Tara Nesbitt | Posted in Careers, Culture, Social Media, Video

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‘Real Work’ Videos for Rockport Works

We’re big believers around here that brands are more than just logos. They go deeper than just the carefully crafted messages or clever packaging used to entice consumers. There’s more to a brand than that. We believe the essence of a brand is how people feel about it – and graphics are just a visual reminder of those feelings.

 Sometimes, the best way to express the feeling behind a brand is to tell a simple story. An honest story, letting people in on why it is you do what you do.

Recently, we had the pleasure to work with Rockport Works, proud makers of work boots and safety footwear for hardworking people everywhere. To help share their brand’s unique story, we created a series of straight-talking, relatable videos for their website and social media outlets.

While our friends provided work locations and some quality foot modeling (Thanks, Curt!), we shot and edited the videos in-house, and we think they turned out pretty great.

Here’s the first video in the series, honoring Rockport Works’ driving force behind everything they do: real people, real work.

Wed, August 31 | By Mike Spakowski | Posted in Our Work, Video

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Paving the Way for Change in Healthcare with the Power of Video

Fundamental changes are coming to the way healthcare professionals do their jobs. By 2013, organizations will need to move to a new coding standard called ICD-10. And our client, Elsevier Revenue Cycle Strategies eLearning, is dedicated to making the transition easy and painless. They came to us with a challenge: they needed to reach out to healthcare organizations to communicate the importance of preparing for the change.

What’s next for the NEXT Event?

In early 2011, Atomicdust was faced with a question: How should we follow-up on what was, by all accounts, a very successful branding and marketing campaign for Stibo System's NEXT Event?

Make it bigger and better, of course. Read more.

Wed, May 18 | By Mike Spakowski | Posted in Branding, Our Work, Design, Marketing, Video, Web Design

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The Internet Loves Slow Motion Puppies

Our very own Billy Richardson has managed to take his adorable puppy Iso and make him an internet celebrity. While posting videos of your pet isn’t groundbreaking (seriously, try searching ‘puppies’ on YouTube), what sets Iso’s videos apart is the incredible video quality shot by a Canon 7D, great music, and clips edited by Billy to fit the song flawlessly. Artist Ingrid Michealson’s song “The Way I Am” was used in Iso’s bath video, and the singer loved the video so much she posted it on her Twitter and Facebook pages for all to see.

Iso's videos have been viewed over 891,000 times, and counting. So far, viewers have watched Iso play with his chew toy, jump around in snow well over his head, take a bath, and chase a laser. In his newest, you can see him running around like a madman on a sofa, trying to chase his beloved chew toy without falling off.

What will he do next? You could ask Billy, but he prefers to keep the new content a secret.

To view all the videos, check out Iso’s Youtube channel.

Thu, March 10 | By Suzanne Deken | Posted in Social Media, Video

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When Good Design Speaks for Itself

At Atomicdust, we understand how creative design and quality copy can help tell a story. We are constantly designing websites, sales materials and email campaigns that tell the story of who our clients are and what they do. And when we create videos for our client’s websites and trade show booths, we often rely on music and narration to help tell that story.

But that wasn’t the case when healthcare company Gateway EDI came to us to produce a trade show video for them. They needed a short, looping video that would educate show attendees on who Gateway EDI is and what they do... without any sound. This left us looking for a way to express their benefits, business, and core company values in a new way.

We animated key aspects of Gateway EDI's brand identity, using icons and kinetic typography to grab trade show visitors' attention. Short, digestible bursts of copy, combined with footage of the staff, resulted in a video that gives a quick and informative introduction to Gateway EDI and shows off the company’s values and friendly personality. Exactly what the client needed.

The end product is proof that strong icons and type can tell a story and get the point across... loud and clear.

Thu, February 24 | By Mike Spakowski | Posted in Our Work, Healthcare Marketing, Video

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Atomicdust Makes Complex Healthcare Technology Simple In New Videos

How do you recognize a publisher’s rich, 150-year history, yet position it as forward-thinking and technologically agile? How do you help someone understand a complex product in an increasingly complex industry? And how do you do it all in just two minutes?

That’s exactly the challenge we faced with our latest project for Elsevier Clinical Decision Support (CDS). Elsevier is one of the world’s leading medical publishers, and CDS represents a fusion of respected content with the latest technology. It’s technology that helps doctors, nurses and hospitals improve the safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their care.

Our solution was to tell the CDS story in a series of three two-minute videos focusing on the three core concepts behind the brand: knowledge, workflow integration and analytics.

Using friendly narration, simple iconography and eye-catching motion graphics, we left viewers with the simple truth behind this complex product. That’s how we tell a compelling story. That’s how we help our clients.

Take a look for yourself.