Displaying items by tag: Patient Experience Project

Photos show Patient Experience Project cofounder and president Dan Bobear; the main hallway inside the firm’s Congress Plaza offices; and a group photo of employees after the Aug. 16, 2017 ribbon cutting. Photos by www.photoandgraphic.com. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS – With cake, coffee and an abundance of genuine smiles, the president and employees of the Patient Experience Project (PEP) celebrated the firm’s five-year anniversary this week as well as its favorable ranking by Inc., a national business magazine. 

“We’ve got a lot of good things ahead of us,” remarked Dan Bobear, the PEP cofounder and president, before a ribbon cutting that was organized Wednesday outside the company’s Congress Plaza headquarters—complete with an amplified sound system.

“This business started in my basement in 2012,” Bobear explained, thanking his wife and children for bearing with him through his early attempts to secure clients. 

The Patient Experience Project specializes in marketing and communications focused on people who suffer from rare medical diseases and conditions. 

Bobear’s efforts to build the PEP client base quickly bore fruit and yielded rapid financial growth. His office expanded twice before moving last January into the current location behind the Embassy Suites. 

His family members operate a “sister company” there called 32 Mile Media that creates video content for specific PEP campaigns.  

Bobear now employs more than 50 women and men in a modern and colorful space. He is also finalizing plans to open another PEP office in Chicago.

In the current “Inc. 5,000” ranking of America’s fastest growing companies, the Patient Experience Project is listed at about the 1,200 mark—the top 25 percentile—with revenue of $7.4 million and an annual growth rate of nearly 340 percent.

David A. Moore, the firm’s creative director, explained the basic PEP mission thusly: “Part of it’s raising awareness; part of it’s advocacy; part of it is really building a bridge between patients, health care providers and the pharmaceutical companies that are trying to produce products that can help these families.” 

The PEP client base is more national and international than local, according to Moore.   

“One disease that we work with is so rare,” he said, “that in order to bring patients together we had to go to Germany.” 

“We make decisions based on what’s the right thing to do for patients, their families, and not only what makes the right numbers for business,” Bobear told those gathered for the Aug. 16 ribbon cutting. 

He also thanked the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce officials and representatives of state lawmakers who were present at the event. Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen made her own brief appearance.   

“We do work that matters,” Bobear said. “We are proud that our corporate success means that we can impact more lives along the way.” 

“Our success would not be possible without the very talented team of experts” on the PEP staff, Bobear concluded. “We’ve got medical experts, content and digital artists, designers, office managers, account and project managers…and basically some of the most talented and smartest people that I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Saratoga Springs just became home to 32 Mile Media, a video production company now located at 46 Congress Street. 32 Mile Media develops compelling video content for commercial and non-profit organizations locally and nationally, offering an array of video products, including online videos, promotional videos, TV commercials, animation, and video graphic packages.

“This is a thriving town with so much going on,” said Dale Mattison, co-owner, chief video producer, and founder of 32 Mile Media. “You can’t pick a better spot. The main reason we moved here from Glens Falls is because this is where PEP is located, but I’m so happy to be in Saratoga – the perfect place to have a new business.”

Under a new co-ownership partnership agreement with the Patient Experience Project (PEP) at 19 Railroad Place, 32 Mile Media has become a sister company to the full-service, patient-centric communications firm serving the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and biotech industries.

“We’ve grown to about 35 people here and do a lot of content marketing, with a lot of written content and video,” said PEP owner Dan Bobear. “We’ve been outsourcing a tremendous amount of video.”

But rather than create an internal video production studio from scratch, PEP connected with 32 Mile Media, which was already serving local clients.

“It was a natural fit for us to expand laterally,” said Bobear. “We invested significant amounts of cash into equipment and a studio in town, and we have a nationally known guy, so the local market is getting a high-end video production quality pretty affordably. The [community] side benefit is now there’s great production capability right in their back yard with national talent.”

“We are really confident it [PEP’s investment] will yield a quick return with the unique storytelling approach we have,” added Mattison. “We begin every project that we do with a conversation. We take the time to listen to the stories of the company or individual, and bring to the surface the most meaningful story that they have.”

This approach matches PEP’s emphasis on storytelling as marketing. “I think you see scripted and formulaic pharmaceutical marketing out there,” said Bobear, “and we have introduced a way to keep them regulatory-compliant, but at the same time let people talk and tell their stories naturally, authentically.”

“It’s a perfect marriage,” said Mattison. “It makes sense for a company that tells stories through video to join a company that tells stories of people who are struggling and need their stories told out into the world. We are super focused on storytelling that gets to the root of what makes our clients unique. So is the Patient Experience Project.”

32 Mile Media has created many television commercials and video for web-based platforms. “We not only provide the video, but we can coach clients as to what to do with the video after we make it for them. We really work with any and all types of companies. We want to highlight Saratoga and the Capital District, and show the beauty of the area as much as we can.”

In fact, the company’s name is in homage to Mattison’s hometown, Lake George. “There’s a lot of beauty in upstate NY, and there’s no better way to capture it than through video. I want to inspire everyone to never overlook the beauty right in front of us,” said Mattison.

Mattison is especially proud of his team. “Our people that we have working for us are so talented,” he said, “the production manager and editor are the best around, and really continue to make 32 Mile an incredible company. With PEP and all of us together, the sky’s the limit and we’re excited to see what the future holds.”

Mattison is an award-winning videographer who founded 32 Mile Media with a mission to help companies tell their brand stories and convey their messages through video. His videography experience is extensive. He has worked on everything from backyard home videos to Oscar-nominated films. With each assignment, Mattison ensures quality and authenticity is apparent in the final video. Mattison earned a bachelor’s degree in TV and Video Production from SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, New York. See next week’s Saratoga TODAY to learn about the new, national talent hired at 32 Mile Media. Learn more about the Patient Experience Project at www.the-pep.com. For more information about 32 Mile Media, visit www.32mile.com.