Public Media Network is developing So, What Do You Do?, a new documentary series that will celebrate the essential, often-invisible jobs that keep Greater Kalamazoo running, and we’re seeking a founding presenting sponsor to help bring it into production.
This is a rare chance to shape a series from the ground up — to put your organization’s name behind stories that build genuine trust, not just brand awareness, as the founding partner that makes it possible.
Introducing “So, What Do You Do?”
So, What Do You Do? is a planned short-form documentary series from Public Media Network. Once in production, each three-minute episode will follow one Greater Kalamazoo resident through a real day at work, explore how they found their path, and reveal why their role matters to the community around it.
Every episode will open the same way: the subject looks into the camera, and a voice behind the lens asks, “So… what do you do?” What follows is the answer, in full.
This won’t be a job fair. It won’t be a recruitment reel. It’s honest, curious storytelling about work — the kind that helps neighbors understand each other, and helps young people see career paths they’ve never been shown.
Why This Series, Why Now
Two things are true in Southwest Michigan right now:
- Employers need visibility. Across healthcare, manufacturing, and the trades, local businesses struggle to attract talent — in part because young people can’t pursue a career they’ve never seen.
- Audiences want real stories. Short-form, documentary-style content built around real people consistently earns more trust, recall, and engagement than traditional advertising.
So, What Do You Do? is designed to sit right at that intersection — celebrating local workers while building genuine, lasting goodwill for the organization that makes the series possible.
A Season Built on Real Kalamazoo Jobs
Season One is planned to follow six residents across the sectors that define our regional economy. These stories could range from a biomedical equipment technician who keeps hospital devices running, to an urban forestry crew tending the city’s tree canopy, to an event operations coordinator managing the midnight cleanup after a public gathering. Episode subjects will be shaped collaboratively with our founding sponsor, so the series can spotlight the industries and stories that matter most to them.
Everywhere Our Audience Already Is
Once produced, every episode will reach Greater Kalamazoo across PMN’s full platform ecosystem at once: broadcast television with repeat scheduling, PMN’s streaming platforms, YouTube and on-demand (where episodes keep finding new viewers long after their air date), and PMN’s own newsletters, website, and social channels.
A Different Kind of Partnership
Sponsoring So, What Do You Do? won’t be the same as buying an ad. Because PMN is a platform audiences already trust for community storytelling and civic information, a sponsor won’t be received as an advertiser — they’ll be received as the organization that made these stories possible. That trust is the whole point.
Partnership levels will range from single-episode sponsorship to founding Presenting Sponsor of the full season, with benefits that grow to include series-wide brand association, “Presented by” credit, input on episode subjects, and dedicated promotional support across PMN’s channels.
Be the Founding Presenting Sponsor
So, What Do You Do? is ready to go into production — what it needs now is a founding presenting sponsor. This is the organization that gets to greenlight the series, help shape its first season, and become part of what these stories mean to Greater Kalamazoo for years to come.
If your organization wants to be known as a champion of the people who make this region work, we’d love to talk.
Interested in learning more? Email us at hello@publicmedianet.org or call 269-343-2211 to inquire about becoming the founding presenting sponsor of So, What Do You Do?
