Case Studies

OPPORTUNITY

What happens when an education technology company begins to fall under the radar as its competitors gain market share?

This was the case with Skilled Up (a speciality division of the larger Apollo Education Group), whose professional education courses are designed for Gen Z consumers. The company was feeling the pressure of competitors who were picking away at their market share and more aggressively promoting their similarly positioned online career development courses. As a smaller division of a large global company, they had limited access to the marketing support that other areas received.

APPROACH

I proposed that they create news by fielding a consumer survey. Preliminary search revealed that web developers were extremely well paid. So I identified and collaborated with a market research firm on a survey that asked working web developers about their level of career fulfillment as well as the income levels they had achieved. The results provided the news nuggets we were looking for - that web developers are among the happiest workers who are most fulfilled in their careers while simultaneously earning big bucks.

RESULTS

Based on the survey results, we created an eye catching infographic which told the story visually, and pitched it to top tier consumer and business media. A storm of results included USA Today Snapshots on the front page of the Business section with their own infographic; a feature story in Mashable (shared 6,000+times), America’s  Happiest Job Pays Up to $150,000 a Year, and a full page feature in Metro.US New York, Web Developers Are Happy, Earn More Greenbacks. All of this coverage came to a total of more than 75 million media impressions.

OPPORTUNITY

A unique exercise product for kids and adults, developed by an Idaho Falls grandmother,  grew like wildfire into a $20 million DTC (direct to consumer) e-commerce business over the course of just 5 years. On such a fast track, management was preoccupied with product development, meeting safety standards and getting overseas factories to ship on time. The Director of Product Development was also overseeing Marketing, but needed a well-connected New York City-based PR partner to continue developing grassroots awareness, secure major media placements and national consumer interest while driving website traffic.

APPROACH

To capture the attention of a broad cross section of journalists including reporters who covered parenting, exercise, general interest, entertainment and health, I launched an aggressive media relations effort, identified and secured relationships with top social influencers, constructed Instagram photo contests and executed a monthly branded e-newsletter to keep the product and its breadth of designs top of mind.

RESULTS

A 3-minute video feature on Today.com for their Wacky Workouts series (the producer even participated in a unique exercise class featuring the product) led to spin off coverage in Self, Bustle, Elite Daily, Pop Sugar and more. It was the brands’ top web site driver for the entire year and increased the brand’s Instagram and Facebook followers by 15%.

CHALLENGE

Next Tribe, the digital magazine (for women 45+) needed to present Poise with a plan to lessen the stigma around its Poise feminine care products and drive sales for a new “active” product line in targeted US regions (Los Angeles, Dallas and New York City).

APPROACH

To deepen engagement and develop brand trust with target customers, I presented the creative concept,  “Straight Talk About Women’s Health,” a series of exclusive, community building events where aging, beauty and light bladder leakage were addressed by female thought leaders in comedy, health, wellness, and the arts, with humor and irreverence.

Each event was produced via Facebook Live in a  talk show format moderated by NextTribe editor, Jeannie Ralston  In addition, we produced related editorial content, a series of three Facebook Live events (broadcast from the in-person events) plus an Instagram “Stay Amazing” contest timed to dovetail with National Women’s Health Week, distributed product samples and discount coupons good toward a future purchase.

RESULTS

Doing Facebook Live from in person events attracted a highly engaged audience with reactions, comments and shares while LIVE and then in the repost of the LIVE video. This was a more targeted way of interacting with the audience who wanted to know more about LBL.

Results included 12 million social media impressions.

CHALLENGE

Her life changed forever because of a drug’s side effects. When a patient advocate launched her passion project - a nonprofit dedicated to informing the public about the side effects of prescription medicine, she needed to make it known among people with chronic health issues including baby boomers, in order to drive website traffic and attract sponsors.

APPROACH

Since the nonprofit and its founder had little if any public awareness, my immediate goal was to build the founder’s expert credentials. Because the FDA approves drugs. I applied to and secured an appointment for the founder to serve a three year term on the FDA Advisory Committee on Drug Safety and Risk Management. In addition to identifying qualified medical experts for the board of directors, I built a MedShadow roster of subject matter experts including a pharmacist, pharmacologist, osteopath, psychologist as well as the founder, a patient advocate, which allowed us to provide expert commentary on the side effects of medicine to the press.

RESULTS

By establishing relationships with leading consumer publications including Everyday Health, Healthy Women, Radio MD, Reader’s Digest and Next Avenue (baby boomers), MedShadow’s roster of experts regularly contributed bylined articles on the side effects of medicine and offered tips on living a holistic and medicine- free lifestyle. I secured Op Eds in STAT News, the influential healthcare publication owned by the Boston Globe, and a series of opinion pieces on FDA legislation in The Hill, the leading Capitol Hill publication.  Over a two year period, media coverage accounted for a 40% increase in website traffic and more than 100,000 Facebook followers.