Virginia Early Childhood Foundation - VECF Reaches New Audiences with Strategic PR
To create awareness around school readiness and its lasting impact, the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation set out to expand its reach to audiences outside of preschool education. With a limited budget, the PR team targeted reporters in three key segments—the military, philanthropy and business. The team created personalized pitches, e-mails and phone calls for each media outlet contacted. They pitched Scott Hippert, president of the VECF, as a thought leader and on early childhood development and workforce development issues. The results were stellar: The VECF generated media coverage from coast to coast including local, regional and national coverage of VECF’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense.
Honorable Mentions
American College of Physicians – High-Value, Cost-Conscious Care: To trumpet its High Value Cost-Conscious Care initiative, the ACP used Web content, Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness among the press and public.
Peel District School Board – What is a Peel board student worth? To obtain funding from Canada’s provincial government, the Ontario district utilized meetings with parents and media outreach to turn the tide. The result: $3 million for 2010-11.
Stanton Communications & Airforwarders Association – An Industry’s Worst Nightmare Becomes Opportunity to Shine: When a terrorist plot to blow up cargo planes was revealed, members of the Airforwarders Association (AfA) feared that the publicity would impact cargo security programs. Launching a media blitz to reduce concerns, the campaign included AfA appearances on CNN’s Situation Room and NPR’s Morning Edition.