Media Relations

The best media relations campaigns are ones that align the products, services and stories of the organization with the values and needs of their audiences. By leveraging creativity, media relationship skills and thoughtful campaign management, we made an impact on local communities and created a repeatable media event that directly impacted the sales of the organization.

Client
LasikPlus

Background: In 2011 the market for laser vision correction was soft, primarily due to uncertainty in the U.S. economy and high unemployment rates combined with the traditional barriers of fear and cost. In order to create increased exposure for LasikPlus, to highlight the good work the doctors were doing, and to honor local heroes, I designed and executed a program for LasikPlus providers that we could replicate in different markets.

As part of the LasikPlus Wounded Warrior Program, I engaged Wounded Warrior Project alumni and their caregivers, offering to provide free treatment for members of the Wounded Warrior Project. The soldiers and families of soldiers who were injured during their deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan experienced significant challenges and our mission was to use our skills to alleviate at least one of their daily burdens.


Goals & Objectives:

  • The primary goals for this campaign was to differentiate the LasikPlus brand and translate the good feelings into sales.

  • Increase calls to treatment centers for consultations.

Tactics:

In each market, I scheduled the events and ensured the treatment center was appropriately staffed and could facilitate all pre-treatment appointments, qualifications and requirements ahead of time. 

Once the patients were confirmed, I worked with the center to prepare both the patient and the staff on what to expect for the treatment event. We invited local print, TV and radio media to attend the events ahead of time and were able to take advantage of local news cycles and provide human interest stories.  

The local coverage that I secured in Cincinnati and later Jacksonville, FL, confirmed that the event was a great story opportunity. The success of our first two events was later replicated in four additional markets across the country over the course of six weeks.  


Evaluation:

In the month following this campaign, centers that participated saw on average three times more calls to the centers and, combined with other national proactive media relations efforts, LasikPlus saw three quarters of consecutive growth on the front end of the business.