The Situation
COE strives to be the voice of “access and success” for low-income, first-generation, and minority students. However, the organization had gone some years without garnering significant media attention for its efforts. It desired a stronger presence among national, local, and trade media.
COE engaged TTG+Partners to develop and execute multiple strategic communications campaigns to generate significant media coverage.
The Answer
TTG+Partners leveraged every organizational initiative to help spread the word among key stakeholders. We also helped COE staff members to think more strategically when communicating their efforts to ensure transformative long-term impact.
The Outcome
As COE continues its work to help disadvantaged students go to and graduate from college, the organization now reaps the benefits of being recognized by leading media outlets such as NBC, Forbes, Inside Higher Ed, and the Washington Post. Highlights include:
- + Frequent opinion pieces featured on Forbes.com, which welcomes 40 million unique visitors each month
- + A first-time feature article in the Washington Post highlighting the importance of supporting low-income, first-generation, and ethnic/minority college students
- + NBC News’ selection of COE President Arnold L. Mitchem, Ph.D., as a featured panelist during its Education Nation Summit event—an historic week of programming in late September 2010 with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other education leaders to draw attention to and address the challenges in U.S. education