Rosica Communications

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am the communications director for an organization that supports high-achieving students with scholarship opportunities and access to a variety of resources to help them on the path from high school to college to career.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Rosica Communications, and what were your goals?

We hired Rosica Communications to help us celebrate the successes of our members, scholarship recipients, and educators. We are thrilled with the dozens of high-quality regional and national PR placements we have received as a result of their efforts.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We distributed an RFP to a handful of agencies and conducted follow-up phone calls to clarify our business and goals. Rosica asked the right questions and came in with a proposal and budget that worked for our needs. On top of that, we felt as if they really got us and cared about our mission and goals.

Describe the scope of their work in detail, including any steps and the final deliverables.

• Communicate key messages and differentiators through our earned media activities, making clear the value NSHSS offers

• Utilize internal and external spokespersons and key opinion leaders as expert authors

P• Offer ongoing PR counsel and creative strategies

• Leverage events and timely occurrences to garner earned media coverage

• Proactively pitch education and mainstream media to secure positive stories, including success stories, awards and recognition, milestones, events, personnel news, surveys, constituent human interest stories, and thought leadership

• Develop and place bylined and op-eds

• Brainstorm to leverage topics in the news

• Pre-pitch articles and op-ed pieces to select trades and mass media

• Share results to leverage for SEO and online reputation management

• Weekly or bi-weekly account calls with deliverables and deadlines noted

• Monthly activity reports

• Periodic strategy calls or meetings, as required Earned Media Goals:

• An average of seven (7) media placements per month

• An average of five (5) national media placements per quarter

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

We regularly work directly with the owner, two senior (expert) PR team members, and one or two additional staff resources who support our account.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We have received about 150 PR placements in the year and a half we have been working with Rosica. These authentic stories in regional and national media outlets across the country have a measurable positive impact on our business and reputation.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Our team has weekly or bi-weekly meeting with their team to review status of ongoing initiatives, share new opportunities, and brainstorm new ideas. We follow a well-organized tracker document that keeps the meetings focused. Rosica has a very collaborative communication style, while clearly offering their expert advice. They are available, on-call, anytime we need them and are especially responsive when the media come knocking!

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Rosica had experience working with similar organizations, which is how I found them. Small shop with big results!

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

We refine our relationship together as we go.