PINNACLE AWARDS: BEST MEDIA RELATIONS CAMPAIGN Rutgers Revolutionaries: Rutgers people and innovations that have changed lives around the world a. Introduction and background of campaign Rutgers Revolutionaries, a 70-page booklet and corresponding website featuring 20 profiles of men and women whose ideas and actions changed the world, was conceived and produced by the Department of University Communications and Marketing, to commemorate the university’s 250th anniversary year. These revolutionaries include familiar notables, like Paul Robeson and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, as well as lesser-known students, faculty, and alumni, such as an 18th-century mapmaker who fought for our nation’s independence, a professor who founded a prison-to-college program, and a 21st-century undergraduate engineer who used a 3-D printer to build a special hand for a young girl born with a rare disability. b. Purpose/objectives of media campaign Rutgers Revolutionaries supported the theme of the anniversary year, “Rutgers – Revolutionary for 250 Years” – while promoting the university’s mission and values. Rutgers, the eighth institution of higher education in the United States to reach its 250th milestone, had planned a yearlong celebration, which included commemorative events, the opening of new buildings and, most notably, the first visit by a sitting United States president at a Rutgers commencement. “America converges here,” President Obama told the global audience of faculty, families and friends at commencement. “And in so many ways, the history of Rutgers mirrors the evolution of America – the course by which we became bigger, stronger and richer, and a more dynamic, inclusive nation.” Rutgers Revolutionaries recognizes the individuals who have helped shape this narrative. They include civil rights leaders and other members of the university community who have been responsible for everything from medical breakthroughs and genome sequencing to prison reform and improving airline safety. These inspiring students, professors, and alumni exemplify the university’s most fundamental mission: educating individuals for lives of meaning and purpose. c. Detailed outline of your entire media relations campaign The 250th anniversary year – and Revolutionary campaign – ran from Nov. 10, 2015, to Nov. 10, 2016. • During the summer of 2015, we contacted communications professionals across the university for recommendations of individuals they believed met “revolutionary” criteria – people whose ideas, actions and/or inventions truly changed lives. From a list of 50 candidates, we chose the 20 strongest individuals, keeping diversity (ethnicity, gender, fields, past/present, etc.) in mind. • Once selections were made, we assigned profiles to in-house staff and freelance writers, strategically picking deadlines to coincide with the best timing for promotional opportunities. For example, we promoted Rutgers alumnus and dental school professor George McLaughlin, who fought for civil rights at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in February, the month of the 55th anniversary of the desegregation sit-in at a Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C.,’ Bill Rasmussen, the alumnus who founded ESPN, during March madness; and James Dale, an alumnus who put a spotlight on discrimination against gays, on the July anniversary of Dale’s suit against the Boy Scouts. These news pegs were reflected in our media pitches, which we rolled out one by one over the course of the year. The profiles were promoted to internal and external audiences, including the news media, every two to three weeks. • Five of the 20 profiles included accompanying two-to-three-minute videos produced by our department. • Six months into the project we created a portal page, which gave the profiles a permanent online home to which we drove traffic through targeted media promotion. • During the spring of 2016, we worked with the Rutgers University Libraries and the Rutgers Foundation to develop a print publication (10,000), which became the 70-page Rutgers Revolutionaries booklet. • The print edition of Rutgers Revolutionaries was distributed at a commemorative birthday celebration – which included faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the media – on Nov. 10, 2016. d. Target audience/demographics Rutgers Revolutionaries, which featured faculty, students and alumni from schools, campuses and institutes across Rutgers, was targeted to internal and external audiences in New Jersey and around the world – and the news media. The articles that appeared online resulted in 30,000 page views and reached more than 22,000 faculty and staff through email newsletters, as well as alumni and state representatives through a separate subscriber list. The print publication was widely distributed across the university – to libraries, the Rutgers Foundation, the visitor’s center and schools, centers and institutes, which use them as giveaways and gifts. The individual articles pitched to U.S. media generated nearly 100 positive stories about Rutgers with a potential audience of 680,000. NJTV, the state’s public television network, created a video about Revolutionary Don Roden, who developed a successful prison-to-college program. e. Target location (communities/cities/states) for media To promote Rutgers Revolutionaries, we utilized existing media lists developed and maintained by our office, University News and Media Relations, a unit of the Department of Communications and Marketing. We targeted an estimated 300 reporters in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as select national and higher education media. We also contacted health sciences media for profiles that featured health or medical topics. In addition, we utilized Cision, a media database, to find publications and reporters that cover niche topics, such as a feminism (Mary Bunting, a former dean who pushed for coeducation, was featured in Ms. Magazine) and AIDS (Michael Gottlieb, an alumnus who first identified AIDS, was featured in Infection Control Today). f. Types of mediums used for media outreach Stories appeared in traditional print and online newspapers, along with online news websites, magazines and blogs. g. Measurable results indicating: Stories appeared in publications across New Jersey. Stories also appeared in publications with national audiences. One Rutgers Revolutionary story was placed in a Las Vegas, Nevada, publication; another generated a video created by New Jersey’s public television network. a. Percent of distribution that covered news 87% of coverage was by print and online newspapers, and online news websites. The remaining 13% of coverage was by magazines, blogs, and trade publications. b. Attendance results based on media outreach/campaign We hosted dozens of events celebrating our 250th birthday across the university. It's hard to say how many people attended those events because of the promotion from this project, but we know if helped raise the visibility of our celebrations and the university's 250 years of history. c. Income results based on media outreach/campaign N/A d. Longevity of media coverage h. December 2015 – October 2016 a. Increase/decrease in media from previous years N/A i. Overall effectiveness of the campaign We consider the Rutgers Revolutionary series very successful on several levels: • Web Traffic: 30,000 page views of online profiles • Media promotion: The series generated approximately 100 positive stories about Rutgers in the media. The state’s newspaper, The Star-Ledger, ran an article about the Rutgers Revolutionaries project and linked to the series’ portal page. • Expansion of the Rutgers story: Notable individuals like Paul Robeson and Ruth Bader Ginsburg were featured alongside lesser-known figures, like Christian Lambertsen, an alumnus who invented the scuba gear that helped win World War II, and alumnus Michael Gottlieb, who first identified AIDS. • Reinforced messaging: The series was so well received that the university created banners and billboards highlighting several of our featured revolutionaries and displayed them throughout the state. RutgersRevolutionaries Rutgers people and innovations that have changed lives around the world RutgersRevolutionaries Rutgers people and innovations that have changed lives around the world Throughout our 250-year history, Rutgers University has produced world- renowned authors and artists, soldiers and scientists, governors, senators, and Supreme Court justices. Among these men and women are individuals who have been truly revolutionary—courageous students, professors, and alumni whose ideas and actions have changed the world. These Rutgers Revolutionaries include inventors, civil rights leaders, and other members of the university community who have been responsible for everything from medical breakthroughs and genome sequencing to prison reform and improving airplane safety. They range from an 18th-century mapmaker who fought for our nation’s independence to a 21st-century undergraduate engineer who used a 3-D printer to build a “special hand” for a young girl born with a rare disability. Being a member of the Rutgers community is being part of a proud tradition of visionaries who have had a profound impact on our state, our nation, and our world. We hope their stories will inspire others to follow their lead. The Editors, Rutgers Today Produced by the Rutgers University Department of University Communications and Marketing, Rutgers University Libraries, and Rutgers University Alumni Association RutgersRevolutionaries | 1 RutgersRevolutionaries