MedQuest College
The Challenge
As a small, proprietary college focused on degrees and certificates that can be completed in two years or less, MedQuest College was off-the-radar for most media outlets, students and student influencers (parents, school counselors, etc.) They wanted to raise their profile in a challenging media environment that was focused on COVID in the early days of the lockdown. At the same time, they needed to find creative ways to build and maintain student morale in a virtual learning environment.
The Solution
C2 Strategic Communications worked with MedQuest to develop and execute an integrated communications plan that found compelling stories and retold them across formats and media.
For example, C2 Strategic told the story of an inspiring student in a graduation-themed social media video, as well as an op-ed published in The Courier Journal and the school’s website. In another example, the heartwarming story of a student who saved his father’s life by discovering a heart problem got widespread media attention in Lexington and Louisville but was also used on social and in an electronic newsletter geared toward school counselors.
We also collaborated with MedQuest on videos that were designed to reassure students and prospective students about virtual learning and COVID procedures on both campuses.
The Results
In the first year of our work, C2 placed stories and/or op-eds in top outlets across the state, including Business First, The Courier-Journal, WHAS-TV, WDRB-TV, WAVE-TV, WKYT-TV, WLEX-TV, WYMT-TV, SPECTRUM NEWS1. In all, MedQuest earned more than 40 media placements with an estimated reach of 6.8 million people.
We also created tailored messaging for high school counselors delivered via an electronic newsletter with a higher than industry standard open rate. (The Lexington market open rate was more than 40 percent.) After the graduation video ran on social media, MedQuest reported the highest number of leads in one day. New graduation video ads on YouTube have performed well, with total views above 165,000.
