Carolinas Healthcare PR and Marketing Society – 2024 Awards 

Golden Tusk Award for Service Line Marketing Campaign

Monarch NC

“Crisis Support for Robeson County’s Most Vulnerable”

The citizens of Robeson County, NC, have been hit hard by the opioid crisis. When North Carolina received a large opioid settlement, Robeson County benefited from $9M that funded the creation of several addiction treatment programs. While this thankfully increased treatment options for those with substance use disorders, it impacted the census of established programs that provide Robeson County residents a broad continuum of behavioral health services. Monarch partnered with Kcomm for an awareness campaign to reintroduce the community and local referral sources to the services they provide for crisis stabilization and treatment of substance use disorders.

Golden Tusk Award for Special Event Promotion

Tryon Women’s Center

“Menopause & Misinformation: Gynecologists Strike Back” by Kelso Communications

Thanks to gynecology and sexual health experts, menopause is having its moment! Historically, conversations about menopause were left to quiet chatter between female friends, or in the confines of a gynecologist’s office where women had been routinely prescribed hormone replacement therapy (HRT) since the 1960s. Then in 2002, one research study revealed potentially catastrophic health complications from HRT, leaving women afraid and confused. In 2023, medical science changed course on HRT, but most women (and their doctors) still don’t know that it’s safe. The physicians of Tryon Women Center are changing that, with the help of the “Menopause Whisperer.”

Wally Award for Video: Short-format series

Tryon Medical Partners 

“‘Ask Me Anything’ Video Series with Dr. Alyse Kelly-Jones”

Part of Tryon’s value is offering patients the collective expertise of a variety of subspecialities; Gynecology and Sexual Health is a prime example. For too many women, brief routine appointments are not enough to cover the many questions and concerns about issues often shrouded in secrecy and plagued by misinformation: menopause, fertility, hormone replacement therapy, sexually transmitted diseases, painful intercourse, low libido and much more. The Tryon gynecologists wanted to provide a communication channel that could reach far more patients beyond one-to-one office visits. And the perfect guide was at the ready.

Public Relations Society of America Charlotte Chapter – 2024 Queen City PR Awards

Crown Award: Multicultural/Diversity and Inclusion

CLT Alliance Foundation

Charlotte Small Business Growth Fund for minority and women-owned businesses

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute report on Minority-Owned Small Businesses of Charlotte-Mecklenburg states: “Businesses and financial assets make up only 15% and 8% of wealth for Latinx and Black households, respectively, while these assets make up a third of overall assets for Whites and Asians.” Historically, people of color have had less access to capital to start and grow a business, but the CLT Alliance Foundation is leveling the playing field. They established the Charlotte Small Business Growth Fund to provide $40 million in loans to 2,000+ underserved small businesses, and partnered with Kcomm to spread the word.

Crown Award: Issues Management

Tryon Medical Partners

Forged from fire: Creating Tryon’s crisis plan

In May 2023, a five-alarm fire swept through Charlotte’s SouthPark area, and threatened, but thankfully spared, Tryon Medical Partners’ SouthPark location, administrative offices and call center. The emergency response from team partners and Tryon administration was exemplary, leading to an orderly and safe evacuation. But would they have been prepared if the circumstances were different? Tryon looked to Kelso Communications, their agency of record and longtime communications partner, to help them create a crisis communication plan. One year later, Tryon stands ready to respond to any crisis with amazing people and a solid process that has already been tested. 

The post 2024 Awards round up appeared first on Kelso Communications.

Thanks to community-based services, evidence-based programs and vocational support, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DDs) are living more independently than ever. However, this autonomy means they are more vulnerable to alcohol and drug problems, and may even begin misusing substances to cope with social isolation, stigma and stress related to their disabilities. The physical effects of an intellectual disability can sometimes mask the signs of a substance use disorder (SUD), making it difficult to detect.

There is very little data available on rates of SUDs among people with I/DDs and other neurocognitive disorders. Few journal articles address identification and treatment of SUDs in this population. Resources intended for the general public fail to meet the needs of people with I/DDs, rendering current screening and assessment tools inadequate. Without support, many treatment providers are unsure of how to serve people with I/DDs.

Monarch is a respected and trusted leader in the mental and behavioral health field. Originally the Arc of Stanly County, Inc., Monarch was founded in 1958 to assist in the development and care of children and adults with I/DDs, and to help their families. Over the years, the organization’s offerings have expanded to behavioral healthcare, including the treatment of mental illness and SUDs.

Monarch was uniquely positioned to meet the growing unmet need of addiction services for people with I/DDs and their families. They partnered with Kelso Communications (Kcomm) to create “Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities.”

What we were trying to accomplish

“Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities” is the first program of its kind that meets I/DD people and their support systems where they are, to effectively screen for and start addressing substance use disorders. 

To ensure the curriculum was meaningful and understandable to individuals with IQs between 50 and 70, Monarch sought feedback from experts in both the I/DD and SUD fields, as well as 16 individuals living with disabilities and their families. This focus group shared their personal journeys with Monarch’s curriculum development team and Kcomm, offering insight into how addiction and the recovery process might be different for someone with an I/DD.

Monarch and Kcomm (Monarch’s agency of record) set out to create 14 animated videos to provide relevant therapeutic information to people with I/DDs and SUDs.

The gameplan

Kcomm and its production partner, Priceless Miscellaneous, have worked together for several years on a variety of projects that have earned Emmy Awards in short-form categories.

Animation with voiceover was leveraged to tell the story for each of the 14 topics in the curriculum that was named “Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities.” The video scripts were written to be short, clear and easy to follow. For an animation style appropriate to people with a variety of intellectual abilities, it was important for characters to look like cartoons, fully human but with stylized heads and bodies. Backgrounds were kept simple, with just enough detail to communicate the environments (inside of home, doctor’s office, city street, etc.). The focus was not the detail of the animation, but the points being communicated in a simple visual style. 

The hero characters were designed to be relatable to this audience, and come across as friendly, sympathetic and engaging. The goal was for the viewers to see themselves in these characters, who are experiencing the same issues with SUDs. Each video tells the story of either Eddie, an “everyman” male, in his 30s, or Tasha, a female (roughly the same age) who has the visual disability of being in a wheelchair. Secondary characters helped tell the story – for instance, a doctor, family member or background extras. 

The finished videos tell 14 unique stories centered around Eddie and Tasha’s SUD journey covering a range of topics, from “what is addiction,” to codependency and self-esteem, and teach skills in coping, deep breathing and more.

The results

“Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities” has been extraordinarily well received by families, caregivers, clinicians and providers.

Monarch has hosted several free virtual training conferences in May 2023 called “Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities” attended by 300+ people, including many families/caregivers of I/DD individuals seeking resources on SUDs. 

Survey results from the conference showed:

• 100% strongly agreed that “The materials were effective.”
• 94.2% clinicians agreed that “The curriculum and materials will be useful in my own practice.”
• 100% strongly agreed that “I would recommend this training/curriculum to others.” 

In October 2023, Kelso Communications was honored by the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society for Best Video: Short-format Series by a non-Hospital or nonprofit organization for “Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities”. The video series also won Best in Show.

The post Understanding Addiction and Developmental Disabilities appeared first on Kelso Communications.

As of July 1, 2023, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) will be the only way to collect data on your site using Google Analytics. Even if you’ve already started to dabble in GA4 (or you’re trying to avoid it), there are some things you should know to avoid tearing your hair out.

Google’s migration from Universal Analytics to GA4 is a huge change that greatly impacts your ability to measure the success of your communications and digital marketing efforts. Just like your computer operating system, there are different versions. The current one is Universal Analytics, which will stop collecting data June 30, 2023. 

Universal Analytics debuted Nov. 14, 2005. We loved it (and still do). However, UA has outlived its usefulness in a multi-device, privacy-conscious world.

GA4 is designed for the future of measurement by:

• Collecting both website and app data to better understand the customer journey
• Using event-based data instead of session-based tracking
• Including privacy controls like cookie-less measurement and conversion modeling
• Offering predictive capabilities without complex models

Sounds great, right? Yes, but it’s really different:

1. The information that exists in UA *WILL NOT* be available in GA4, unless GA4 has been running concurrently (in its own account). If you have custom audiences in UA, you will be able to export those to a Google document and import them into GA4. You can also map UA goals to GA4 conversions, but this doesn’t happen automatically.
2. Your UA data will be deleted eventually. (It’s safe until six months after the transition, but after that?) If you have not been pulling regular reports from UA, now might be a good time to start.
3. Data named the same thing that is collected in both UA and GA4 will have two different numbers due to the way it is measured.
4. Bounce rate and some other important UA metrics are hard to find in GA4 and may not work the way they used to. The best way to work around this is to try to use events to measure if folks are scrolling through content, engaging with the content or clicking off your site. (Learn more about the “engaged session” event.)
5. Gender and age data will not be immediately available in GA4. The caveat here is that you CAN get more granular data if you turn on Google Signals. When you do, you enter an agreement with Google that states you have any necessary privacy disclosures in place so that users are aware of and have consented to their data being collected, stored and advertised to.
6. The same data in the same account in GA4 can vary. Data pulled in the Report section will be different than it is in the Explore section due to sampling differences and processing time differences.
7. GA4 relies on trackable events for measurement, but it doesn’t automatically collect ALL of them. Events capture what someone DOES on the site, not just what they look like, how they got there and what pages they clicked on. Enhanced measurements have to be turned on!
8. Once you customize the setup of your data, you will have to wait 24 hours to use those features. The two most common places where this will “get you” are when you set an event as a conversion and create custom audiences.
9. GA4’s default will only collect two months of data when you turn it on unless you tell it to do otherwise. This must be manually changed in the account.
10. GA4 will only allow you to collect 14 months of data for free. Longer periods of data retention are only available to Google Analytics 360 subscribers (formerly Google Analytics Premium) who pay (a lot) for this service. 

So what can you do to prepare for this transition? Here are my six tips:

1. If you have not been documenting your regular reporting in UA, start pulling the data you think you need – summer intern job, anyone?
2. If you have not been documenting your regular reporting, start doing so.
3. If you don’t have a GA4 account, make one ASAP!
4. Get in GA4 and get used to it. Try to replicate your current UA reporting in small chunks. If you don’t have access to a GA4 account, sign up for a demo one.
5. Don’t focus on what GA4 can’t do, focus on what it can. Shift your thinking from pageviews, sessions and users, to audiences, events and engagement.
6. Email me! Kcomm is ready to help you.

The post 10 things to know about GA4 appeared first on Kelso Communications.

The challenge

When Aasimah Navlakhi took over as CEO of BES in 2019, she led the organization through a discovery process that determined the organization’s inflexible “top down” practices were rooted in white supremacist culture. The organization started the process of revamping its programs to promote “community-responsive” charters, and launched a new strategic plan to become an actively antiracist organization. BES rebranded, standing for “Build. Excel. Sustain.”

They reached out to Kelso Communications (Kcomm) for a public relations strategy to tell the story of their shift to a focus on the future that included more support for non-charter school models. 

Our approach

Because BES was willing to speak openly and honestly about their “no excuses” roots, organizational awakening and transition plan, this opened up our strategy to lead boldly, positioning BES as the organization well on its way to becoming an actively antiracist organization, at the same time other companies were struggling to craft diversity value statements in the wake of America’s racial reckoning in the summer of 2020. We targeted online and traditional print education publications, and podcasts that focused on equity in education.

Our first PR pitches in fall 2021 focused on the steps that leaders of schools, districts and any organization can take to “walk the walk” of diversity, equity and inclusion, instead of simply “talking the talk.” Navlakhi appeared on the national Leading Equity podcast, for a discussion called “How to Identify White Supremacy Culture With Your Organization.”

This theme was referenced in a guest blog co-authored by BES board members Charles Mitchell and Chris Clements titled “What School Leaders Can Teach Business Leaders,” in “Real Leaders.” 

The second wave of pitches in spring 2022 elevated the voices of individual school leaders at BES-founded schools. The story “New charter school in Mount Vernon will be the first in a decade in Lower Hudson” shares the story of a New York-based BES founder whose STEM curriculum includes trauma-informed mental health counseling for her majority minority student population. Navlakhi’s op-ed in the national education outlet “The 74” titled “CRT Law Undermines Texas Charter School for Black and Latino Students” elevated the damage caused by an erroneous debate about critical race theory that delayed a Black BES school leader’s opening. As of this award submission, an Education Next story with Pondiscio is in the works about a Black BES founder who is working to open his school in Schenectady, NY.  

Results

With 11 earned hits, authored pieces, podcast appearances and speaking engagements in 10 months, Kcomm far surpassed the one earned media hit and one placed media hit per quarter goal set by BES. Stories directly supported BES’ strategic goals, dramatically increasing interest in their brand as measured by a 78-233% increase in social media engagement when these articles were shared.

Katy McArthur, former director of communications at BES, provided this feedback:

“Kcomm shared our organization’s passion for equity in education. Their level of responsiveness, attention to detail and ability to quickly ingrain themselves in our company’s culture and context allowed us to immediately begin planning and executing at a high level.”

This work was honored with a 2022 Crown Award (first place honor) for excellence in media relations from the Charlotte chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

The post Building an antiracist education organization appeared first on Kelso Communications.

NC Navigator Consortium partners provide factual information and unbiased support to anyone needing assistance enrolling for coverage on the Healthcare.gov website. While they provide year-round support to North Carolinians needing to enroll in or change coverage due to qualifying life events, their largest push is during annual Open Enrollment. 

The challenge

The NC Navigator Consortium reached out to Kcomm for help to drive traffic to the ncnavigator.net website so that users could call or use the website to sign up for appointments with health insurance navigators during Open Enrollment 2022 (Nov. 1, 2021, to Jan. 15, 2022). Our engagement included creating branded materials for the NC Navigator Consortium to use in its outreach efforts, and coordinating organic social media content, paid digital advertising and public relations to leverage earned media.

The plan

Our promotional campaign consisted of digital display advertising, paid social media and paid search, which brought exponentially more qualified users to the ncnavigator.net site during Open Enrollment 2022 compared to the previous year. With these efforts, awareness of the NC Navigator Consortium increased, sparking a 153% increase in organic search from the year prior. Kcomm dedicated substantial time and energy to organic social media, which helped promote the NC Navigator Consortium brand, increasing web visitation by 210% year-over-year.

Ncnavigator.net web users from 11.1.21 to 1.15.22 compared to the same period the year prior

The role of PR (earned media)

Public relations played a key role in raising awareness of the organization, especially toward the end of the campaign. The Dec. 21 WRAL story “More in NC now eligible for health insurance help” by Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief, originally aired in the Raleigh/Durham market, but was aired all over the state, earning carry-over coverage in Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem, as well the Greenville and New Bern (NC) market. 

The client organized an “Affordable Care Act Call-in Event,” held Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, a virtual telethon-style call-in event that put consumers in direct contact with health insurance navigators. The Jan. 7, WFMY story FREE ACA health care plan registration call-in event, January 10 by Tanya Rivera aired in Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem and reran the day of the ACA Call-in Event, driving large spikes in website traffic from that area. Kcomm negotiated and coordinated a partnership with WRAL producers that promoted the ACA Call-in Event, including live reports from reporter Monica Laliberte from 4 to 7 p.m. during the event and a wrap up package.

The results

The WFMY story and WRAL partnership were key to the success of the ACA Call-in Event, which generated 900 total calls, 323 appointments scheduled with Navigator, and 134 appointments scheduled for the statewide virtual enrollment event held Thursday, Jan. 13.

This project was honored with a 2022 QCPR Award of Excellence from the Charlotte Chapter of PRSA, the Public Relations Society of America.

The post Open Enrollment 2022: Connecting NC to affordable insurance appeared first on Kelso Communications.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute digital and social media strategies for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and whatever is next 
• Contribute strategy and creative for paid social campaigns
• Design email campaigns for clients across a variety of industries, including written and visual messaging
• Write content for blogs, social posts and email communications, all maintaining a distinctive brand voice
• Work closely with creative, account, media and public relations leads on integrated strategies 
• Manage reporting and metrics to track the success of goals and identify growth opportunities 

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, journalism or related field
• 3 to 6 years of experience in digital, social media and content marketing
• Knowledge of social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, how they intersect, and how to best engage communities
• Experience with social media scheduling and calendaring platforms
• Previous work in email platforms like Constant Contact and Mailchimp
• Passion for writing
• Ability to connect big picture thinking with day-to-day details 
• Curiosity about a variety of industries, from real estate to healthcare to financial services 

If you’re ready to get started, please share your resume and a link to your work portfolio by emailing marcie@kelso-communications.com with the subject line “Content Director Role.”

The post Join the Kcomm Team – Content Director appeared first on Kelso Communications.

Whether you’re still working in your PJs, can’t wait to get back into the office or have been forced back in to make “good use of corporate space,” the Kcomm team has created these work sniglets for this new world we call “COVID-ternity.” 

Cube-oria – n. The feeling of joy experienced when setting foot into your old office (even though your in-person meeting will be masked, even though you’re fully vaccinated), because you are so starved for human interaction and feel great after finally having showered.

Vid-scusting – adj. Beyond disgusting; having reached the point of yuckiness that requires immediate removal; e.g. “I returned to my office after a year to find my old coffee cup, which I had not finished on March 17, 2020. It was so vid-scusting, I had to use tongs to get it to the trash can.”

Pajama-flauge – n. The article of clothing you keep by your computer to hide the fact you are still wearing your pajamas.

La-Zoom-itis – n. Being chronically late to meetings, even though your computer is literally in the next room; also known as “procrastin-ebex.”

Zoom-keeping – n. Cleaning only the parts of your house visible behind you when your webcam is turned on. 

Feign-trest – v. Pretending to be interested in the conversation happening on your call in the midst of a minor emergency such as a dog vomiting, child screaming or spouse swearing obscenities.

Germ-gement – n. The act of evaluating how seriously those who work in your building are adhering to COVID-safe protocols; e.g. “I only heard the water running for 15 seconds after __ used the bathroom, which clearly means he didn’t wash his hands long enough.” “There are already four people in the elevator, you jackass! If you could stand in the middle safely, there would be big red footprints there! (holds breath and reaches for hand sanitizer).”

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Creativity requires originality, imagination and ingenuity. That’s why some of the most inspired ideas can pop up, like the saying says, in the shower. Everyone deserves a break and time to relax in order to keep their creative juices flowing.

At Kelso Communications, our employees use their out-of-office time to recharge and gather inspiration to create the best work we can for our clients. Whether it’s vacation week, a quick getaway or simply time outdoors at home, our team shares their favorite ways to stay creative in the summer.

Marty and Marcie Kelso – Partner/Creative Director & Partner/Director of Accounts and Strategy

“As coworkers who happen to be married, here’s 2 for 1! And although we may not agree on everything, we share a love for the mountains as our go-to getaway. 

Our happy summer activity is hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains in both Virginia and North Carolina. The flora and fauna (especially the rhododendron, which we recently learned is NOT native to the southeast mountains, but came from England), the peaceful natural soundtrack of birds and distant waterfalls, and the challenging topography (what goes up, must come down) all combine to lift our spirits and get our heads in a completely different place. We reemerge into the real world feeling refreshed and energized — and definitely feeling it in our calves!”

Dee Grano – Vice President of Public Relations

“My absolute favorite thing to do during the summer, and really any time it’s not too cold or rainy, is GARDENING. ‘Playing in the dirt’ is the best way for me to get fresh air and exercise a different kind of creativity. In addition to the joy of designing different landscapes, I love walking through my garden to see what’s ‘waking up,’ which plants are thriving and how to best tend to the ones that aren’t.

I learned to garden from my mother who was born with a green thumb. It’s incredibly gratifying to share that with my own children.”

Amanda Fowler – Digital Strategist

“The mountains are an automatic way to make my blood pressure drop. I love hiking year-round but especially in the summer when it feels like a reprieve from the Charlotte heat. 

I go often with my family as it’s a great way to put down our phones and reconnect but I also enjoy solo hikes to completely reset my brain and enjoy the still, quiet beauty of all the little things you take in along the way.”

Leila Webster – Public Relations and Marketing Intern

“‘Lake day’: noun, a whole day dedicated to swimming, boating, and tanning (and maybe a refreshing beverage or two).

There is nothing like closing your eyes while floating along a lake and feeling the sun on your skin. For me, lake days are the best way to relax and reset my creative blocks. I get to be on the water once a week if I’m lucky. Splashing in the North Carolina waters helps me to appreciate the outdoors and the little things in life.” 

Karen Barrett – Brand Strategist

“For me, summer means the beach. There is just nothing better than hearing the sound of the ocean and feeling the sand between your toes. And this year, it’s all that much sweeter since we weren’t able to get away last summer due to the pandemic.

We just got back from Topsail Beach where we spent the week gazing at the waves, looking for seashells on our walks (so many good ones), watching the kids boogie board, reading on the beach and running along the packed sand. The ocean is my happy place and as you can see, it’s Leo the basset hound’s, too.”

Kristi Sweeny – Account Supervisor

“When you ask anyone why they love living in Charlotte, most everyone will tell you that it’s so wonderful to be only two hours away from the mountains and three hours from the beach. I have to say, I 100% agree. They are our happy places during the summer. 

We love camping and enjoying the hiking trails and stunning waterfalls throughout our beautiful state. There’s just nothing like rock hopping and relaxing in the crisp, running waters of the falls or exploring the various trails and studying the animal footprints left behind or the various flora along the way. The mountains are the perfect way to unwind from the demands of “real life.”

And it’s not summer if we don’t hit one of the relaxing, beautiful beaches along the Carolina coastline, too. Now that the kids are older, we’ve actually transitioned into the beach being a vacation and not just a trip (the beach is HARD work with littles!), and it’s wonderful. Last summer, I was able to actually read on the beach for the first time and it was magical! I look forward to doing the same later this summer.”

Carrie Hunt – Art Director

“During the summer, it’s BASEBALL and the BEACH for us! Those are two loves in this family. And sometimes they even collide – we’re playing baseball AT the beach. This year we were fortunate to play in Charleston, SC and North Myrtle Beach, SC with our boys’ travel baseball teams. And fortunately for me, there is always a little downtime where I can simply relax and let the sounds of the waves crashing and the beach air clear my mind. That is my happy place.”

Everyone at Kcomm hopes you’re able to find your happy place this summer. It’s the perfect time to plan a new adventure, and get out there and make the most of it. Creativity awaits!  

The post Go-to Summer Activities for Creativity appeared first on Kelso Communications.

Our concept of “A Broader Canvas” focused on artistic creation as a metaphor for the evolving and increasingly diverse communities that MVA serves. Charlotte-based artist Rosalia Torres-Weiner, whose work is on display at the Smithsonian among other prestigious art institutions, was commissioned to create an original painting for MVA. This Mexican-born artist encapsulated the year with a fresh eye and a unique perspective. 

Her Instagram-style square painting is a collage of bright, colorful images representing windows of opportunity. We see closeups of the eyes of people of color, looking directly at the viewer as if to engage and connect. Vibrant flowers reflecting growth are interspersed with the starker, hard-hitting words “EQUAL” and “BLM.” Rosalia draws from her Mexican heritage with decorative shapes and colors, and she uses the hummingbird, a Mexican icon of wisdom, to represent MVA’s tradition of sharing knowledge with the next generation of leadership. 

The firm’s Diversity & Inclusion report includes Rosalia’s process as part of the story. Across multiple pages, it features several behind-the-scenes photos of the painting’s creation. The artwork is revealed in full on the final page, but for the artist as well as MVA, the story doesn’t end there. Elements bleed off the frame to show a continuation, just as the mission to advance diversity and inclusion is always a work in progress. 

“A Broader Canvas” is now on display at MVA’s Uptown Charlotte office, adding to the renowned art collection that the firm has been building for decades. Kcomm is honored to have played a part in this meaningful project, one that fuses artistry and social justice in the pursuit of a stronger and more equitable community. 

The post Moore & Van Allen: The art of diversity appeared first on Kelso Communications.

A successful lawsuit filed by Robinson Bradshaw on behalf of Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and Legal Aid of North Carolina forced the state to reopen the N.C. Extra Credit Grant application process. Excitement over this victory was replaced by scramble when the state told Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and Legal Aid they had to accept applications from these families and turn them over to the North Carolina Department of Revenue (NCDOR) before December 8 for processing. Anticipating the need to reach hundreds of thousands people state wide they reached out to Kelso Communications for help managing information and media interest. Already deluged with phone calls and emails from desperate parents and facing another tight application deadline from the state, we had to act very quickly. 

In 24 hours, Kcomm set up a Constant Contact database to store the email addresses of parents looking to apply. In three weeks, this list grew to more than 70,000 opt-in subscribers. Our PR team formulated key messages and talking points to help the media understand the complicated background on why “335forNC” was needed. This immediate support clarified public confusion and bought time for the team to develop an encrypted and secure website to store applications and take phone calls to help those without internet access. This messaging structure was critical in helping project collaborators coordinate and get function effectively in two weeks.

The 335forNC.com website and call center were finally ready to accept applications Friday, November 20, less than a week before Thanksgiving. Without a minute to waste, our PR team started pushing email marketing to parents and press releases to the media. Thousands of applications had already been submitted by the Monday morning virtual press conference. We logged more than 22 news stories and 20,000 email opens before the deadline – Monday, Dec. 7, at 2 pm. 

A paid social media campaign expanded the 335forNC.com message to nearly 650,000 individuals, resulting in 2.84 million impressions targeted at a defined audience. This campaign sent nearly 32,000 clicks to the 335forNC.com website while it was live for just eight days. The social nature of this campaign also allowed Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy to answer direct consumer questions. The Facebook component of the campaign alone sparked over 1,000 comments and was shared over 1,300 times.

335forNC delivered almost 25,000 applications for the N.C. Extra Credit Grant program to NCDOR. Each approved application resulted in a $335 check for an eligible family, distributing more than $8M of aid for those in greatest need. While we were ecstatic with the result, we knew the need was far greater – 2010 Census data showed more than 200,000 were eligible. Because of the work of 335forNC, North Carolina reopened the N.C. Extra Credit Grant program to help the state’s struggling families who need it most.

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