Company: Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA
Entry Submitted By: Studio D11
Company Description: Booz Allen Hamilton is a leading provider of management and technology consulting services to the US government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets, and to major corporations, institutions, and not-for- profit organizations. Booz Allen is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, employs approximately 25,000 people, and had revenue of $5.86 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2012.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Public Service

Nomination Title: Community-Based Summits in Support of Military Families

Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

SITUATION

Enhancing support for military families has emerged as a growing national priority, garnering support at the highest levels of government. Multiple deployments, combat injuries, and the challenges of reintegrating into the community have far-reaching effects for service members, their families, and the nation.

PLANNING

Our team focused on two distinct tracks. One was event planning and program logistics (e.g., developing the agenda, securing the venue and hospitality, inviting guests, etc.); the other was outreach to community stakeholders and the media.

The planning team followed a very specific five-phase framework to produce the events. The outreach team launched an aggressive outreach campaign to build awareness of the events—and Booz Allen’s commitment to veterans and wounded warriors. This included mapping out key messages, thought leadership, media targets and tactics, including press releases, customized pitch letters, and 1:1 phone calls to engage potential participants and the media.

EXECUTION

The summits were held in five cities across the United States in 2012. The locations are representative of the broad landscape in which military families live and where Booz Allen has a strong local presence.

For each summit, Booz Allen worked in partnership with a sponsoring nonprofit organization. Our strategy was to secure attendance from at least 25 leaders who have the ability to bring about change in each community; attendance was purposely limited to ensure consensus on issues.

To provide critical resources to participants, we developed a bi-fold brochure and a comprehensive print and electronic toolkit, “Framework for Convening a Community Summit.” The resource shares best practices, guidelines, and tools that enable organizations to successfully plan and execute their own community summits (on any topic of need).

EVALUATION

This campaign was highly successful exceeding expectations against every objective.

• Thirty participants attended the first two summits. By the fifth summit, attendance grew to 47 participants, reflecting a 60% increase in attendance over the course of the summits and nearly double our original goal.

• Each summit yielded at least three actionable initiatives. As just one example, in San Diego community leaders are collectively working toward a:

• Comprehensive employment assessment
• Behavioral health employer awareness
• Internship and mentoring program
• Service member separation registry

• To increase awareness of veterans’ issues and our unique community-based approach to problem-solving, we:

• Successfully built alliances with five nonprofits across the U.S. that provide resources to veterans and their families. This includes the San Diego Veterans Coalition, Give an Hour™/ Community Blueprint Network, San Antonio Coalition for Veterans, Texas Military Family Access Project, and USA Cares.
• Established relationships with national leaders across the Army, Navy, and Air Force who are directly involved in providing resources to veterans and their families.
• Launched an aggressive media campaign that resulted in significant event coverage in outlets that include GovCon Executive, Fayetteville Observer, Ft. Bragg Patch, and WOAI-TV. Approximate media impressions: 1.92 million.
• Secured three speaking opportunities for subject matter experts, with plans to present to key national constituencies that include the Presidential Initiative Supporting Military Families (Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s “Joining Forces” Campaign); U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Society for Woman’s Health Research; and National Institutes of Mental Health.

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:

Booz Allen Hamilton’s team of health experts in neuroscience, neuropsychology, psychology, psychiatry, neurology, nursing, public health, and public policy provide healthcare organizations with collaborative and cost effective approaches to improve population health outcomes through sound policy implementation and accessible high quality care. We are focused on providing evidence-based solutions to the most pressing behavioral health issues facing our service members and civilian populations. Our teams currently work across the DoD and federal health agencies providing customized care solutions, assessments, evaluations, training and education aimed at enhancing clinical support services that meet the unique needs of our service members and families.

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