DeVry University
Company: DeVry University, Downers Grove, IL
Entry Submitted By: MSL Group
Company Description: Founded in 1931, DeVry University is one of the largest, private sector universities in North America, with nearly 93,000 students enrolled in the United States and Canada. The university’s mission is to foster student learning through high-quality, career-oriented education integrating technology, business, science and the arts.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Reputation/Brand Management
Nomination Title: Getting an Education on Reputation Management
Tell the story about this nominated campaign since January 1 2010 (up to 500 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:
Summary
“Battle lines drawn over for-profit colleges,” “The predatory nature of some
for-profit colleges,” “High costs, loan defaults expose for-profit colleges”-
these are a handful of the headlines that appeared in top-tier media outlets
last year as for-profit universities faced growing scrutiny from law makers,
activists and regulators regarding their integrity and value as educational
institutions.
It was quickly becoming clear that if nothing changed, current students and
prospective students would soon have little more than “negative” sector media
coverage to reference as they considered their educational options. DeVry
University’s communication team recognized the need to 1) increase coverage and
conversation; and 2) increase positive tonality of media coverage and insulate
the brand. Thus, they turned to MSLGROUP to develop a public relations program
that would achieve their two major objectives. To achieve the program’s goals,
MSLGROUP created a strategic plan based on proactive outreach, new events and
reputation management strategies.
As a result of the six-month campaign (July to December 2010), DeVry University
jumped above competitors to lead the category in overall volume of media
placements and dominated positive coverage in the sector, which it has continued
to do today.
Objective One Results: Increase coverage and conversation
News Bureau • Generated 22 percent more editorial placements than the rest of
the category combined(DeVry University: 8,492 vs. category: 6,934) • Increased
share of voice from 53 percent to 55 percent overall • Secured 594 stories and
27,331,886 impressions from regional news
Career Conversations – Kimberly Bishop • Secured 24 broadcast interviews, 12
online interviews, 16,170,868 impressions and 1,776 media placements
Career Conversations – Dan Schawbel • Secured 30 broadcast interviews and 16
online interviews • Garnered 11,434,159 impressions within first 24 hours •
Received 329 Tweets, 87 @ DeVry mentions and 2,713,058 approximate impressions
from 1 hour Twitterchat
President’s Blog • Received almost 18,000 visits and dozens of comments
HerWorld • Garnered 19,438,353 impressions and 1,268 total placements including
“Today Show” coverage and a feature on NY1 • Achieved over 50 HerWorld across
two months, reaching over 7,200 girls
In-Demand Careers Blogger Conference • Secured 1,126,251 total impressions 227
online placements including USA Today and the New York Times • 348 tweets tagged
#DeVryCareers and 196,000+ followers reached • #1 in Google news searches for
“DeVry careers" and #5 in Google news searches for "In- Demand Careers” •
Secured 35 broadcast and radio interview, and 11 internet media tour interviews
Objective Two Results: Increase positive tonality and insulate brand
Reassurance and Issues Management • Increased positive tonality by 33 percent,
from 39 to 72 percent • Decreased DVU negative tonality from 34 to 6 percent ,
while rest of category had negative tonality increase by 28 percent •
Successfully implemented DeVryFacts.com and playbook after Frontline and
Nightline segments on sector schools
List hyperlinks to any online work samples, news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:
Other supporting materials for this entry were submitted offline and are
available upon request.
Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the team that carried out this campaign:
Nancy Brennan, Senior Vice President, Director of Corporate Branding, Midwest
Region, MSL Chicago
Nancy Brennan is a tenured PR professional, with more than 25 years of
experience among the higher education, public affairs, corporate and issues &
crisis management sectors. As practice director, she leads strategy, management
and all phases of client development across MSL Chicago’s corporate branding
team. Nancy’s active accounts include, Underwriters Laboratories, Kellogg School
of Management (Northwestern University), DeVry University, Chamberlain College
of Nursing, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Duke Realty
and PharmaTrust.
Nancy holds a B.A. in Organizational Behavior & Management from Brown University.