Results
Hagan coordinated with NPP hospital partners to share how the organization would talk about the hospital relationship to make sure the messaging would be consistent. Over the following months, NPP saw the impact of its new earned media strategy both internally and with its members.
Defined messaging
With a more complete vision of what NPP is based on the workshop findings, the organization updated its website with clear and concise messaging. For example, “Since 2001, NPP has contributed more than $130 million to support organizations dedicated to medical research and care. NPP member purchases make a difference. Become a member and support lifesaving medical research.”
Says Hagan, “How we talk about the connection to the hospitals has been a central part of all our messaging over the past few months. If you leave out the cause, we’re just a middleman—but our good cause is now part of our everyday DNA.”
NPP expects that the clarity will have wide-reaching effects, from accelerating sales to reducing risk. “The conversations we had in our workshop with Yesler will ultimately drive gains, agility, and efficiency over time,” says Hagan. “We also mitigate risk by communicating clearly with our hospital partners and not doing any guesswork with our messaging.”
Rallied employees to vision
The Earned Media Strategy and Social Media Quickstart Guide are now a central part of the marketing team’s documentation. Recently when Hagan hired three new employees, they were given the workshop decks as part of their onboarding. “The strategic resources Yesler provided are wonderful for onboarding new hires. It saves us time and energy, and gives everyone a common language so we can get right to work and not wonder about correct terminology.”
Increased member engagement and brand excitement
NPP has new channels for connecting with its members. As the marketing team expanded social outreach, it paid close attention to what worked, what didn’t, and how different audiences reacted to different messaging. “The #SaveMoneySaveLives hashtag Yesler recommended works really well. It’s been a wonderful theme and it’s authentic,” says Hagan. So far, quarter over quarter, NPP has seen a 23% increase in engagements per post on social and a 34% increase in post reach.
Found a trusted marketing partner
Overall, Hagan’s team is very happy they worked with Yesler on an earned media strategy and messaging. “Yesler is a trusted partner for NPP. They listened to us, educated us, and kept our goals as core elements of the earned media plan while providing expert support in our group setting. We bypassed the headaches of trying to accomplish everything internally, and we are confident we’re on the right path.”
NPP is already in conversations with Yesler about pursuing additional engagements in web development and digital media, with both businesses looking forward to what’s next for this partnership.