UMass Amherst

Overview

In 2013, UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth’s flagship campus, marked its 150th anniversary with a series of events. This milestone anniversary culminated in Stand for UMass Day, a daylong Boston-based celebration. Programming included an early morning breakfast/panel discussion featuring respected business leaders, a ceremony hosted by elected and appointed government officials at the State House, a rolling rally through the streets of Boston lead by the University’s Minuteman Marching Band and a reception and concert at Symphony Hall.

Our challenge was to generate attention for a school located 90 minutes and 94 miles outside the competitive Boston media market which is home to more than 50 colleges and universities.

Our Work

We collaborated with The Boston Globe’s popular website, Boston.com, on the creation of a slide show featuring photos taken throughout the day, in real time, and secured prime placement in Saturday’s paper, by working closely with one of the Globe’s senior photographers. In addition to traditional media relations efforts, our team developed and executed a social media campaign to help expand reach and coverage across various online platforms.

Results

Our efforts resulted in outstanding coverage for The Stand for UMass Day. The Boston.com slide show included dozens of images depicting all elements of the celebration, a photo essay showcasing Stand for UMass Day highlights was prominently featured above the fold on the front page of The Boston Globe’s Metro Section, and equally important, our social media campaign reached the 300,000 followers of elected officials and bloggers, including several US Representatives and State Senators.