From the Nominator

Because all universities have experts on various subjects, the Florida International University Office of Media Relations had to think outside the box to ensure our experts stood out to media in order to secure the best coverage, and in turn make our experts thought leaders in their respective fields. We came up with a strategy for who and how we would pitch our experts. We decided to distinguish between experts who could make a national impact, versus those who made sense to pitch locally. Our Miami location and international focus as a university allows FIU to have some of the top experts in topics related to Latin America, as well as climate issues such as hurricanes and sea level rise. For subjects such as politics–an area of expertise for many universities–we decided it was best to focus on making our experts the top choices for local media. Competing with the hundreds of national experts on the political arena didn’t make as much sense as striving to become South Florida’s go-to for political experts. Utilizing our niche subject experts on a national level, and keeping our experts on subjects such as law and politics to a local level has been successful for us, garnering hundreds of wide-reaching media hits. We are called upon to share expertise on more general subjects locally but on a national level are considered a great resource on Latin America and on certain climate and natural disaster issues.

From the Judges

The entry from Florida International University is very thorough, with notable results showcased. The team was able to positively position themselves among other thought leaders on a national level. It really highlighted their expertise and ability to effectively react to a timely news cycle. The submission was very detailed around the how and why behind their ability to quantify their results. This could serve as a model for other communications teams in higher education.