Schreiber Foods Institute for
Women’s Leadership at UW-Green Bay
Public Relations

Goal:

The Schreiber Foods Institute for Women’s Leadership at UW-Green Bay asked O’Connor Connective to collaborate in their public relations efforts to help promote its annual event, Celebrate. The gathering is the Institute’s largest event and features a keynote speaker, Institute program and information updates and networking.

Our approach:

The right strategy plays an integral role in a successful public relations campaign. While the Institute received significant media attention when it first launched in 2021 and short mentions in subsequent articles, there had yet to be an opportunity to share updated information about its offerings.

O’Connor Connective used a three-prong strategy — print, TV and radio — to increase awareness of Celebrate, and by extension, the Institute. This complemented the separate but aligned social media strategy. To create buzz about Celebrate, O’Connor Connective successfully arranged:

• Two Celebrate speakers — Jess Lambrecht, executive officer for UW-Green Bay’s Continuing Education and Community Engagement division, and Bridget O’Connor, the Institute’s executive residence and president of O’Connor Connective — appeared on WFRV’s Newsmaker Sunday program where they had nearly 30 minutes to discuss the event and the Institute’s offerings.
• Lambrecht and O’Connor also appeared on WHBY’s noon radio show where they discussed the event and were able to share more information about the Institute and its offerings.
• Lambrecht was also featured in Insight magazine.

On the day of the event, O’Connor Connective attracted media to the event by sharing that significant news would be announced. Strategic pitching attracted two local TV stations and The Business News to cover the announcement that Schreiber Foods made an impactful gift and receiving the Institute’s naming rights. Institute Executive Director Janet Bonkowski and Schreiber Foods CEO Ron Dunford were interviewed onsite after the announcement.

Once the news release went out about the Schreiber Foods’ gift and naming rights, stories appeared on local TV stations, the Green Bay Press-Times, local radio stations and Insight magazine. This broad mix of coverage increased awareness about the Institute beyond the 500-plus people who attended the event.

Results:

The announcement about Schreiber Foods’ gift to the Institute for Women’s Leadership at UW-Green Bay and the Celebrate event received sizable media average. According to the media monitoring service used by O’Connor Connective, the coverage of the Celebrate event — before, during and after — drew an audience of 138,696.