THIS ONE-OF-A-KIND MARKET REQUIRED A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH
Air Methods, Key West
With more than 300 bases across the U.S., Air Methods is the nation's largest operator of air ambulance services. However, despite its size and position as the industry's leader, it faced unique challenges in one the country's most unique markets, Key West, Florida.
The company's Key West air ambulance program was in jeopardy of losing a significant amount of its patient volume because the competing County-run program was seeking to take over air ambulance services for the entire region. Doing so would leave the Keys with just one air ambulance service for all of its residents and visitors.
So the company hired The Weinbach Group to help build public support for a cost-sharing initiative that would save the base from closure. But how could Air Methods reach Keys residents and motivate them to demonstrate their support?
We jumped into action with an integrated communications plan that leveraged social media, public relations, and direct mail. Specifically, we created a series of sponsored social media posts to tell Air Methods' story; we pitched local media to obtain feature coverage and to place bylined articles; and we created a direct mail piece that we distributed to nearly every household in Monroe County, from Key Largo to Key West.
The integrated program worked. In a matter of weeks, thousands of Keys residents voiced their support for Air Methods' life-saving service, including an outpouring of more than 1,000 postcards, letters, emails, and posts on social media outlets.
of 3% representing more than 1,000 business reply cards mailed in
soared, generating more than 400 actions with the Life Net
Key West Facebook page
in outlets that reached more than 60,000
