How the Freddie Mac Foundation Captured 2,000 Leads and Hundreds of Volunteers…All With One Press Release
When the Freddie Mac Foundation and Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments launched a new program to help foster kids, it had all the ingredients for success: federal funding, a training curriculum and a plan to solve an unmet need.
However, the volunteer program lacked one crucial element: actual volunteers.
The best way get the word out to prospective participants? In this case, the answer was local media. Residents of the nation’s capital spend countless hours reading and listening to the day’s top news stories.
Landing News Stories With Strategic Press Release Writing
The goal was simple: land top stories in the area’s most popular news sources by crafting an attention-grabbing traditional press release.
The first step, identifying newsworthy angles for Freddie Mac’s new program, was easy:
- It was the only initiative of its kind: the Volunteer Respite Program would be the first in the nation to give foster parents a break on weekends.
- It had backing from recognizable spokespersons, including the U.S. Surgeon General and the mayor of Washington, D.C.
- It filled a huge need in the city and nearby neighborhoods.
Working with the program’s leaders, we crafted a brief, compelling release, along with a basic plan for sharing the news with targeted editors, writers and TV producers.
News Stories As Lead Generators
Within three days, news of the Freddie Mac Foundation’s new foster care program reached more than five million people through stories in top print, broadcast and online media outlets:
- Within two days, front-section articles and top news stories appeared in The Washington Post and the Associated Press and on National Public Radio, WTOP Radio and local ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates.
- Dozens of community newspapers and blogs covered the story.
As a result of media coverage, the program launched with hundreds of volunteers:
- The program’s volunteer hotline was flooded with calls in the first week.
- Within months, hundreds of volunteers signed up for the Foster Care Respite Program.
- The initiative received more than 2,000 inquiries from potential volunteers within the first quarter of its launch year.
Read the press release that generated thousands of new leads.
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