Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU
Special Events, Projects, Programs, or Campaigns
Bronze
Through careful planning, implementation and learning from past mistakes, the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at Texas Christian University provided a unique Match Day experience for its graduating class of students who matched in top residency programs across the United States on March 15, 2024. The Office of Strategy and Communications team’s goal was to execute an innovative event that would highlight and promote the accomplishments of the medical students and encourage prospective students to attend our medical school. The team also launched a collaborative and creative marketing and promotional campaign that increased video and website views, social media reach and media hits.
What was the most impactful part of your entry?
The team successfully executed a complicated, innovative program that allowed each student to be celebrated and allowed the school to spotlight their residency matches. We more than doubled attendance compared with 2023 with more than 500 people attending in 2024. With generous sponsorships of $10,000, the event’s total cost for the school was $20,489.94 and under budget by $9,510.06. The marketing and social media relations campaigns resulted in 44,000+ video views and 135,000+ reach throughout all social media accounts and website. The media relations campaign produced nine TV stories with a total market media viewership of 425,382. In print and digital media, six stories published with a total of 10.11 million unique visitors and the Dallas Morning News featured our Match Day event as the centerpiece of its front page on March 16. The application period for our school closed in April, and our school received 6,358 applications for a class of 60. More importantly, students appreciated the thoughtful, creative Match Day, which was uniquely Fort Worth branded.
What challenge did you overcome?
A big challenge was to keep the Match Day reveal a secret to students while still planning media advisory, news release and storytelling in advance. The team learned several lessons from its inaugural Match Day, which did not attract much media attention or attendance. In 2023, the weather came dangerously close to canceling the event, so the 2024 event was moved to an indoor venue. In addition, we re-wrote the media advisory to let journalists know the "big reveal" and elements of the Western-themed show so they knew it would be a visual and exciting event.
Contact:
Maricar Estrella
m.estrella@tcu.edu