“Public relations can’t help solve real business challenges.” Whoever made such a statement doesn’t know Suade, the PR division of EGC Group. Enrollment in New York’s teacher education programs has dropped 25.2 percent, from 61,904 students in 2011-2012 to 46,294 today. Meanwhile, the state estimated it will need 180,000 new teachers by 2032. Suade worked with client Molloy University’s School of Education and Human Services to address the impending need for educators in New York State. Most recently, Suade secured an op-ed story in Newsday for Dean Melissa McCardle and Associate Dean Vicky Giouroukakis. This op-ed story made the case for why the perfect moment to enter the teaching profession is now. A traditional agency might swirl around the various (and often expensive) ways to address the challenge of a shrinking pool of future education students, ranging from more paid social to additional cost-intensive advertisements. Suade took a different approach by leveraging editorial relationships and timely news cycles to earn both the teacher shortage and Molloy University much-deserved attention. Molloy University’s leadership was positioned at the head of a conversation that many Long Island readers are already having about their kids’ schools. Specific concerns were addressed head-on, and an increase in future educators from a position of passion was encouraged. Read the Newsday op-ed feature. The example detailed above is the part of PR that doesn’t get talked about enough: it’s not just visibility; it’s positioning an institution’s expertise as the answer to a problem its audience already feels. For more information on how performance public relations can impact your business, please visit www.pr-suade.com.
