Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Getting major media placements in outlets such as "NBC Nightly News" and The Huffington Post is every PR and media relations professional's dream—and if you can get 1 million or so people to visit your brand's website in response to the coverage, that's icing on the cake.

This year, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center pulled off this feat using a brand journalism approach. Here's how it attracted so much public attention to the news so quickly....

More than 1,200 people who struggle daily with homelessness and survival attended the Community Resource Exchange. I saw a story in each person – it was my job was to tell their stories with pictures and tweets.

This was a task I thought a lot about the night before the event. I wanted to tell stories, but I also wanted to be careful to be respectful and not invade privacy. I often cringe when I watch news coverage of such events showing the faces of people – in an unemployment line, at foreclosure help conference, those type of events. I worry about the dignity and privacy of those people.

The most difficult part of the day was looking into the dining room as the tables filled. I saw men who looked like my brothers, women who could be my mother. I didn’t want to go in, I wanted to be on the outskirts where I could stay somewhat removed. I had a lump in my throat and tears filled my eyes.

[Nice storytelling by @ImeldaDulcichPR ~ Jeff]