Healthcare and Higher Education

Colleges and universities have long relied on platitudes to sell themselves: Low faculty-to-student ratios. One-on-one attention and personalized growth. Access to innovative programs of study and today’s top minds.

For healthcare providers, it’s often the same problem, only slightly different tropes: Compassionate care. Cutting-edge procedures. Access to state-of-the-art facilities and expert providers.

The problem isn’t that these things are no longer important or appealing. It’s that nearly everyone touts them. So, what makes your school, your clinic, your department, your outreach initiative, truly unique? What do your alumni and current and prospective students really value, and how do you deliver on those attributes? What do your community members truly want and appreciate — not just in their healthcare providers and services, but the physical spaces where they receive those services? How are you shaping and sharing your story? And how do you know whether that story is even resonating with the people you want to reach? 

It takes a researcher to answer some of these questions; a strategic communications expert to answer others. Or, if you’d prefer one and the same, it takes someone like SIR.

What we do:

We understand the intricate relationships universities and healthcare providers must nurture with their communities and the people they serve. No other industries rely on forging such personal connections, and in the case of some of our client universities which also house robust health systems and train future generations of providers, those connections take on even more importance.

So often in our work, we find the first step to building those necessary relationships is knowing and appreciating the experience paths of those who walk through your doors — those who feel the impact of what you do every day.

In that regard, we’ve worked with entire campus communities to implement diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives. We’ve helped higher education institutions rebrand themselves following reputation setbacks and teamed with alumni associations to create more effective engagement strategies. And as we speak, we’re actively working with industry leaders in Richmond to pinpoint future workforce needs so colleges and universities can better equip students to be in demand when they graduate.

Our landscape research and experience mapping have informed the design of a brand-new cancer center based on the experiences not only of those who have undergone treatment, but those who have stood by a loved one’s side during the process. We’ve helped shape messaging to drive early vision and hearing screening services for Richmond’s children. And we’ve worked with the Richmond Academy of Medicine to promote awareness, advocacy, and discussion around advance care planning issues on a large, system-changing scale.

Our services include: 

Higher Education:

• Market research (secondary, qualitative, quantitative)

• Strategic planning

• Trends analysis

• Student journey mapping

• Alumni relations and engagement

• Strategic communications

• Enrollment development

• Fundraising

• Diversity, inclusion and equity training

• Leadership training

• New initiative exploration

A few past and current clients include:

A few examples of our Healthcare and Higher Education work: