Association of Public and Land-grant Universities 2017 Q1 Insights Report January 1 March 31, 2017

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Association of Public and Land-grant Universities 2017 Q1 Insights Report January 1 March 31, 2017 Overview The goal of the Ag Is America project is to serve as a public, unified voice communicating

1 Association of Public and Land-grant Universities 2017 Q1 Insights Report January 1 March 31, 2017 Overview The goal of the Ag Is America project is to serve as a public, unified voice communicating the value of the land- grant system in order to protect and grow its federal funding sources. In the first quarter (Q1) of 2017, kglobal began development of a new campaign strategy that would support the NIFA one- line ask. Working with Cornerstone, our team drafted messaging for the campaign that would resonate with target audiences, and presented the strategy to the CMC. The campaign, which will officially launch in May 2017, will center around a video series, supported by a new Ag Is America website, social content, and infographics. Our team also focused on new content strategies, such as infographics highlighting priority areas and timely news events, and ramped up traditional media outreach with media pitching and editorials.

2 Content Creation Compelling content is important to position Ag Is America as an active, engaged, and creative brand. We know that unique, visually interesting content is an important mechanism to communicate meaningful information to our audiences. This quarter, we created infographics to introduce various priority topics to our audience, which received extraordinary results. Our team created infographics for February and March, highlighting different aspects of the land- grant system that would center on key issues during those months. Our February infographic showcased the research and highlights from the 1890s land- grant universities for Black History Month (see Appendix A). Our March infographic focused on food safety and food security for National Nutrition Month (see Appendix B). Our February infographic reached over 5,000 people and had over 300 engagements. In March, our team posted two separate infographics for a total of 9,110 views and 112 engagements. In Q1, we also continued to research, solicit, and categorize case studies, impact statements, and feature stories from land- grant universities to be repurposed and disseminated over Ag Is America digital platforms. This included 57 blog posts and over 112 social media posts (see Appendix C). Digital + Social The foundation of our social media content is our AgIsAmerica.org website. Every social media post links back to our website for more information and provides a visitor with the opportunity to return to the original article on the school s website. This quarter, we published 57 new blog posts, generating thousands of new and recurring page views. Website Researched and drafted 57 blog posts highlighting the land- grant system s achievements and news around water and healthy food systems. Generated over 1,800 pageviews a 20% increase from the previous quarter. Our team began development of the new Ag Is America website, set to launch in the second quarter of Social Facebook: 58 original posts garnered over 99,851 views and 756 engagements. o Since moving to a more engagement- focused strategy, engagements increased by over 130%, compared to last quarter (356 engagements). o On average, each post receives 1,674 views. Twitter: 54 original tweets garnered over 53,431 views and 574 engagements. o Views increased by 44% and engagements increased by 85%, compared to last quarter. Worked with research from the National Impact Database to promote social graphics on World Water Day, March 22. 2

3 Our team fully believes that the infographics contributed to this rise in views and engagements on both Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to continuing to create infographics, when it is timely, and working to maintain this level of engagement with our audience. Media Relations On February 13, Purdue Cooperative Extension, along with Dr. Allen Featherstone of Kansas State University and Dr. Jeff Hopkins of ERS, presented on current trends of the farm economy on Capitol Hill. kglobal supported outreach efforts for the event, including inviting media and tweeting from the Ag Is America Twitter. Following the event, kglobal worked with Purdue Cooperative Extension to draft an editorial on current farm economy trends. The team will work with Purdue Extension in the second quarter to place the editorial in a national outlet. We also worked with the University of Arizona to collaborate with a local NPR reporter in the Phoenix- area. Community Activation In Q1, our team, in partnership with Cornerstone, created an initial draft of a strategy to leverage AgIsAmerica in support of the one- line NIFA ask. The plan centers on a video series, supported with communication efforts on our social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, website). Our team developed several video ideas and scripts that were discussed with the CMC during the in- person meeting, along with general communications strategy for the campaign. Moving into Q2, our team will finish development of the campaign strategy to launch a video, infographic, and new website in early June. Internal Communications On March 5, kglobal attended and presented at the in- person CMC Meeting in Alexandra, Virginia. Our team updated the CMC with the status of the NIFA campaign and discussed how the Ag Is America was performing in the first quarter. On March 17, kglobal hosted the new Senior Communicators Manager at NIFA, Sally Gifford, at our offices to introduce our team and the Ag Is America platform. Since the meeting, our team has collaborated and drafted content, highlighting NIFA- funded projects. kglobal continued to maintain contact with LGU communicators. Working with Faith Peppers, our team planned and hosted a Webinar on March 15 that reintroduced the Ag Is America platform to communicators. 3

4 Appendix A February Infographic 4

5 Appendix B March Infographic 5

6 Appendix C Social Posts 6

7 7

Connecting directly: Currents and Social Media American Gas Association

1 Connecting directly: Currents and Social Media American Gas Association 4-4-2014 Where are our customers getting their information? 2 They re no longer getting it primarily from traditional outlets like