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Communications Office

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and Virginia Tech Health Sciences and Technology Communications Office is responsible for proactively promoting the research institute's strengths through a variety of media and marketing channels. The Office provides a central source for media queries.

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Brand Guide

Annual Communications Office Reporting


Media Relations

  • Output & Impressions: Developed and pitched 57 articles for VT News, which resulted in 646 media mentions and 392 million unique media impressions worldwide.

Digital

  • Content Output: Distributed 617 social media posts in FY’21, resulting in 965,255 impressions and content interactions.
  • Community Size: Social media community size has increased by 1,497 followers.
  • E-Newsletter: We’ve gained 266 new e-newsletter subscribers since July 1, 2020. The e-newsletter sustains an average open rate of 33% and click through rate of 5%.

Community Engagement and Event Promotion

  • We have promoted 102 events hosted by the research institute in FY’21, which engaged 3,831 total participants.

Web

Photo/Video Production

  • We’ve produced 850 photo assets and 120 video assets, which generated 366,000 impressions, 4,350 engagements, and 32,000 views.

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC’s communications team boosted productivity and output significantly in FY’20. In addition to responding to the needs of a rapidly-expanding administrative and research team, our team also manages internal and external communications, media relations, multimedia and website development, donor material creation, tours and outreach activities, and the institute’s broader advertising strategy. 

Highlights from FY'20:


Media Relations

  • Developed and pitched 57 articles for VT News, which resulted in coverage in 870 media outlets worldwide and 560 million unique impressions (up 12 percent from FY'19).

Digital

  • Distributed 507 posts in FY'20 - a 29 percent increase from FY'19. These posts resulted in 878,077 impressions and content interactions. In addition, we launched a new monthly e-newsletter in Oct. 2019, which has generated 436 new contacts and sustains an average open rate of 25 percent and click through rate of eight percent.

Community Engagement and Events

  • We marketed seven public lectures with stories, media outreach, and advertising, which attracted 818 community members to our campus in FY'20 prior to COVID-19. We also coordinated Virginia Tech's science outreach presence at Roanoke STEAM Day, which exposed ~300 local youth to biomedical science. We produced 107 event flyers and 30 brochures to promote science lectures, PI candidate seminars, and external events.

Web

Photo and Video Production

  • We produced 400 photo assets and 105 video assets, which generated 1 million impressions, 44,103 views, and 4,910 engagements.

Communications Office Team Members

Media Contact

John Pastor, Senior Director of Communications (Virginia Tech Health Sciences and Technology, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute): jdpastor@vt.edu or 540-526-2222

Leigh Anne Kelley, Director of Communications, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute: lakelley@vtc.vt.edu or 540-526-2002

Have a Story Idea?

Tell us about your lab's achievements and discoveries at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute so we can share the good news. Contact Leigh Anne Kelley, lakelley@vtc.vt.edu, or John Pastor,  jdpastor@vt.edu.

Social Media

Twitter: @FralinBiomed
Instagram: @FralinBiomedical
Facebook: /FralinBiomedical
LinkedIn: Fralin Biomedical Research Institute