ISSUE

Wesley Family Services is a multifaceted therapeutic support and behavioral healthcare agency headquartered in Southwestern Pennsylvania providing services to more than 30,000 people a year. Its clients include people of all ages who have intellectual disabilities, are on the autism spectrum, need additional educational services or are navigating the challenges of a substance abuse problem of mental health diagnosis. 

Wesley Family Services’ leaders are experts in their fields, but lack the time and media expertise to promote their brand. Although the agency has a breadth of programs and geographic reach, there was little public awareness of its work. So Wesley Family Services hired Ceisler Media & Issue Adovcacy to tell its story and help increase its client base. 

STRATEGY

With 68 separate programs, Wesley has many stories to tell. Ceisler Media works to determine the appropriate platform and audience for each, including creative advertising materials, fliers, brochures, graphics and rack cards to elevate the profile of the agency’s programs and staff.

One campaign centered on an 11-year-old special needs student whose stunning version of Miley Cyrus’ hit song “The Climb” became a Facebook sensation, drawing more than 100,000 hits. Our team reached out to Ms. Cyrus, who was kind enough to send the young Wesley student a present. We were able to create a communications strategy around the presentation of that gift. We planned and secured an exclusive local news story on WTAE-TV (Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate) that reached the exact audience Wesley was targeting. The story subsequently garnered national exposure on more than 25 local news stations across the country. 

When Wesley Spectrum merged with Family Services of Western Pennsylvania in 2017, our team led the internal and external messaging and implemented a media strategy to secure positive press coverage. Additionally, Ceisler Media collected and wrote content for the newly merged agency’s website to create a cohesive voice for all 68 programs.  

As an organization that operates schools and works with children, Wesley requires the same crises response capacity as a school district. The Ceisler team developed an agency-wide crisis communications plan, which included media training for their leadership team to help them respond to any media inquiries during an emergency.  

Our firm also regularly drafts timely statements to media, supports day-to-day social media content, helps manage media buys, and continues to offer strategic communications guidance. 

RESULT 

Overall, since our work with Wesley began, Ceisler Media’s efforts have helped the agency double its followers on social media, receive a steady stream of favorable news stories, and increase its client base.