Case Studies

Lashinda Demus

Managing the PR Campaign for a Long-Overdue Gold Medal Moment

In 2012, Lashinda Demus won Olympic silver in the 400m hurdles. A decade later, the truth about the gold medalist’s doping caught up, and in 2022 the IOC elevated Lashinda to first place. Her gold would finally be presented at the first-ever IOC Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony in Paris in 2024, a story of justice, resilience, and a family moment twelve years in the making. We built the full media strategy to make sure the world saw it: coordinating interviews, drafting press materials, building photo and audio assets, and managing on-site coverage from Los Angeles to Paris. A GoFundMe we helped launch raised $25,000 to bring Lashinda’s family to the ceremony, and the story broke wide across NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, the New York Times, and the LA Times. On August 9, 2024, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Lashinda received her gold surrounded by her family, and with her mother and coach Yolanda, became the first mother-daughter duo to win gold in Olympic Track and Field. Twelve years late. Right on time.

The Problem

Some stories demand to be told, but even the most powerful story, without the right strategy, timing, and people telling it, can get lost in the noise. In 2012, Lashinda Demus won silver in the 400m hurdles in London, a mother of twins who’d earn the title of fastest mother in the world. What no one knew was that the gold medalist had doped. A decade later the truth caught up, and in October 2022 the IOC elevated Demus to first. After nearly two years working with the IOC, Lashinda was finally going to receive her gold at the first-ever IOC Olympic Medal Reallocation Ceremony in Paris, 2024. This was a story of justice, resilience, and a family moment twelve years in the making, and it deserved a global audience.

The Cost

A moment like this only happens once. Without a deliberate media strategy, the global attention it deserved could pass unnoticed. And unlike a weak social strategy that can be rebuilt next quarter, a moment in history that passes unwitnessed doesn’t come back.

The Approach

This wasn’t just a client relationship. Michelle and Lashinda have known each other since Lashinda was a national champion at the University of South Carolina, and when the moment came, Lashinda trusted Michelle to tell it to the world. We built a comprehensive media strategy: coordinating interviews, drafting press materials, building photo and audio assets, and managing on-site coverage from Los Angeles to Paris, all aimed at driving global attention to the IOC Reallocation Ceremony on August 9, 2024. To make sure Lashinda’s family could be there, we helped launch a GoFundMe that raised $25,000, turning a ceremony into a homecoming. The story broke wide open across NBC, ABC, CBS, ESPN, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times, and that evening Lashinda appeared on NBC wearing her gold for the first time.

The Result

On August 9, 2024, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, Lashinda Demus received her gold medal surrounded by her family, IOC and USOPC dignitaries, and the world watching. With that medal, Lashinda and her mother Yolanda, who had coached her to her first American title in the 400m hurdles, became the first mother-daughter duo to win gold in Olympic Track and Field. Twelve years late. Right on time.

“There’s no one I would have wanted by my side more than Michelle to help tell my story. She’s creative, she truly cares, and she never stops going the extra mile. Having her there every step of the way — right up to the finish line in Paris at the foot of the Eiffel Tower — was everything.” — Lashinda Demus, Olympic Gold Medalist

What This Means for You

Every organization, brand, or individual has moments that matter: launches, milestones, stories that deserve more than a press release sent into the void. The difference between a moment that lands and one that disappears is strategy, relationships, and someone with the skill and conviction to tell it properly. If you have a story worth telling, Bee Young Comms will make sure the right people hear it.

Copper Fire

From Inconsistent Posts to a Standout Social Presence

Copper Fire is one of the busiest entertainment venues in Metro-East St. Louis, but its social media made it look like a quiet night. We learned the business from the inside, then built a strategy around what was already there: quarterly on-site shoots, a steady weekly rhythm, and Reels that actually sounded like Copper Fire. Followers and customers grew sharply, and the content built a community, not just an audience.

The Problem

Copper Fire has it all: daily live music, great food, a crowd that treats it like home. But its Instagram showed none of it. Last-minute posts and inconsistent visuals made one of the liveliest spots around look like an afterthought.

The Cost

People decide whether to visit before they leave the house, and a weak feed reads like a quiet night even when the room is packed. Every week without real content meant missed discovery, missed word-of-mouth, and regulars with nothing to tag.

The Approach

We learned the business first: the regulars, the staff, the rhythm of a week. From there we built around what was already there. Quarterly on-site shoots captured live performances, behind-the-bar moments, and the personalities that make the place feel like a hometown tavern, fueling a weekly mix of event promos, food and drink features, and Reels that sounded like Copper Fire. As the presence grew, we rebuilt their website too, giving customers one modern home for events, menus, and updates.

The Result

Copper Fire went from sporadic posts to a consistent, high-performing content engine. Followers and customer numbers have grown sharply, and the content built a real community, not just an audience.

“Michelle came in, learned our business, and built something we’re genuinely proud of. She took everything that makes Copper Fire feel like family and turned it into a social media presence that reflects who we truly are. She’s not just a vendor — she’s part of the team.” — Renae Eichholz, Co-Owner, Copper Fire

What This Means for You

Most businesses are better than their social media suggests. That’s not a creativity or time problem. It’s strategy and execution. If the gap between who you are and how you show up online is holding you back, that’s exactly what Bee Young Comms is built to close.

Quarterback Your Health

Turning a Diagnosis Into a Movement

In May 2026, former South Carolina quarterback and Tampa native Stephen Garcia went public with a Stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis at 38, after months of symptoms he ignored until his wife pushed him to a doctor. The story went national within hours. What it needed next was a strategy, because attention fades and the message underneath it — get screened, don’t wait — is the part that saves lives. We came on as media contact days later: media relations across two states, message discipline that kept the screening call to action in every story, and the full public launch of the Quarterback Your Health Foundation, from website to press kit to its inaugural gala. Months later, the story is still in the news.

The Problem

A diagnosis is news for about seventy-two hours. A mission has to last a lot longer than that.

When Stephen Garcia announced his Stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis in May 2026, national outlets picked it up within hours, and a family already navigating chemotherapy was fielding media requests with no infrastructure behind any of it. He had spent months dismissing abdominal pain as a tough guy problem and knew exactly how many men were doing the same thing right now. But turning that instinct into a real 501(c)(3) is a different job than going viral.

The Cost

Colorectal cancer is rising sharply in adults under 50, and late detection is why it’s so often fatal. Stephen had a message that could genuinely move people to get screened, but attention that isn’t converted into something durable simply disappears. And without someone managing the requests, a man in active chemotherapy spends his energy on logistics instead of his health.

The Approach

We stepped in as media contact days after the announcement and took the communications function off the family’s plate.

The strategy ran on two tracks. In South Carolina, we worked the Gamecock media that had followed Stephen since 2008 — WIS, Fox Carolina, The Post and Courier, The State. In Tampa Bay, his hometown, we worked the local stations and health desks, where he was a Moffitt patient and a Jefferson High state finalist, not a visiting celebrity. National outlets covered the diagnosis; those regional relationships kept it alive for months. Message discipline held it together: every interview routed back to one idea — if something feels off, get checked.

We built the public identity end to end — brand, website, newsroom, media kit, and University of South Carolina athletics as an amplification partner — then found the next news hook instead of waiting for one. SEC Media Days came to Tampa in July, where Stephen gave a treatment update and announced the August 21 gala, bringing his college coach Steve Spurrier, Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden, and Super Bowl champion Martin Gramatica into the same room as Moffitt physicians.

The Result

National coverage: ESPN, ABC News/Good Morning America, CBS Sports
Sustained regional coverage across two states: WIS, Fox Carolina, The Post and Courier, The State, WFLA, and WUSF/Health News Florida
A 501(c)(3) launched in public: with a website, newsroom, media kit, and press infrastructure built from zero
An inaugural gala on August 21, 2026: with ticketing and sponsorship live

The measure that matters isn’t impressions. It’s that the message stayed attached to the story. Every outlet that covered Stephen Garcia also told its audience to get screened.

“The last thing I had energy for was figuring out how to tell this. Michelle took all of it off our plate and made sure that every time somebody wrote about me, they also told people to go get checked. That’s the whole point. She got that from day one.” — Stephen Garcia, Founder, Quarterback Your Health

“We went from a Facebook post to a true foundation with a website, a mission, and a room full of people showing up for it. Michelle helped build that, and she never once let the message get lost.” — Masha Garcia, Co-Founder, Quarterback Your Health

What This Means for You

Attention isn’t impact. Plenty of organizations get their moment and watch it evaporate because nothing was built underneath it. The difference is whether someone turned that moment into infrastructure: the message that repeats, the relationships that keep reporters coming back, and the next hook lined up before the current one fades.

If your story matters and you get one chance to tell it right, that’s the work. Bee Young Comms doesn’t just get you covered. We make sure that when the coverage ends, you’re standing on something.

Naismith Awards

A Full-Service Social Media Operation, Season After Season

The Naismith Trophy is one of the most storied honors in basketball, and a name with that much credibility needs more than the occasional post. For four seasons, we haven’t just created content; we’ve run the whole operation: a seasonal playbook, a 21-person team, sponsor campaigns, and courtside coverage at every major event. In 2025-26, three teams covered 42 games through the Final Four, producing 28 interviews and nearly 200 clips, driving 74.3M impressions (90% over goal), 88% follower growth, and 2.1M engagements, all while cutting ad spend 26%.

The Problem

Prestige alone doesn’t build an audience, and a social presence that doesn’t match the weight of the brand leaves reach, relevance, and revenue on the table. The Naismith Trophy didn’t need a part-time hire. It needed a partner who could think like a communications director, execute like a producer, and lead like a head coach, season after season.

The Cost

When a brand of this caliber shows up inconsistently, the damage isn’t aesthetic. Sponsors question their partnership’s value, media relationships go cold, and marquee moments like a Final Four run or a Player of the Year announcement disappear into the feed instead of dominating it.

The Approach

Every season opens with a comprehensive playbook covering strategy, content standards, sponsor integration, and team structure. From there, Michelle leads a team of 21 across daily content, weekly syncs, and every platform. She also works the sport’s top voices, including Debbie Antonelli, Andy Katz, and Fran Fraschilla, turning their commentary into content that elevates the brand from administrator to authority. On the ground in 2025-26, three teams covered 42 games through the Final Four plus the Naismith Golf Tournament, while we ran dedicated campaigns for sponsors like Jersey Mike’s, Werner Ladder, and Sharpie, launched on Threads, and expanded paid advertising on X.

The Result — 2025–26 Season

74.3M impressions: exceeded goal by 90%, surpassing target by 35.3M
14,375 new followers: +88.1% audience growth
2.1M engagements: exceeded engagement goal by 15%
Instagram +168% impressions, Facebook +187% reach: platform growth across the board
Ad spend down 26%: more reach and more content for less investment

“We are fortunate to have Michelle lead our social media activation. She brings a first-class approach to content creation and strategy — an idea machine who constantly adds value through fresh thinking and more efficient processes.” — Eric Oberman, Client President, Naismith Trophy

What This Means for You

If your organization has real stakes, sponsors to serve, audiences to grow, a reputation to protect, social media isn’t a support function. It’s a communications program that needs to be run like one. That’s what Bee Young Comms does: not just create content, but build the infrastructure, lead the team, and deliver results that compound season after season.

AXIA Time

Building a Luxury Brand at the Intersection of Sport and Legacy

Services: Social Media Management (Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn) | Brand Storytelling & Content Strategy | Product Launch Content | Live Event Activation and On-Site Coverage | Championship Campaign Execution

AXIA Time was built on Swiss-Made precision and a deep reverence for sport and legacy. But for a luxury brand, an inconsistent social presence isn’t a missed opportunity; it’s a credibility problem. We manage all four of AXIA’s platforms with a strategy built on premium positioning, consistent storytelling, and showing up where history is made: on-site at the 2024 and 2025 Heisman Trophy Weekends, the 2025 and 2026 CFP National Championships, and the Naismith Awards. The result: 30.9M impressions, 6,110 new followers, and 162,687 engagements, driven by real athlete moments and live event content.

The Problem

John Kanaras built AXIA Time around Swiss-Made precision and a deep reverence for sport and legacy. What he couldn’t do alone was run four social platforms, show up at championship events, and build the premium content strategy a luxury brand demands, all at once. He needed an expert who understood both storytelling and the culture of sport.

The Cost

For a luxury brand, inconsistency online isn’t a missed opportunity; it’s a credibility problem. When your product lives at the level of Heisman weekends and national championships but your social presence doesn’t reflect that world, the disconnect erodes trust before a buyer ever reaches out. Luxury buyers aren’t hunting for a deal; they’re looking for proof a brand belongs.

The Approach

We manage all four of AXIA Time’s platforms with a strategy built on premium positioning, consistent storytelling, and showing up where history is made. First we built the foundation: a steady content calendar and product storytelling cadence that established AXIA as a credible voice across collegiate, government, and professional sports. Then we showed up, on-site at the 2024 and 2025 Heisman Trophy Weekends, the 2025 and 2026 CFP National Championships in Atlanta and Miami, and the Men’s and Women’s championships, including content tied to the AXIA pop-up at the CFP Fan Shop that drove meaningful growth during peak season.

The Result

30.9M impressions: cross-platform reach across Instagram, Facebook, X, and LinkedIn
6,110 new followers: audience built through championship season activations
162,687 engagements: driven by live event content and real athlete moments

What This Means for You

Building a premium brand takes years; losing ground online can happen in a single season of inconsistency. If you’re a founder or a luxury brand with a story that deserves to be told at the highest level, the question isn’t whether social media matters. It’s whether your presence is doing justice to what you’ve built. That’s the work we do: not just content, but positioning; not just posts, but proof that your brand belongs in the room.

Peninsula Building Materials

Building a Digital Presence as Strong as Their Product

Peninsula Building Materials is a family-owned Silicon Valley business entering its second century. The credibility was there, but the digital presence wasn’t, and a decades-old reputation was quietly going unseen online. We made the brand match the reputation with sharper visuals and messaging, a consistent cadence across four platforms, and paid social and video that kept PBM in front of contractors, designers, and Bay Area buyers. In 2023 we helped lead a full website overhaul and wrote PBM’s Design & Build blog, turning it into an SEO engine. By 2025, PBM had a digital footprint strong enough that we made the case to bring marketing in-house and handed off a strategy firing on all cylinders.

The Problem

You’ve been in business long enough to earn a reputation. Contractors trust you, customers come back, the product is the real thing. But online, none of it shows up: an outdated website, a scattered social presence, and a story decades in the making that isn’t reaching the people searching for exactly what you offer. That was Peninsula Building Materials, a family-owned Silicon Valley business in its second century.

The Cost

For a business built on trust, a weak digital presence doesn’t just limit growth; it creates doubt. In a saturated market like Silicon Valley, the suppliers who look the part online win the introduction, and buyers rarely reach out to someone whose digital presence doesn’t instill immediate confidence. Every day the gap went unaddressed, newer and lesser competitors were defining the category while PBM stayed invisible to customers already looking.

The Approach

We rebuilt PBM’s presence around stronger visuals, sharper messaging, and a consistent cadence across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Paid social and video became core drivers, keeping PBM in front of the right Bay Area audiences, while direct vendor and customer relationship development strengthened the brand beyond the screen. In 2023 the scope expanded to a full website overhaul, including all content for PBM’s new Design & Build blog, which became their SEO engine, pulling in organic traffic from buyers actively searching for what they sell.

The Result

By 2025, PBM had cohesive branding, consistent messaging, and a digital footprint built to compete in its second century. At that point, we made the case to bring marketing in-house and handed off a strategy that was firing on all cylinders.

“Michelle doesn’t disappoint. She’s passionate, creative, has great follow-through, and will dig in and do whatever it takes to get the job done.” — Nancy Wallace, Director of Marketing and Development, Peninsula Building Materials

What This Means for You

If your business has been around long enough to know what it’s doing but your digital presence doesn’t reflect that, you’re letting newer, lesser competitors define the category while you stay invisible to customers already looking for you. A strong digital presence isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about making sure the reputation you’ve earned shows up where your next customer is searching.

USF College of Engineering

Media and Presentation Training for the Dean and Senior Leaders

Deep expertise doesn’t automatically become a clean soundbite, a compelling donor conversation, or a keynote people remember. The dean and senior leaders of USF’s College of Engineering were regularly in front of reporters, donors, students, and faculty candidates with no formal training behind them. We designed and led a full-day intensive built specifically for the college: message architecture, on-camera and video call presence, breath, inflection and body language, three rounds of live film and review, and mock conversations where leaders traded off playing reporter and donor. Donor strategy got its own session, because for a dean it carries as much weight as any interview. Everyone left with a custom training notebook and a self-evaluation system designed to keep sharpening long after the day ended.

The Problem

The University of South Florida’s College of Engineering had leaders doing exceptional work and no unified approach to talking about it. The dean and his senior team were regularly speaking with reporters, donors, students, faculty candidates, and the community, often on camera or over Zoom, without formal training behind them. Deep subject matter expertise does not automatically translate into a clean soundbite, a compelling donor conversation, or a keynote people remember. They needed both.

The Cost

For a dean, every interview, keynote, and donor conversation is a chance to move the college forward or quietly lose ground. When leaders with real expertise aren’t prepared to deliver it, the message defaults to jargon, and the college loses the coverage, the faculty candidate, or the gift to someone who simply told the story better.

The Approach

Bee Young Comms designed and led a full-day intensive built specifically for the college, covering everything from message architecture to breath work, co-facilitated with Susanna McDonald, a New York City actress and director.

The day opened with each leader setting their own goals, then moved into audience engagement and influencer training: LinkedIn presence, conversations with media, students and peers, and a dedicated session on Zoom and video call presence. From there we worked through presenting confidence: mindset, breath, inflection, operative words, body language, cold reading, and the relationship between a speaker and the camera.

Then we put it to the test. Each leader was filmed delivering a reading, reviewed immediately, coached on specifics, and sent back to do it again. Three rounds of film and review across the day. In between, they traded roles in mock conversations, two playing reporters and donors while the other two prepped and delivered presentations, then switching seats.

Donor conversations got their own focus, because for a college dean they carry as much weight as any media interview. We built an approach centered on impact rather than need: talking points that appeal to the head and the heart, preparation for the questions donors actually ask, and guidance on personalized video messages and follow-up.

The Result

The college’s senior leaders left with something they could use the next morning: sharper messages, a repeatable way to prepare, and the confidence to deliver on camera, at the podium, and across the table from a donor. Each participant received a custom set of materials written by Bee Young Comms, including Presenting Confidence, Presentation Pro Tips, Pro Tips for Video Calls, and Donor Conversations, along with a post-presentation self-evaluation sheet to complete after every future speech, pitch, or interview. The training didn’t end when the day did. It gave them a system.

“I love working with Michelle on media training projects. Michelle will do anything it takes to support your vision, whether that means answering phone calls at her own dinner party or advising you to make the hard but correct decision. She will go above and beyond while also making sure you are doing your best work. Plus, her thank you notes and networking skills are top notch.” — Susanna McDonald, Actress and Director, New York City

What This Means for You

Your leaders are already representing your organization, whether anyone has prepared them for it or not. Media training isn’t polish. It’s making sure that when the camera is on, the room is full, or the donor is across the table, the person speaking says something worth remembering.

JJ Team Homes

From Rebrand to Top 1.5% in the Country

In real estate, your brand is your reputation before anyone picks up the phone, and JJ Team Homes had outgrown theirs. They came to us for social media help, but the real issue was bigger: the name, the identity, and the digital presence no longer reflected the caliber of the team or the market they competed in. So we started at the foundation: rebranding JJ Peninsula Homes to JJ Team Homes, refreshing the logo, and building an SEO engine of keyword-driven blogs and community pages. A refined, consistent social presence turned a fragmented brand into a recognizable one. The result: recognition as a top 1.5% realtor in the country in 2023.

The Problem

In real estate, your brand is your reputation before anyone picks up the phone. Buyers and sellers aren’t just evaluating credentials; they’re evaluating trust, and trust starts with how you show up: your name, visual identity, website, and social presence. JJ Team Homes came to us for social media help, but a closer look revealed the brand itself wasn’t keeping pace with the business they’d built.

The Cost

In a market as saturated as Silicon Valley, the agents who look the part online win the introduction, and a website without an SEO strategy is essentially invisible to clients actively searching. Every week without a cohesive brand, a keyword strategy, or a consistent social presence is a week competitors capture leads that should have been theirs. The business was strong, but without the brand to match, the growth had a ceiling.

The Approach

Before a single post was written, we took a step back. A full review of the website, social presence, competitive landscape, and even the name showed the foundation needed work before any strategy could scale. The first move was the rebrand: JJ Peninsula Homes became JJ Team Homes, with a refreshed logo to match the professionalism behind the work. Then we built the growth engine: a keyword-driven blog and consistently updated community pages gave the site real SEO reach, while a refined social strategy turned a fragmented presence into a recognizable, trustworthy brand.

The Result

The payoff was significant: JJ Team Homes earned recognition as a top 1.5% realtor in the country in 2023, backed by a brand, a website, and a digital presence finally built to match the business they’d always been.

“Michelle has been instrumental in helping us grow our business and expand our reach. Her assistance in SEO, branding, and consistent messaging has been so helpful — allowing us to focus on our core business of real estate. Michelle is simply the best!” — Jaime Lynn Jones and Julie Cassel, Founders, JJ Team Homes

What This Means for You

If your business has outgrown its brand, if the way you show up online no longer reflects the quality of what you deliver, that gap is costing you. Not dramatically, not all at once, but steadily. In any competitive market, the businesses that look the part and show up consistently in search win the introduction. Everything else follows from there.

CalHOPE Courage Award

Launching an Inaugural Campaign with Impact

Services: Social Media Campaign Strategy & Execution | Paid Social Advertising (Instagram & Facebook) | Influencer & Partner Collaborations | Content Creation (Stories, Reels, Feed Posts) | Hashtag Strategy & Audience Targeting

Launching something new is one of the hardest communications challenges there is: no existing audience, no proof of concept, just a vision and the work to make strangers care. That was the CalHOPE Courage Award, a first-of-its-kind recognition for courageous student-athletes across California. We built and ran the full social campaign: storytelling-driven content, targeted paid social on Instagram and Facebook, and Stories and Reels built to be shared. To earn trust fast, we secured collaborations with NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and NBA All-Star Kevin Love, giving the award instant legitimacy with exactly the audience it needed. It launched with nominations, an engaged audience, and credibility most first-year programs spend seasons chasing.

The Problem

Launching something new is one of the hardest communications challenges there is. There’s no existing audience to activate, no legacy to reference, no proof of concept, just a vision and the work to make strangers care about something that didn’t exist yesterday. That was the starting point for the CalHOPE Courage Award, a first-of-its-kind recognition for courageous student-athletes at universities across California. The award’s value was real, but none of the people it needed to reach had any reason to know it yet.

The Cost

An inaugural award lives or dies by its launch, and the real cost of a weak one isn’t just low nominations. It’s that the student-athletes the award was created to honor never get their moment, because the coaches who should nominate them never hear about it. In collegiate athletics, where relationships and reputation are everything, a launch that fails to generate momentum signals the award isn’t serious, and that perception spreads fast.

The Approach

We built and executed a full social media campaign: content that told the story of the award, highlighted its purpose, and gave universities a clear reason to nominate their most deserving student-athletes. The strategy leaned into what actually moves people: compelling storytelling, targeted paid social on Instagram and Facebook, and platform-specific Stories and Reels built for shareability, with strategic hashtags expanding reach to coaches, athletic directors, and administrators across California. To establish credibility fast, we secured high-profile collaborations with NFL Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and NBA All-Star Kevin Love. This wasn’t our first launch of this kind: our prior work on the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player Award produced three high-profile 2021 winners, Aidan Hutchinson, McKenzie Milton, and J.J. Weaver, and established the playbook we brought to CalHOPE.

The Result

The inaugural CalHOPE Courage Award launched with nominations, an engaged audience, and the kind of credibility most first-year programs spend multiple seasons trying to build, established as a meaningful recognition in California collegiate athletics from day one.

“Michelle consistently demonstrated an outstanding ability to strategize and execute compelling paid social media campaigns. Her deep understanding of collegiate athletics was a real plus. I am confident that Michelle will bring value to any project or team.” — Doug Drotman, Owner, Drotman Communications

What This Means for You

Every organization, award, or initiative has a first chapter, and how it’s written determines whether there’s a second. If you’re launching something new and need it to land with credibility from the start, the strategy behind the launch matters as much as the idea itself. We’ve launched new things from nothing before, and we know what it takes to make a new thing feel necessary.

USF Health & Premier Healthcare

A Strategic Communications Campaign Built Around Prevention

Services: Strategic Communications Planning | Internal & External Messaging Development | Digital Marketing Direction | Patient-Focused Content Strategy | Health Equity & Prevention Campaigns

Most people don’t skip preventive screenings because they don’t care. They skip them because no one made it easy, relevant, or urgent enough to say yes. When Dr. Alicia Best of USF Health’s College of Public Health and Premier Healthcare needed a partner, the clinical infrastructure was already in place; what was missing was a strategy that could move people to act. This wasn’t marketing. It was a public health mission to drive breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer screenings among historically underserved patients. We built the strategy around one question: what does it take for this patient to say yes? The answer was trust before the ask, language that reflected the patient, and prevention reframed as self-advocacy.

The Problem

People don’t avoid screenings because they don’t care about their health. They avoid them because the messaging doesn’t reach them, the language doesn’t reflect them, and the system feels built for someone else. Dr. Alicia Best had the clinical infrastructure in place. What was missing was a communications strategy that could move patients to act on breast, colorectal, and cervical cancer screenings.

The Cost

When prevention messaging misses the right people, cancers go undetected until they’re harder to treat, and patients who could have been caught early arrive at Stage 3 or 4. The communities facing the biggest barriers of language, access, and trust are the ones most likely to fall through the gap. In public health, a missed message isn’t just a missed opportunity. It can cost someone their life.

The Approach

We built a comprehensive strategy aligned with both organizations’ values, with consistent messaging across every touchpoint, from patient-facing web content to internal stakeholders. Every piece was designed around one question: what does it take for this patient to say yes? That meant removing barriers in the language, meeting patients where they already were, and reframing prevention as self-advocacy, building trust before asking for action.

The Result

The content educated, motivated, and removed barriers to care, reaching patients historically underserved by traditional healthcare messaging and making screenings feel accessible, relevant, and worth prioritizing.

“Michelle’s knowledge of healthcare marketing and institutional communications helped us build a strategy that was both credible and compelling. Because of her work, we were better equipped to reach the patients who needed us most. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner.” — Dr. Alicia Best, USF Health College of Public Health & Premier Healthcare

What This Means for You

If the people you exist to serve aren’t hearing your message, the work stops there. A strong communications strategy isn’t about broadcasting louder. It’s about understanding exactly who you’re talking to, what’s keeping them from engaging, and building every message around removing that barrier. If your organization is doing important work that isn’t reaching the people who need it most, that’s a communications problem we were built to solve.