Challenge: CompTIA, a leading IT and workforce association, identified a need to correct the public perception that elite qualifications or skill sets are needed to pursue a tech career. The association also wanted to highlight the benefits of tech jobs for those entering the workforce or considering a career change. Through this effort, CompTIA hoped to inspire individuals to engage with CompTIA training to begin their new careers in tech.
Solution: O&U launched a month-long Letters to the Editor (LTEs) drive that would serve as a kickoff to a six-month career intent PR campaign.
O&U combed through CompTIA’s catalog of industry research to identify key tech employment stats that we could leverage in media pitches across 20 target cities. We paid particular attention to hyperlocal areas within cities where CompTIA already had scheduled future training courses. Each LTE would focus on specific issues within the local market and broadly advance the narrative that tech careers are open to anyone, not just the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates.
Results: Through two rounds of pitching to news outlets in 20 cities throughout June 2023, O&U was able to:
- Secure LTE placements in 10 publications, including:
- Dallas Morning News & The Star News Today
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Pittsburgh Post Gazette
- The Cincinnati Enquirer
- Tampa Bay Times
- Boulder Weekly
- The Cleveland Plain Dealer
- Boost registrations for upcoming training targeted at high school dropouts in Queens, New York
