STRATEGIES THAT WORK AND A TRACK RECORD TO PROVE IT.

As an educator, a non-profit organization, or a company that provides goods or services to the education community, your role in improving the future for America's kids is clear. Make sure your message is too. Make sure you have the power to be heard.

At Voss & Associates we'd welcome the opportunity to share more than our success stories with you. We'd like to help you become one of them.

SUCCESS STORIES:

EMERGENCY AND OUTREACH PHONE MESSAGES
The NTI Group has a product with the power to send a phone message instantly to every parent or employee in the district in case of an emergency, such as hurricanes or lockdowns. It can also send outreach messages in the Superintendent or Principal's own voice, and notify parents if their child is not in school. When it was time to launch "Connect-Ed" in Florida, NTI turned to Voss & Associates, which helped them attract statewide attention and quickly market the system to many districts. It's now one of the hottest products in the education marketplace.

THE ARTS COUNCIL OF SARASOTA COUNTY
The Arts Council of Sarasota County wanted everyone to know that it served the entire community, not just the elite. Through a branding campaign, a new logo was designed and marketing materials updated to create a full circle branding image of the Arts Council's mission, purpose, and goal. The campaign: "Ticket to the Arts" personalized the Arts Council for every resident of Sarasota County. VIEW PORTFOLIO

MILLIONS FOR EDUCATION
When Sarasota County, Florida, voters defeated a bond referendum by a 2 to 1 margin in 2000, the district retained Voss & Associates to conduct a Communications Audit and develop a Strategic Communications Plan. Nineteen months later, after implementation of that plan, the same bond issue passed by a 2 to 1 margin in 2002. Four years later, following the appointment of new Superintendent Dr. Gary Norris, left, voters agreed to extend the 1 mill increase for operations, bringing more than $400 million into the district budget over the eight year period. Voss & Associates also helped passed sales tax initiatives in other districts for school construction.

COMMUNICATING VISION FOR LEARNING
Once school districts develop their vision and strategic plans for learning, they must communicate it to staff, parents and the broader community. Voss & Associates was called upon to produce and launch NeXt Generation Learning for Sarasota County Superintendent Gary Norris, who was just finishing his first year and wanted to make some dramatic changes. The materials clearly spelled out the new direction, solicited community support and specified the role of each stakeholder.

BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT PARTNERS
Pearson Education is the world's largest provider of educational content. When one of its divisions, Pearson Digital Learning, needed to build state-level strategic partnerships, they called on the Tallahassee office of Voss & Associates to make connections with Florida's elite education leaders. Conferences, briefings and strategic meetings have made Pearson Digital Learning a trusted partner in education innovation for Florida.

MONROE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
When Monroe County elected new superintendent Randy Acevedo, it was time for a face-lift. “Student Success, Whatever It Takes” became the mantra. Voss & Associates designed a new logo, theme, and more importantly, a colorful brochure that clearly articulates a new vision, strategic plan and Balanced Scorecard to measure student success. The brochure and website information served to get employees, parents and community members behind the bold initiatives.
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WEBSITE MARKETING
Monroe County Public Schools successfully launched and marketed a new website without spending a dime of tax money. Voss & Associates raised private funds, leveraged the media and placed banners along Hwy. 1 - the only major highway through the Keys - to get the word out. The District Communications Plan developed also helped pass two voter initiatives, largely on the basis of an effective video produced to explain facility needs to voters. VIEW PORTFOLIO

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
The Charlotte County Public School District's website needed a new name, a modern design, easy navigation and improved internal efficiency. Many of the pages consisted of PDF files instead of links to html pages. After a complete "makeover," www.YourCharlotteSchools.org was unveiled with great fanfare to the district staff and general public. As a result, web site visits have increased significantly and phone calls to the district and school offices have been reduced. VIEW PORTFOLIO

CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT
The Florida Children’s Forum works hard for the state’s youngest citizens as an advocate for quality childcare. When its members wanted a louder voice and strong influence in Tallahassee, Voss & Associates gave it to them, soliciting business people to become effective spokespersons for children and creating powerful multi-media materials to present their case. Media and speaker training helped the business people become “Strong Voices for Young Children” in a campaign still going on today.

UNIVERSITY MARKETING
When President Judy Genshaft wanted to announce that USF had a $3.2 billion economic impact on the Tampa Bay Region, it had to be done in grand style. A brochure with key messages broke down the numbers in meaningful and human terms. When it was time to announce the 50th anniversary, another brochure provided a timeline of events to demonstrate its rich history. And when it was time to prepare for another hurricane season, Voss & Associates put together a Crisis Communications Plan.
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UNIVERSITY BRANDING
The University of South Florida has a little-known regional campus on the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties. Local residents get it confused with New College of Florida or the main USF campus in Tampa. Voss & Associates conducted the market research and charted the course for a USF Sarasota-Manatee branding campaign that has resulted in the now well-known slogan, “Yes, We Are a University Town.”
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FLORIDA’S VOLUNTARY PREKINDERGARTEN
IThe state of Florida passed a law stating that all children 4 years old on or before September 31 could attend free pre-kindergarten classes. Public schools in Pinellas County were not prepared to teach this VPK program. The state turned to private day care providers and private schools

The Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas, Inc., needed help increasing the number of private providers in the VPK program. They also needed to inform parents and increase student participation. Through a strategy consisting of media interviews, marketing materials, targeted direct mail pieces and community forums, the word spread and the Coalition had enough providers to serve their needs. When classrooms opened its doors for children, Pinellas County ranked second in the state for registered four-year-olds. VIEW PORTFOLIO

SILENCE HURTS
Following the tragic shooting of a teacher in Palm Beach County, Florida, Voss & Associates partnered with the Sunshine State School Public Relations Association to create one of the most powerful communications weapons ever used against school violence. The "Silence Hurts" campaign was heard loud and clear around the state enlisting students to speak up about weapons on campus before they were used. In fact, 1,500 students gathered in Orlando wearing
Silence Hurts t-shirts pledging to tell an adult when they knew about a weapon on campus. The campaign was merged with the national Speak Up campaign and continues to this day.

CHILDREN REFLECT WHAT THEY SEE
Pinellas Safe Start had a difficult task: telling parents not to expose young children to domestic or media violence. It questioned their ability as parents. Voss & Associates created the campaign, “Children Reflect What They See,” using a student artist, a Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball player and child psychologists to deliver the messages. It produced a video, a new website and a media campaign that increased calls to the 2-1-1 number for help.
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