About AIM Institute
For more than 30 years, the AIM Institute has fostered the Omaha area’s tech sector and plays a pivotal role in supporting underrepresented youth in Nebraska through its Upward Bound TRIO program. The federally funded initiative provides tutoring, mentoring, financial aid assistance, and guidance on secondary school re-entry or other education pathways. This ensures that the future Omaha tech community has a strong foundation of well-grounded, successful participants from all walks of life.
The Challenge
AIM needed to effectively communicate the impact of their Upward Bound TRIO program and attract broader awareness, support, and participation. Abigail McLaughlin, Senior Communications Strategist at Lukas Partners explained:
“Some of AIM’s targeted audiences were unaware of AIM’s involvement with Upward Bound programs that include TRIO initiatives, and AIM wanted to educate its audiences.”
The Big Idea
For National TRIO Day in February 2024, Lukas Partners worked with AIM to promote an event with TIME Magazine’s 2020 Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao, as a guest speaker and workshop leader.
Rao was recognized as America’s Top Young Scientist in 2017 and received the EPA Presidential award for her patented invention of a lead contamination detection device that sends water quality information via Bluetooth.
Her involvement in the event would provide unique enrichment opportunities to students and showcase the potential within STEM fields.
Our Approach
Lukas Partners developed a comprehensive news media campaign to maximize awareness and engagement for AIM’s National TRIO Day event. Our event promotion strategy focused on Rao’s compelling story and the impactful work of the Upward Bound and TRIO programs to secure widespread media coverage across multiple platforms. We utilized media alerts, interview opportunities with AIM spokespeople, and offered the news media the opportunity to ask Rao questions during her Q&A session.
Abigail adds:
“The AIM Institute invited a nationally known youth leader to speak with students in AIM’s Youth Academies— her presence drew attention from local, regional, and national news media outlets. At Lukas Partners, we have strong relationships with local, regional, and national news media to share our clients’ initiatives, products, and services. In this case, the local TV station’s coverage was picked up by its affiliate TV stations across the country. AIM is committed to building a strong, diverse tech community, and strategic outreach like this is vital to amplifying its message and mission.”
The Results
The news media campaign achieved outstanding results with 47 online, print, radio, and television placements. These placements reached a combined audience of over 28 million, with a local TV station’s coverage extending to 30 affiliate stations nationwide. The campaign generated an ad equivalency of $262,827 and a total publicity value of $788,601.
Why Our PR Strategies Worked
Our strategy amplified a powerful narrative of youth empowerment, STEM innovation, and community development through targeted media relations. Gitanjali Rao’s compelling involvement and AIM’s impactful mission created a newsworthy event that resonated deeply with the media, achieving exceptional reach and PR value. This multi-pronged event management plan effectively reached target audiences.
“We were excited to see the media coverage of our annual TRIO Day event. AIM’s Youth Academies provide life-changing experiences to inspire under-resourced youth to achieve their ultimate career goals. This coverage helped elevate awareness of our mission and strengthen the impact of the work we do.” — Charles Kaup, Director of Youth Academies, AIM Institute
Let Us Manage Your Next PR Event
Make your next event unforgettable with PR strategies from Lukas Partners. With event coordination, marketing and PR, and media training, you’ll get everything you need to host a successful, newsworthy occasion. Contact us today to get started!
