The Ebola outbreak in West Africa quickly became the deadliest occurrence of the disease, with almost 10,000 confirmed deaths. The first case of the deadly virus to be diagnosed in the U.S. was announced when Thomas Eric Duncan died in a Dallas hospital. Following Duncan’s death, Ebola remained a global news story for months as more U.S. cases were confirmed. Specialty Insurance Advisors, a B2B insurance company, chose to launch its new, first-of-its-kind insurance indemnity coverage, Essential Professional Insurance Coverage (EPIC), with an added Ebola benefit to its pre-existing coverage to protect healthcare and law enforcement workers in the event of accidental infection. Specialty Insurance Advisors turned to Belfort Group (BG) to quickly and effectively market the launch of its new offering to local and national media.
The news of the first American diagnosed with Ebola occurred in unison with the announcement of this new insurance, so BG quickly and efficiently created a press release announcing the availability of the Ebola benefit to the existing Needle Stick and Workplace Violence coverage and distributed the press release over Business Wire. Simultaneously, BG developed a comprehensive media list of national, regional, local, insurance and healthcare trade media. In addition to the press release, BG pitched national broadcast outlets, national insurance and healthcare outlets, and national and regional print outlets, focusing on the first-of-its-kind benefit and its timeliness for healthcare workers and first responders.
BG successfully launched Specialty Insurance Advisors as thought leaders in the competitive insurance industry, highlighting the new Ebola benefit. Over the three-month launch campaign, BG secured 16 media placements in print, online, broadcast and trade outlets, both locally and nationally. National coverage included Reuters, Yahoo! News, and Fox Business Network’s The Willis Report. Locally, NECN also featured the story. National insurance and healthcare trade outlets covering the launch of the Ebola benefit included Insurance Business Review, Risk Management Monitor, Consumer Insurance Guide, and LifeHealthPro.com. Impressions from the media outreach totaled over 130 million.
