Washington, D.C-based The Reis Group, founded by principal Sharon Reis, is a public relations agency focused solely on health and social causes. Reis, a 25-year veteran of the industry, has built long-lasting relationships with her clients, and this has carried over in the establishment of new loyalties earned from those who have also become clients of The Reis Group since its founding.
“We are deeply committed to our clients’ issues and believe in the power of communications to transform lives,” says Reis. “We team with clients who are trying to make the world a better place and focus on work that we strongly believe benefits society. It’s what inspires us to come to work every day, and gives us pride in what we do.”
The firm’s success is built on the fact that the team offers the best of big-agency experience with a small-firm focus, and provides clients with senior staff on every account. “Most of our business comes through client referrals, which means we continuously make every effort to ensure that the reputation we have earned for high-quality work and painstaking attention to detail keeps us at the forefront within the specialty of healthcare public relations,” Reis explains.
“We are a small, highly energetic, and cohesive team of 10 people and growing, and have built a foundation of trust, collaboration, flexibility with responsibility, and fun,” she adds. “We challenge each other to take risks, raise standards, and brainstorm for fresh ideas. We understand that everyone needs to do their part and that every single team member plays a vital role in building our firm’s reputation for delivering results. It’s this mentality that ensures our clients get the very best service with measurable impact every time.”
Read on to see why The Reis Group won a Silver Award in the “Best New Agency” category in Bulldog Reporter’s 2018 Stars of PR Awards.
Client Growth and Retention
The firm was created in 2016 in what turned out to be a particularly tumultuous start-up period—with the political transition to a new White House administration, serious threats to repeal the healthcare law, and tremendous uncertainty in the healthcare industry. Nonetheless, The Reis Group did not just survive; it flourished.
“In our first year in business, we brought in 11 clients including Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Nemours’ Children’s Health System, Duke Integrative Medicine Leadership Program, and Blue Shield of California Foundation, to name just a few,” offers Reis. “In 2017, we acquired five new accounts including the Healthcare Cost Institute and the Association for Healthcare Foodservice, bringing our roster total to 16 clients.”
Of that total, 15 are still active. The one that isn’t was project-based, with an elected president for a medical society whose term ended. That said, the firm completed the work on a successful and positive note, leaving the door open for future collaboration.
Work Environment
Team spirit is the heart and soul of The Reis Group. “It is our thinking, knowledge, energy, and creativity that endears us to clients, sets us apart from other firms, and creates a fun and supportive culture. We are here to succeed professionally and, along the way, build strong, supportive relationships with our colleagues,” Reis says.
The firm invests in its employees and nurtures their career growth so they continue to feel challenged and supported. Indeed, the agency has a remarkably low voluntary turnover rate—between January 1 and December 31, 2017, its retention rate was 90 percent.
“We offer our employees a complete and competitive compensation package to attract and retain top talent, including paid vacation, health, dental, and vision insurance, maternity/paternity leave, 401(k) matching, profit-sharing, and alternative work schedules to better fit personal needs and help balance work, personal, and family responsibilities,” she offers.
“We believe in creating opportunities for business development and networking to afford those in our office the chance to grow in their careers. Team members often participate in industry events, conferences, and summits, and some are involved as members of professional organizations.”
In addition, the team also prioritizes making a difference and giving back to the community. “For this reason, we regularly organize volunteer events, including our annual volunteer day at the Washington, D.C. nonprofit, ‘So Others Might Eat,’ an organization that provides meals, housing, and job training for the homeless in our area,” Reis maintains.
“We understand the importance of investing in our employees and nurturing their career growth so they continue to feel challenged and supported, and we strongly believe this is why we have a low voluntary turnover rate at our firm and why our firm continues to secure new clients and grow our work with existing clients.”
Results Achieved
Reis offers the following as examples of notable PR campaigns that is emblematic of your success over the past year:
“For Digestive Disease Week, we promoted cutting-edge science and gained national media attention for a major international conference. We reviewed hundreds of highly technical scientific abstracts, identifying and publicizing the most potentially newsworthy achievements. Our news releases, reporter contacts, blogging, social media, and press briefings resulted in unprecedented coverage. We marked the most successful media ever in 2018 with more nearly 250 original stories appearing in top-tier outlets such as the Today Show, The New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR, and NBC News, to name a few.
“For Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, our efforts helped a little-known research center expand its national profile as a science powerhouse. Our highly successful multi-pronged strategy promoted BAI research, established its thought leadership reputation, and dramatically expanded its innovative online registry for recruiting clinical trial volunteers to more than 320,000 people. Our efforts resulted in several major placements, including The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and a powerful two-part feature on CBS’ ‘60 Minutes,’ which drew 17.3 million viewers and worldwide publicity.”
