The Brief

Throughout 2015 and 2016, Dallas-based Epic Health Services experienced tremendous growth, acquiring 13 companies and increasing its service territory from five to 21 states. In order to strengthen its visibility, the company turned to Marketwave to spread the word regarding the powerhouse Epic was becoming as the largest provider in the country of comprehensive in-home pediatric care for medically fragile children.

The Challenge/Goals

Key to Epic’s success has always been the high quality of care the company provides—for both its patients and employees. That’s why it was necessary for our team to share the impact Epic was making on a more personal level among its patients and employees, while also garnering attention to its growth strategy.

Strategy/Approach

Highlighting the different sides of Epic—as both a rapidly growing pediatric home health care provider and also a do-good company with a heart—called for balancing corporate communications with compassion. Through an ongoing, proactive media relations campaign, we focused our efforts on building relationships with local, trade and national reporters, and conducted outreach on a wide range of topics—everything from acquisitions and the company’s overall growth to inspiring patient stories and Epic’s veteran recruiting efforts.

Results

Over the course of two years, we achieved our goal of positioning Epic as a growth-minded company leading the pack in pediatric home health care—but one that has a firm grasp on what matters most: its many young patients and dedicated employees.

• Media Coverage: Our team placed 87 original stories in local, national and trade outlets. From online and print to radio and TV, the coverage we garnered reached a variety of audiences.
• Contributed Articles and Blogs: While conducting our outreach, we discovered a valuable tool at our disposal: the ability to not only pitch article ideas, but to write them as well. Throughout 2015 and 2016, we wrote and secured a total of 25 contributed articles and blogs in publications like S. Veterans Magazine and the Dallas Morning News special needs blog.
• Press Release Pickup: We distributed 12 press releases over the wire. Each one was picked up on anywhere from 193 to 257 websites, with roughly 88 million potential audience impressions per press release.
• Bottom Line Impact: At the close of 2016, Bain Capital Private Equity acquired Epic. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but publications like the Wall Street Journal estimated the sale price at $950 million, a high price valuation that Epic credits partly to the brand awareness the company achieved throughout 2015 and 2016—a direct result of our team’s PR efforts during that time frame.