University of Miami

Proving media impact

In 2023, when the UMiami men’s and women’s basketball teams competed in March Madness, the occasion was one for the history books — each team advanced further than ever before. With the school’s basketball programs thrust into the national conversation, the UMiami communications team relied on Meltwater to help them spring into action.

They used the Meltwater Media Intelligence solution to track the surge in national media coverage. Easy-to-generate, shareable reports helped the team keep senior leadership informed of the volume and sentiment of media coverage with every game. When it came time to prove the impact of their storytelling initiatives and communications throughout the tournament, the team was able to confidently report and prove tens of millions of dollars worth of earned media impact. 

“What we do in communications really matters,” says Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communications Megan Ondrizek. “Meltwater helps us prove the value of what we do.”

Boosting national visibility

UMiami uses Meltwater to not only make the most of being in the national conversation but also to spark it. That was the case when the UMiami Coral Reef Futures Lab was set to receive a shipment of specimens from Honduras that will help it create a new breed of climate-efficient corals. 

The communications team used Meltwater’s built-in generative AI features in the Media Relations solution to draft the press release and media pitch in just 30 minutes, a vast improvement on before when it could take all afternoon. From there, they were able to quickly access their relevant media list, distribute the release, and follow up 24 hours later. That agility helped them land coverage with the local NPR affiliate, who attended the coral shipment arrival. The resulting story has since been syndicated across NPR stations nationwide, boosting UMiami’s visibility along the way. 

With Meltwater, the UMiami team was then able to prove the value of those efforts and accurately measure their impact on UMiami and the Coral Reef Futures Lab. The insights it collected aid the team in continuously refining its PR strategies to achieve maximum impact. 

Breaking down departmental silos

In 2022, the team used Meltwater to break down departmental silos. It integrated media monitoring for the Miami Herbert Business School and the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science into its single source of truth. Now, each department’s directors of communication collaborate strategically to reach the university’s wide range of audiences. 

“Meltwater offers so much flexibility, regardless of the size of your shop or the size of your budget. We've been able to scale it up over the years to maximize what Meltwater offers,” Ondrizek says. “The platform really does make your job easier because it makes better use of your time.”

With the Meltwater Suite, UMiami’s communications department is future-proof, using data and AI-powered automation to adapt to the ever-changing media landscape. Learn how your organization can do the same with a free demo.