LiveStories Data Study and Brand Awareness Campaign

Background

A different government agency issues a new data set everyday. And while it should be easy to access and analyze this data, it’s quite the opposite: this data often never makes it into the eyes of the public. LiveStories, a Seattle-based data storytelling platform for the public sector, wants to solve this problem by bringing accessibility and transparency to public data. LiveStories allows users to explore, analyze and visualize government-issued data seamlessly in one web-based application. For government agencies, local healthcare organizations and other entities, harnessing data to tell compelling, powerful stories presents significant opportunities.

The Challenge

The challenge for LiveStories was telling a rich, compelling story using the millions of data points already easily accessible through its platform. As it geared up to exhibit at state and local government conferences nationwide, LiveStories needed to drive awareness — specifically in target markets like Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additionally, LiveStories sought a PR and content strategy that could support its SEO efforts, as well as promote its ongoing hiring efforts in its growing Seattle office. LiveStories found a partner in Walker Sands.

The Solution

The key to showing LiveStories’ data chops and gaining media attention for its capabilities was identifying a timely news item where LiveStories could contribute context from its robust data set. One topic that came to mind: the gender pay gap.

Walker Sands identified LiveStories’ data set of national average salary by gender as an engaging and newsworthy asset, and from there developed a data-driven PR campaign that could be leveraged in its key local markets and nationally.

To make this possible, the Walker Sands team worked with LiveStories to contextualize the findings for each individual market. The results told compelling and unique stories about each city — Chicago was notable for having pay inconsistencies for tech and legal professionals, and San Francisco showed dramatic improvement for law enforcement pay equality. The data was even able to inform commentary from LiveStories on what city Amazon might choose for its next HQ.

The Walker Sands team went above and beyond to meet LiveStories objectives, bringing its story beyond its target local markets and into the national eye by:

1. Helping the LiveStories parse through publicly available data to produce numbers-driven, transparent reports based on trusted government data of male versus female pay in the identified target markets and beyond.
2. Distilling the findings of the report to create an all-encompassing national and local media strategy. Given early access to the findings under embargo, reporters were able to produce thoughtful, well-researched feature stories that gave a true picture of pay disparity between genders. The lead time also allowed them to interview LiveStories thought leaders for careful analysis of the topic.
3. Even after the report was widely available, Walker Sands went the extra mile for LiveStories. Recognizing that the data hit home an issue that was clearly relevant and resonant, Walker Sands further brainstormed new angles and newsworthy pitches for the data. The team tied the LiveStories report to timely topics such as Amazon’s impending decision for a second headquarters and International Women’s Day, the latter resulting in a Forbes placement.

The Results

• Placements in local markets identified as targets by LiveStories: 40
• Total placements to date: 62
• Total impressions: 102 million+
• Key placements:
  • Entrepreneur: These Female Entrepreneurs Created a Fake Male Co-Founder to Work Around Sexism. How Well It Worked Is Incredibly Eye Opening.
  • Geekwire: Seattle gender pay gap is wider among more educated workers, pointing to equity issues in tech
  • SF Chronicle: Google CEO Pichai cancels ‘town hall’ on gender dispute
  • LA Business Journal: Pay Gap Widens Between Women and Men in Los Angeles Tech Industry
  • Buzzfeed: The Wage Gap In Tech In LA Is Getting Worse
  • The Recorder: In San Francisco, A New Chasm Erupts on Legal Pay
  • Forbes: Women In Tech: Educated, Ambitious And Underpaid

With the creative and expansive thinking of the Walker Sands team, LiveStories was able to tell its story to its target markets while creating a national media footprint. Through close collaboration and expert guidance, Walker Sands helped solidify LiveStories’ ability to take public data that often hides in the shadows to a nationwide audience that can truly benefit.