Overview
Stage-Setting:
Sedgwick is a world-leading, third-party claims administrator that has established global leadership by working
with 78 of the Fortune 100 companies. The company's reach is vast, with nearly 30,000 colleagues across 65 countries providing
benefits that include risk mitigation, improving health and productivity, and containing costs.
The Ask:
5W's mission was to elevate Sedgwick's awareness with its key business audiences, making it the go-to destination for
everything claims related. In parallel, we were tasked with shining a light on Sedgwick's 25 subject matter experts, dispersed
around the globe. The company also needed to promote a steady stream of news, related to executive and acquisition announcements,
along with its regularly published industry indices as key resources.
What's more, the nature of Sedgwick's business is such that shifts in the cultural zeitgeist and news cycle present ongoing opportunities for content and commentary.
Strategy
The Idea Trigger:
To capitalize on the multi-dimensional nature of the opportunities, 5W created a "Sedgwick Matrix" which organized
the media opportunities and the company's subject matter experts.
To build this unique tool, 5W codified an in-depth knowledge base for each expert, so the team could match the right media opportunity with the right spokesperson. This enabled 5W and Sedgwick to both plan and respond rapidly to changes in business context, as well as shifts with the company's internal strategy.
The Big Push:
Leveraging the Sedgwick Matrix tool - which is a dynamic platform that is consistently updated - 5W built a seamlessly
functioning, proactive and reactive media machine, propelling the company into the multiple timely conversations ranging across the
entirety of the economy. These included: the transition to remote work; COVID-19 safety practices; returning to the office; the Great
Resignation; the wellness and mental health crisis; wildfire preparation; the legalization of cannabis and other experimental drugs;
gender pay gaps; and countless others.
Where there was an insurance claims hook, Sedgwick was there.
Results
This approach has proved to be enormously effective at elevating the profile of Sedgwick and its subject matter experts across the full range of first-tier media outlets. 5W secured consistent media placements in top-tier, business, trade, and broadcast media, forging strong relationships serving Sedgwick's strategic goals. In addition, all 25 experts were repeatedly quoted as thought leaders.
Driven by visibility in outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, Fast Company and NBC, Sedgwick earned the highest share-of-voice among its competitive set, for eight consecutive quarters. Importantly, this was propelled by success with non-industry media outlets, where the company's competitors have not been able to break through.
Typical headlines secured by 5W included: '60% of women don't believe they're paid what they're worth: these tips can help close the gap' and 'What employers need to know about employees micro dosing cannabis at work'.
