From the Nominator

With 2.6 million impressions registered in its first nine months, the Now at Ohio State podcast has made good on its goal of widely spreading stories of the university’s positive impact on the communities it serves. The podcast, established in May 2023, has given Ohio State another platform to connect the work of our researchers, faculty, and students to topics that are of broad and compelling interest to the general public. Our goal with the podcast was to reach external audiences in central Ohio, as well as others already connected to university channels. To achieve our goals, we deployed a multi-channel marketing approach, using paid and organic social advertising and some experimental promotional methods, such as Google Web Stories. This work drove broad awareness of the podcast, which was the latest tactic in an institutional strategy to promote the work of the university and its role in bettering society and solving challenges. Now at Ohio State is on the Ohio State Impact website, which was created two years ago for enterprise-level impact storytelling. Now at Ohio State is produced in-house and in partnership with the local National Public Radio affiliate, WOSU. The podcast includes two interview segments, each featuring a different community member discussing a relevant topic. Interviewees include Ohio State experts, but also periodically members of the community who can speak about the impact the university’s work has had on them.

From the Judges

The strategic approach to the Now at Ohio State podcast is well developed. It is clear that they are focused on providing visibility to the work of their researchers, faculty, and students and topics that have broad and compelling interest to the general public. The presentation of the content is easily accessible on the university website. There is a clear profile on each guest and a written transcript.