Ryan Gorcey: Connecting People Through Storytelling
Stories With a Mission
As Director of Communications for Stephen Wise Temple & Schools, Ryan applied his storytelling philosophy to an entire organization, establishing a culture of content that prioritized interpersonal connections. By telling the stories of a faith community both internally and to external audiences, he found fulfilling new expression for his guiding ethos: Tell stories about people, for people.
Media Relations & Publicity
"I thought you'd been on the job for 15 years."
Having spent more than a decade as a professional sports journalist, and having spent time as part of sports organizations' communications teams, Ryan has been exposed to the full spectrum of media relations, from award-winning to floundering. There were common themes among the most ineffective comms departments, just as there were common themes among the best, and Ryan learned from each interaction.
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When taking over as Director of Communications at Stephen Wise Temple, Ryan took the lessons he learned and approached his role as the head of publicity with a service-first attitude. Knowing the types of stories reporters want to tell, and the resources and access needed to tell them, and understanding the constraints of deadline like few other media relations professionals, Ryan prioritized earnest relationship building. Based on trust, mutual respect, transparency, speed and honesty, Ryan was able to shape the public discussion around the organization and secured unprecedented featured media coverage. Told that Ryan had been on the job less than two years, one reporter exclaimed, "No. Really? I thought you'd been on the job for 15 years."
Featured Media Placements
Internal & External Communications
Publicity and media relations is only part of being an effective marketing and communications professional. Especially at a mission-driven non-profit, connection, community, and conscientiousness must be front-and-center. Members of the community (or potential members) must feel comfortable, secure, and vital to the organization's mission. They must feel like a part of the team, or it must feel like a team they want to join.
By owning all copywriting for membership reports like the one linked in the accompanying Instagram graphic, Ryan was able to ensure a cohesive, consistent, uniform voice for the entire annual publication. By writing community profiles in the style of long-form newspaper or magazine features, he was able to showcase the different types of connections members made through and to their community, showing prospective members what their lives could be like, rather than trying to overtly sell them through marketing copy. That genuine, earnest type of persuasive communication proved far more evocative and effective than traditional methods.
Dynamic Web Presence
In today's media ecosystem, organizations are at a loss if they are not controlling their narrative by producing content of their own. By creating responsive landing pages with WordPress, crafting bespoke graphics with the Adobe Creative Suite, writing engaging content and optimizing that content with internal links, Ryan drove a 23.8% jump in website users, a 23.1% increase in new users and a 10.1% increase in web sessions at Stephen Wise Temple.
