Case Study
Rutgers Brain Health Institute
Expanding Visibility and Institutional Recognition
In 2025, Rutgers Brain Health Institute (BHI) partnered with Bristlecone Solutions (BCS) around a single goal. The aim was to ensure BHI’s leadership in brain health was clearly visible, widely recognized, and easy to engage for the public, partners, supporters, and peers beyond the Institute itself. The work began with foundation building, then moved into activating content and convening, and by the fall had begun translating visibility into recognition, demand, and new forms of support.
The Goal
BHI was seeking to close the gap between the strength of its research and how visible that strength was to the public, partners, and supporters.
That meant building durable visibility systems first, then putting those systems to work by surfacing faculty expertise, publishing thought leadership, and amplifying the moments where BHI convenes and leads the broader brain health community. By the fall, external engagement had reached sustained new levels, flagship events were drawing sold out participation, and the Fall Symposium had attracted its first sponsors.
Visibility Baseline Reset
Within one year, BHI experienced a step change in visibility. By the fall, website engagement had grown to more than four times the prior year’s level. This expanded distribution introduced BHI’s work to entirely new audiences.
Why It Matters
This was not just a traffic gain. It established a new sustained baseline of external attention and signaled growing relevance, recognition, and readiness for partnership and support.
Relationship Building That Audiences Felt and Remembered
Standing room only event participation showed that growing visibility was translating into meaningful in person connection. More than the strongest levels of event attendance, attendees reported a deeper understanding of BHI’s work, and the vast majority expressed interest in attending future events.
Why It Matters
Awareness alone does not create trust. Experiences like these strengthen the foundation for long term philanthropy, advocacy, and partnership.
A Repeatable Path from Events to Thought Leadership
One of the most meaningful shifts in 2025 was operational. Content production moved from being a time intensive burden on researchers to a streamlined and repeatable model that captures and amplifies expertise already being shared through talks and convenings.
Why It Matters
This made high quality thought leadership scalable without adding burden on faculty time. It allowed BHI’s expertise to travel far beyond the room and reach broader audiences, partners, and supporters in more lasting ways.
Faculty Expertise Shipped as Accessible Public Facing Insight
BHI established a steady and reliable way to translate faculty expertise into credible, accessible content that external audiences could find, understand, and share. Across the year, this included articles on topics such as autism, fentanyl, Alzheimer’s research, brain markers, and federal research funding, with additional pieces still in development.
Why It Matters
BHI established a steady and reliable way to translate faculty expertise into credible, accessible content that external audiences could find, understand, and share. Across the year, this included articles on topics such as autism, fentanyl, Alzheimer’s research, brain markers, and federal research funding, with additional pieces still in development.
Recognized as a Trusted Authority
One year ago, BHI's visibility depended largely on word of mouth within familiar circles. Today, BHI is surfaced by Google as a credible, leading authority in brain health, signaling trust that extends beyond those who already knew the institute.
Why It Matters
More than two million brain health related searches occur annually in the United States alone. Being recognized at the moment people are seeking answers places BHI where trust is formed first, shaping perception, guiding attention, and reinforcing the Institute's leadership for partners, peers, and the public alike.
Sponsor Ready Momentum and Credible Pathways to Support
BCS helped BHI establish clear and practical pathways for sponsors to engage its community through both its digital presence and flagship events. The Fall Symposium secured three sponsors in its first year, and sponsor engagement during the event led directly to early commitments for 2026.
Why It Matters
This marked a real shift from visibility alone to sustainable support. BHI now has sponsor interest underwriting its mission and clear ways for new partners to join, laying the groundwork for deeper collaboration and continued growth.
Building Momentum
The growth in visibility did not happen in one burst and disappear. It increased across each quarter, with year over year visibility growth of 3.7 percent in Q1, 67.6 percent in Q2, and 134 percent in Q3, showing that the gains were sustained and compounding over time.
BHI also expanded and strengthened its public channel presence. Social media impressions rose from 248,451 in 2024 to 886,809 in 2025. Reach rose from 127,439 to 252,993 individuals, and frequency increased as well, showing that BHI was not only reaching more people, but appearing more often to the same audiences over time.
Why It Matters
Repeated visibility builds familiarity and trust. It helps create the conditions that drive event participation, partnership interest, and sponsorship.
Key Moments That Drove Momentum
The year’s momentum was built through a sequence of coordinated actions.
By the end of 2025, BHI’s visibility was no longer just broader. It was more durable, more trusted, and more convertible into participation, partnership, and support. The year showed that when visibility is built on a strong foundation and paired with credible content, sold out convening, and practical pathways for engagement, it can become a real engine of institutional recognition and momentum.
"This parternship gave shape and momentum to BHI's vision to become a trusted public resource for brain health."
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Rutgers School of Health Professions
