Sourcewell
AscendRural Summit
_SECTOR: PUBLICH HEALTH/INNOVATIONIn response to the declining state of rural health delivery and care, Sourcewell created AscendRural in 2024 as a technology-driven innovation hub dedicated to boosting the well-being of rural America. Emergence Creative worked closely with AscendRural and Sourcewell to formally launch the organization with the inaugural AscendRural Summit. Over two days, rural leaders, entrepreneurs, and healthcare innovators came together in Minneapolis to forge a new vision for rural well-being.
Emergence spearheaded the event’s production—from branding, messaging, and promotional materials to program development, sponsorship, and ticketing. Working closely with multiple agencies and vendors, we aligned all stakeholder goals to ensure a cohesive and impactful experience.
Branding | Copywriting | Graphic Design | Organic Social Media | Organization Building | Event Production | Public Relations | Research | Strategy | Web Design | Sponsorship and Ticketing Strategy
_THE CHALLENGE
The United States grapples with significant barriers to healthcare access—particularly in rural areas, which have experienced unprecedented decline in accessibility, affordability, and resource availability. Despite the higher rates of pressing health concerns in rural areas, rural-focused technology solutions receive only a fraction of the available investment and attention.
The AscendRural Summit was created to bring together rural leaders, entrepreneurs, and healthcare innovators to forge a bold new vision for rural well-being. Additionally, as Sourcewell is based in central Minnesota, AscendRural aims to build a community in their local area that can become a model to others across the country.
_SEARCHING FOR THE SIGNAL
In close collaboration with Sourcewell and the AscendRural team, we immersed ourselves in the program’s work to date and conducted additional research to better understand rural health challenges, the health tech conference landscape, and opportunities for innovation.
We conducted a workshop to identify the Summit’s goals, audience, and strategic position. Through this process, we found a number of existing events focused on rural health or health tech, but none that connected the two.
In building the Summit, we were intentional about balancing Sourcewell’s business priorities with the needs of establishing a new initiative and event simultaneously. This strategic work dictated the brand, messaging, communications and ticketing strategies, and program development.
_EMERGENCE
Given the niche positioning of the event, it was essential to reach the do-ers in rural health, rather than focusing on flashy tech or academic research. We built and launched communications and ticketing channels—LinkedIn, MailChimp, EventBrite, and a Summit website—and pitch decks to align with our program and sponsorship strategy.
We collaborated with multiple agencies and partners to bring the Summit to life—from securing event space and caterers to identifying and hiring production teams, photographers, and printers. In parallel, we developed the Summit program, conducting outreach and activating Sourcewell and partner networks to identify the right speakers for the topics that really matter to rural communities.
Against tight deadlines, we successfully coordinated these diverse marketing, logistical, and strategic needs to ensure a highly relevant and vibrant event.
_ EVOLUTION
Through presentations, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, the AscendRural Summit brought to light critical issues surrounding mental health and explored how technology can address the unique barriers faced by rural communities.
The inaugural Summit took place in Minneapolis, MN and sold over 150 tickets, supported by a robust marketing strategy. In just three months, we built a newsletter audience from scratch, launched a paid media campaign on LinkedIn, and collaborated with influencers to amplify awareness and engagement.
At the event, Sourcewell successfully launched the AscendRural program and created a platform for their first-ever funding challenge, building a community of do-ers who are creating new solutions for rural well-being. Over time, this community will launch pilot projects in rural communities with the goal of scaling successful technologies nationwide.
_2024
