The Challenge:

The Vaccine & Gene Therapy Institute of Florida (VGTI Florida) is an independent non-profit institute established in 2008 with the assistance of a $60 million grant from the State of Florida's Innovation Incentive Fund intended to anchor and drive the State's expansion strategy for biomedical research. VGTI Florida is dedicated to understanding the roles of our immune system and our genes in disease, as well as the development of innovative treatments. The challenge was to give visibility to this world-class organization to solicit donors and gifted scientists and add credibility to the Grant request process.

The Solution:

We realized the only way to present a global story was on a global platform – the Internet. With that in mind, we designed a comprehensive, highly video-centric website from the ground up that not only told the VGTI Florida story, but also let the lead scientists, the Principal Investigators, talk about their science in their own words. There are over a dozen award-winning custom videos throughout the site describing research science, core functions and goals.

The website also boasts an interactive Donation module for interested parties to contribute to the mission of Translating Research Into Health®. In addition to the website, FCEdge instituted a highly aggressive and focused SSEO program (Social Integrated SEO) with a constant flow of news-worthy information streaming to target donors, philanthropists, scientists and government agencies. Coupled with branded traditional collateral materials, VGTI Florida presented a comprehensive and well rounded marketing initiative.

The Result:

Having gone from four employees to 110, VGTI Florida has enjoyed explosive growth over the past five years. Website traffic has gone from 150 unique visitors per month to over 5,000. Scientists from around the world are now aware and interested in the intensive research being conducted here in St. Lucie County. An alliance with an international research institute that will focus on diseases of aging is in the final stages of completion. World-changing discoveries are looming at VGTI Florida.