VCU wins nine honors at the Education Digital Marketing Awards

By Amelia Heymann

Virginia Commonwealth University won nine awards at the Education Digital Marketing Awards, eight of them by the Enterprise Marketing and Communications division that elevates the VCU enterprise and brand worldwide.

VCU earned two gold and three silver awards in the 13th annual national competition, which honors excellence in marketing and advertising among colleges and universities. More than 1,000 entries were received from institutions across the country.

"With so much content clutter in the marketing sphere, our creative expressions must break through the 'sea of sameness' that proliferates the higher education category in ways that differentiate VCU's distinctive excellence boldly, without comparing our brand to thousands of other institutions," said Kevin Best, associate vice president of brand marketing. "We are humbled and honored that our recent body of work was honored by EDM. At VCU, we truly believe that there's no place like this and no one like us. This recognition is another example of VCU's thought leadership in the marketing communications space."

EMC's first gold award was in the admissions website or microsite category for the redesign of the VCU Admissions website. This refresh highlights the university's unique atmosphere and its appeal for students who want to break the status quo. Notable changes included adding a video loop to the homepage, incorporating new photos and implementing more dynamic language on the website. The redesign helped produce a 7% increase in clicks for applications, a 26% increase in event registrations and a 140% increase in requests for information submissions.

VCU's second gold award was in the athletic promotion category for a new hype video, which features VCU mascot Rodney the Ram running across campus to a men's basketball game. His route takes him through labs, classrooms and other campus hot spots, highlighting VCU's broad offerings. The hype video also features an original song written for the project, which is a remix of the VCU fight song.

EMC's other awards were:

• Silver for digital special video (over two minutes) for the VCU campus tour video.
• Silver for social media content (single) for the Black Awakening Choir celebrating Black History Month.
• Bronze for digital special video (under two minutes) for the April Fools' Day video "Bottling the VCU Spirit: Ewe de Rodney."
• Bronze for institutional website for work on the VCU brand site.
• Bronze for institutional website update/refresh for redesigning the VCU webpage to appeal to prospective students.
• Bronze for social media content campaign for a new student recruitment campaign.

Additionally, the School of Social Work won a silver award in microsites for its Master of Social Work microsite.