The University of Missouri-Kansas City Strategic Marketing and Communications division received 10 awards for excellence in advancement, alumni relations, marketing and communications initiatives and materials from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, also known as CASE.
The division received 2023 Best of District VI Awards in categories that include advertising, design, magazines, videos and writing.
“At UMKC, we are blessed with an immensely talented marketing and communications team who do great work, day in and day out, sharing our university’s unique story to the world,” said Anne Hartung Spenner, vice chancellor for Strategic Marketing and Communications. “This year we broke our team record for CASE awards. What a great honor to see our team’s excellent work recognized by our higher education peers.”
Here are the following projects that received awards:
Special Events: In-Person (Single-Day): School of Medicine 50th anniversary event
In 2022, the UMKC School of Medicine celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the school and its innovative six-year program that accepts students right out of high school. The UMKC Strategic Marketing and Communications team designed a full suite of materials such as a 50th anniversary logo and videos shown during the gala.
Videos: Commercials: RoosDo TV spots
The RoosDo TV spots aim to showcase UMKC Roos who are creating change across Kansas City and the rest of the world by spotlighting Roos who are bringing health-care solutions to those most in need, inventing new technologies that change lives, dedicating themselves to service and running businesses that employ thousands of people.
Publications: Student Recruitment (Series or Package): First Gen Roo
First Gen Roo is a program that supports first-generation college students at UMKC and helps them navigate the college experience. Strategic Marketing and Communications partnered with the First Gen Roo program staff to create branding and a series of recruitment materials to attract future students to the program.
Videos: Promotional (Short): Community Engagement Video – Clio
This video tells the story of Clio, a website and mobile app used across the country to record and preserve history in digital format. It also shares how its creator, David Trowbridge, Ph.D. , William T. Kemper associate research professor in digital and public humanities at the UMKC, uses Clio to help artistic, cultural and historical organizations in Kansas City, and across the country, tell their stories.
Videos: Promotional (Long): Bloch 100th video
We celebrated prominent Kansas City leader and founder of H&R Block Henry W. Bloch’s 100th birthday with a special celebration to pay tribute to his legacy and a video to honor Bloch and all he has meant to Kansas City, UMKC and the community. The event, on his birthday July 30, was open to the community, alumni, faculty, staff and students, as well as close Bloch family and friends.
Videos: Fundraising (Flash Campaign/Giving Day): Giving Day 2022
UMKC students shared their stories about the positive impact scholarships have made on their lives and education as part of a video for UMKC Giving Day. The video also featured UMKC alumni and donors.
Magazines: Alumni/General Interest (Printed Once a Year): Vanguard Volume 6
Vanguard Magazine is an annual research-centered publication that features the latest faculty news and research at UMKC. This specific issue highlighted stories that included sustainable urban agriculture, removing chemicals from drinking water, technology enhancements for work zone safety and limiting glaucoma damage.
Design: Invitations: Crescendo invitation
UMKC Crescendo is a signature university event that showcases student talent at its renowned Conservatory. The invitation for the event is a representation of the creativity, the passion and the deep artistic connections of the event.
Marketing: Marketing Initiatives (More Than 25 Staff): Quick to Market 60-Day enrollment push
The marketing team, partnering with enrollment management, gained approval for a plan to market to new geographic areas, market specific degree programs and employ more commercial marketing techniques. Three months after launch, there was a 10%increase in applications and admits and more than 5,900 qualified leads from new areas alone for the following semester.
The story highlights how a faculty donation leads to collaboration between professors in the School of Medicine and UMKC Conservatory to yield safer surgeries.