This August, the CU Boulder Advancement Marketing and Communications team received awards and honorable mentions from two prestigious organizations for its creative work. These awards reflect the collaborative nature of the team and its many partnerships that span the campus.
Creative Designs Showcase Team Strengths
First, the team received an Award of Excellence from the (UCDA), a global organization that recognizes designers working in academia who deliver relevant content in thought-provoking and compelling ways. As pictured above, a lanyard designed for the 2022 Buffs on Tap event won the award in the Special Event Collateral category within the Print and Digital competition.Â
Buffs on Tap is an annual event that brings Forever Buffs together to sample and celebrate Buff-owned and Buff-created beers and wines during Homecoming. The event is the product of considerable collaboration between Advancement Marketing and Communications and the CU Boulder Alumni Association.Â
Seeking an innovative departure from the Buffs on Tap passport that had been used for a number of years, the teams pivoted to the lanyard as a fun, hands-free way to track samples and enjoy the event.Â
“The lanyards were a huge hit at Buffs on Tap last year,” said Dawn Barone, director of Forever Buffs Engagement for CU Boulder Advancement. “In collaborating with the MarComm team, we were able to create something fun and innovative, giving attendees a unique and exciting experience.”
The Advancement Marketing and Communications team also received two honorable mentions from UCDA: one in the Special Events Invitation category within the Print and Digital competition for a Parent Leadership Society event invitation, and another in the News and Editorial category within the Illustration competition for the artwork accompanying the article “Protecting Colorado’s Declining Snowpack.” This article was featured in the Fall 2022 issue of the Coloradan alumni magazine, which is produced and published three times per year by Advancement Marketing and Communications.Â
Storytelling Collaborations Across Campus
The Coloradan magazine also won a Gold Pick Award from the (PRSA) for the feature story “CU AVĂűĘŞers Rethink Mental Illness.” The story appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of the Coloradan and was written by Lisa Marshall, associate director of science storytelling for Strategic Relations and Communications (SRC) .Â
Advancement Marketing and Communications partners closely with the SRC team and its writers to create the Coloradan alumni magazine. SRC also won a handful of awards from PRSA for outstanding work in internal communications, public relations and media relations.Â
Marshall’s article served as the subject matter for the Alumni Association’s February 2023 installment of Coloradan Conversations, an event series that gathers communities to discuss a topic or theme relevant on campus and around the world. Rather than listening to a lecture, alumni engage and connect with thought leaders and fellow Forever Buffs about topics presented in the Coloradan alumni magazine. More than 250 people registered for February’s event.
“I’m honored to have been able to shine a light on the truly innovative ways CU researchers are working to address the mental health crisis,” said Marshall. “By teaming up with the Alumni Association to host this community dialogue we were also able to get people talking openly about a critical issue that isn’t discussed enough.”
Advancement Marketing and Communications collaborates with partners across campus on projects that support CU Boulder’s and Advancement’s mission and strategic endeavors. These award wins and honorable mentions are exceptional examples of collaboration across the division and the university.