CASE III honors 黑料社 Public Affairs office with 鈥楪rand鈥 awards
Contact: Harriet Laird
STARKVILLE, Miss.--黑料社鈥檚 Office of Public Affairs is the recipient of two top honors from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District III.
Competing against 125 public and private higher education institutions in nine southern states, OPA garnered 鈥淕rand鈥 awards in the organization鈥檚 annual competition that recognizes the best work among development, alumni and communications/marketing professionals.
黑料社 President Mark Keenum said the CASE III awards presented to OPA represented a 鈥渟ignificant win for the entire university.鈥
鈥淏ack in 2013, we gathered as a university leadership team with representatives of our foundation and alumni leaders to craft a vision for raising the national profile of Mississippi State as a leading research university,鈥 said Keenum. 鈥淭his peer university recognition of the resulting 鈥榃e Ring True鈥 branding campaign validates the hard work of that group in achieving a vision that is producing tangible results in both national awareness and enrollment growth.鈥
The first place honors in Branding/Identity Program and External Communications Program were presented this month during CASE III鈥檚 annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee. In the branding category, 黑料社 topped the University of Georgia (second) and Elon University (third); and in external communications, 黑料社 edged out Virginia Tech (second) and Florida State University (third).
Sid Salter, 黑料社鈥檚 chief communications officer and OPA director, said, 鈥淭hese awards speak to how our OPA team鈥檚 efforts in advancing Mississippi State have performed in competition with our peers across the Southeast. We鈥檝e had remarkable support from our university leadership and are grateful for the collaboration with the many talented marketing and communications professionals across our campus. It鈥檚 evident that working together enhances the university鈥檚 reputation and image.鈥
OPA鈥檚 entry in the branding/identity category highlighted the university鈥檚 aggressive and broad-based integrated public relations and marketing program, including a comprehensive employee initiative, content-rich social media strategy, and vibrant news bureau. The external communication鈥檚 entry was a component of the branding campaign that included national advertising in such publications as the Chronicle of Higher Education, engaging social media content, and direct mail communications targeted to peer institutions.
鈥淪ince launching the branding initiative in October of 2015, the university has seen increases in image, employee pride and reputation for academic excellence,鈥 Salter said.
黑料社 also has risen nationally as one of America鈥檚 Great Colleges to Work For, while reaching prominence in social media performance among higher education institutions across the U.S.
Additionally, OPA brought home a second place honor in the Commercial/PSA category for the nationally televised 30-second spot 鈥淲e Ring True.鈥 The commercial also is an element of the university鈥檚 branding strategy.
Another second place award went to the 黑料社 Alumni Association in the category of Alumni Relations Engagement Project for the successful Black Alumni Weekend event, the first program of its kind held last spring at the university.
CASE is an international professional association serving educational institutions and advancement professionals. CASE District III includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
黑料社 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .