Purdue Brand Studio named Team of the Year at Ragan’s PR Daily Awards

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue Brand Studio — the university’s full-service, in-house marketing agency — garnered top honors in three categories, including Team of the Year, at Ragan’s PR Daily 2026 Marketing, Content Marketing and Social Media Awards Luncheon held June 18 in New York City.

The awards recognize the industry’s most compelling, creative and strategic campaigns and projects that generate measurable impact, as well as the teams of professionals producing this remarkable work that pushes the bounds of marketing, social and digital communications.

“The Purdue Brand Studio team continues to take thoughtful, creative risks to move the work forward, and I’m proud of the results we are delivering,” said Kelly Hiller, Purdue’s chief marketing officer. “These awards are a testament to the teamwork, storytelling and partnerships that are redefining what’s possible in higher education marketing.”

Winning entries

Team of the Year — Purdue Brand Studio was named the Team of the Year for its impactful work that elevated the university’s visibility across platforms while expanding industry and public engagement and strengthening Purdue’s position next to national brands. Noteworthy achievements over the past year include an enterprise campaign featuring university partnerships with Wabash, Rolls-Royce, and Eli Lilly and Company; a complete overhaul of the admissions web experience and corresponding print pieces; strategic collaborations with Sunnie, Vitality and national media; and the team’s innovative use of place-based branding.

2024-25 Impact Report — Purdue Brand Studio took home the highest honor in the Annual Report category for its reimagined annual report that showcased how its creative work advances Purdue’s brand, reputation and strategic priorities across campus, Purdue Global and beyond, grounded in its three pillars: giant leaps, strategic initiatives and storytelling. The team transformed its annual report from a static PDF into an interactive flipbook that featured its best ideas and boldest work, highlighting its measurable impact for the university.

“This Is Purdue” podcast — “This Is Purdue,” the university’s official podcast, shares stories of innovative Boilermakers with a global audience and links research and practice to real-world outcomes. Since its inception, the podcast has elevated Purdue’s reputation while positioning the university as a global thought leader, earning it the top honor in the Podcasts and Blogs category. “This Is Purdue” host Kate Young is currently nominated for Podcaster of the Year by HigherEd PodCon.

These honors further expand Purdue Brand Studio’s growing list of national and global recognitions, including being named the No. 2 top agency globally, and No. 1 in the United States, in the April 2026 MUSE Creative Awards. Purdue was the only U.S. university agency to earn a spot on the marketing list of these prestigious international advertising awards that celebrate creative design, advertising and digital media innovation and excellence.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.