Purdue's 'Makers, All' campaign wins 2 national honors
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University Marketing and Media has won two national awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for its "Makers, All" campaign.
Teri Lucie Thompson
Purdue won a Gold Award in the CASE Advertising Campaigns category, which had 40 entries. Purdue also received a Silver Award in the Institution-Wide Branding Programs category, which had 20 entries.
Winners in the 2011 Circle of Excellence Awards Program were announced June 15.
The campaign, which was launched in October 2010, celebrates the university's legacy as well as its future promise. The campaign embraces and plays on the Boilermakers' nickname the football team acquired in the late 1800s, as described in the creative strategy: "It all started with an insult. The more "civilized" institutions labeled Purdue's football team a bunch of 'blue collar bullies.' The comment was unenlightened. But the name stuck. Perhaps because there was some truth to it. Boilermakers are strong-willed. Hard working. Skilled at not just simple trades, but masters of the often insurmountable challenge of making something - out of nothing. This culture has gone unchanged on our campus, from our founding to today. Once, we forged things from steel. Now, we build things even stronger. Faster. Smaller. More intricate. Awe-inspiring. Artful. We make things because we know the idea alone isn't enough. It must be proven. It needs to be made real – whether it's a word on a page, or a chemical reaction. What we make moves the world forward."
Print advertising featured in the campaign, which was submitted with Purdue's entry in the competition, included Nobel Prize laureate Ei-Ichi Negishi and the "All-American" Marching Band. Other mediums employed in the campaign have included banners, a TV spot featuring Neil Armstrong's "one small step" quote, direct mail, interactive elements such as QR codes and texting for prizes, wearables, websites, and social media.
"External recognition by major professional organizations is gratifying," said Teri Lucie Thompson, Purdue's chief marketing officer and vice president of marketing and media. "These awards complement two gold ADDYs we received earlier in the year. The more important recognition, however, comes from results: Is the campaign impacting stakeholders? The answer is yes, it is."
Early results from the campaign show a rise in both the open and click-through rates in "You're a Boilermaker" emails sent to admitted students. In the 2011 enrollment year, 72 percent of the emails sent to admitted students were viewed, an increase of 7 percent (or nearly 2,000) over the year before. Thirty-three percent of the email recipients in 2011 clicked through after receiving the email, an increase of 11 percent (or more than 2,100) over 2010.
"Purdue has amazing stories of transformation and impact to tell, and this campaign has given us a platform to tell those stories consistently and in manner that is unique to Purdue," said Keith Krach, chairman of the Purdue Board of Trustees. "The campaign's tagline, 'We are Purdue. What We Make Moves the World Forward,' captures the essence of what makes Purdue better, different, special. This institution is a catalyst for transformation, and this campaign communicates that powerfully, as the continued recognition Teri's team receives confirms."
In addition to the various campaign awards received by marketing and media, Thompson was a finalist for this year's International Brand Master Award and CMO of the Year Award.
Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu
Sources: Teri Lucie Thompson, 765-494-2082, tlthompson@purdue.edu
Sharon Martin, interim director of brand and advertising, 765-494-6801, SharonMartin@purdue.edu
Related information:
Conversation with CMO of the Year finalist Teri Lucie Thompson