MC’s Marketing & Communications team wins four awards
July 1, 2021
Maryville College’s Office of Marketing and Communications recently won four awards from the Tennessee College Public Relations Association (TCPRA). The annual TCPRA Communication Awards ceremony, typically held during the higher education association’s spring conference, was held virtually this year.
TCPRA – an alliance of communicators who represent the colleges and universities, public and private, two-year technical schools, technology centers and community colleges that together define higher education in Tennessee – awarded gold, silver and bronze awards in various categories that include advertising, public relations, media relations, writing, publications, electronic and digital media, and promotional campaigns.
A total of 262 entries were submitted by 18 institutions across the state for the annual competition. Judges were media professionals that included agency, advertising sales and news personnel.
“This is great news not only for my team, it’s great news for Maryville College, as our work supports the mission and vision of the institution,” said Karen Beaty Eldridge ’94, executive director for marketing and communication. “I work with some very smart, creative, and hard-working people, and to see their efforts recognized in this way is very gratifying.”
Eldridge pointed out that contest entries are not divided between small or large institutions, public or private colleges, graduate- or undergraduate-focused.
“So in many categories, our work stood out among schools with much larger staffs and bigger budgets,” she said.
Maryville College received the following awards:
- Gold in the “Webpage Overall” category for the Maryville College website. Launched in mid-October, the site’s contents were migrated to a new content management system (CMS), and the design incorporates the features of the College’s new brand. The College partnered with Knoxville firm DesignSensory for the web work.
- Gold in the “Promotional Video” category for MC’s “Shine Brightly” video. Maryville College partnered with Loch & Key Productions to produce this video in fall 2020. The goal of the video was to help the community get to know Dr. Bryan Coker, who started his tenure as MC’s 12th president on July 1, 2020, and his vision.
- Silver in the “Banner/Outdoor” category for MC’s brand banners. The College designed two sets of large banners that were hung in front of Thaw and Pearsons banners.
- Bronze in the “Special Event, Seven Days or Less” category for the Presidential Installation of Dr. Bryan Coker. Dr. Bryan Coker was installed as Maryville College’s 12th president on Oct. 16, 2020. Due to the pandemic, the event could not be held in person, so the overall installation event included special invitations to virtual events, a live-streamed installation ceremony and inaugural address, and print and billboard advertisements.
In addition to Eldridge, MC’s Office of Marketing and Communications includes Brennan Checkalski, multimedia communications specialist; Becky Davis, project manager; Chloe Kennedy, assistant director of communications; Russ Porter, web manager; and Mary Workman, publication manager.
