West Virginia Universitys Division of University Relations is the recipient of three platinum awards and one gold award from MarCom, an international competition that recognizes outstanding creative achievement by marketing and communication professionals.

We are honored and pleased to have our work recognized,said Chris Martin, vice president for University Relations.We have an immensely talented and diligent team, and we are striving to nurture a creative, yet strategic, environment that results in the highest quality work as we support the Universitys mission. We appreciate this designation of our work as exceptional.

The Division of University Relations consists of seven units (Creative Services, News and Information Services, Television Productions, Trademark Licensing, Visitors Resource Center, Writing and Editing, and Web Services) and directs marketing strategy, recruitment marketing, public relations, communications and media relations across the University.

The following University Relations projects were honored with MarCom awards:

  • WVU Alumni Magazineplatinum award
  • The WVU Alumni Magazine is read literally across the nation and around the world, reaching almost 140,000 households in fall 2008. University Relations staff redesigned the magazine following a 2007 readers survey, creating a more inclusive publication with a new editorial mission tied to key central messaging efforts and an authentic editorial voice to enhance the magazines relationship-building capacity. The magazine is available online at http://www.alumnimag.wvu.edu .

    Viewbookplatinum award

  • The Universitys viewbook was designed as a recruitment tool that would stand out from WVU s competitors. The viewbook captures the imagination of prospective students by telling key components of WVU s brandits values, academic and research success, outstanding faculty and ability to work with students to launch their lives.

    oneWVUplatinum award*

Created in support of the Universitys oneWVU campaign to promote acceptance of diversity on campus, the Web site features members of the WVU community, fans and friends of WVU explaining that the only two colors that matter at WVU are gold and blue. According to MarCom officials, the oneWVU Web site ( http://onewvu.wvu.edu/ ) received one of the highest scores ever given for a Web site design in the competition. The Universitys home page was also recognized for innovation in Web design.

*NewsRealgold award

  • NewsRealdebuted at last years State of the University address in Washington, D.C., and was shown most recently at the State of the Campus address. This multimedia production chronicles stories about WVU s research, academic and athletic successes taken from the front pages and headlines of leading newspapers, magazines and television networks. The video is also available online at http://newsreal.wvu.edu/ .

One of the largest programs of its kind, MarCom awards are judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. This year, there were more than 5,000 entries from corporate marketing shops, production companies and institutions from around the world. Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. MarComs platinum award is presented to those entries judged to be among the most outstanding entries in the competition. The gold award is presented to entries judged to exceed the high standards of the industry norm.