Acadia University is pleased to share news of three 2015 Education Digital Marketing Awards (EDMA). The awards are presented by the Higher Education Marketing Report, the most widely read publication for educational marketers in North America.

Competing in the four-year institution group with a student enrolment of 2,999 to 4,999, Acadia won two Gold Awards and one Merit Award. Winners were selected by a national panel of industry specialists who reviewed each piece to judge creativity, marketing execution, message impact, technology application, and innovation content.

“With this competition recognizing some of the best educational websites and digital content and marketing in North America, it is rewarding to see our colleagues in Communications and Marketing, Technology Services, and Alumni Affairs honoured for their hard work on such diverse projects,” said Dr. Rod Morrison, Vice-President, Advancement. “Their creativity and dedication are evident in the quality of work they produce. Each piece is designed with the audience in mind, and promotes a real and tangible connection to the Acadia experience that is engaging and relevant to our students, alumni, and friends.”

Competing against hundreds of other college and university submissions from across Canada and the United States, the team won the following awards:

Alumni Website - Gold

The Alumni and Friends website was awarded Gold in the Alumni Website category. The new site was launched in August 2015 as part of an Acadia-wide website refresh led by Acadia’s Web Governance Committee, working with Technology Services, Communications and Marketing, and Alumni Affairs. The site redevelopment focused on providing an enhanced user experience across multiple platforms, including mobile devices. The new landing page provides a highly visual overview of news, events, and services for Acadia’s 28,000 active alumni, as well as University friends and donors.

Online Publication - Gold

The Spring 2015 Alumni Bulletin brought home Gold in the Online Publications category. Designed to extend the reach of the print publication online, the digital flipbook serves Acadia’s alumni and friends in 50 countries around the world through a mix of articles and photo essays that tell Acadia’s story and maintain (or create, in the case of prospective students) a connection to campus. The digital Bulletin is cross-promoted on our website and through social media (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn). The Bulletin, which is published twice annually, has been redesigned in recent years to better serve its readership. This collaborative effort was led by Editor Fred Sgambati (’83), with Communications and Marketing, Alumni Affairs, and the Associated Alumni of Acadia University (AAAU). Acadia alumni and friends also receive a monthly e-News companion publication, which provides a further layer of outreach by encouraging community members to stay current and update their contact information.

Digital Video - Merit

Communications and Marketing was also recognized for a student-faculty research video that received a Merit Award in the Digital Video category. Media Producer Dave Sheehan created the video, focusing on the unique relationship of student researchers as collaborators with their professors. This particular video featured research conducted by Dr. Glenys Gibson’s biology students along the Minas Basin – one of Acadia’s unique research areas just steps away from campus. The video is one of more than 200 produced for AcadiaTV, a YouTube channel launched by the University in 2006 and one of the first branded channels by a university in Canada. To-date, AcadiaTV videos have nearly 400,000 views on YouTube and more than 150,000 views on Facebook.

Learn more

Visit: Communications and Marketing

Contact: Scott Roberts, Executive Director, Communications and Marketing

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