Office of Publications and Creative Services wins awards at CASE

April 12, 2007 -- Arkansas State University’s Office of Publications and Creative Services, a division of University Advancement, recently won three awards at the District IV CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) conference in Dallas, Texas. CASE is the international association of professionals who advance educational institutions.  

The Publications and Creative Services team (director Ron Looney, art director Mark Reeves, and graphic designers Heath Kelly and Mary Williams) took home three awards.

In Category 60, “Institutional Identity Programs,” the “Powering Minds” Branding Campaign received the first place Gold level Grand Award. This monumental campaign included the publication of seven printed documents representing some 45,600 items of printed matter, in addition to advertisements in publications with circulation figures of 112,000, and the production of nine types of logo-bearing items, including coffee mugs and t-shirts, a bus wrap, a massive library banner, a wall display, 200 light pole banners, and a built-from-scratch kiosk. All these materials feature “The Scholar,” the icon of the “Powering Minds” campaign. This 1932 limestone carving at the west entrance of Wilson Hall provided the basic visual element for ASU’s Publications and Creative Services team to build a branding campaign upon, and to provide the visual identity for the university.

In Category 27, “Special Pieces,” the media/press kit for the “Powering Minds” brand unveiling won third place, receiving the Bronze level Achievement Award. This media/press kit was produced entirely within the Office of Publications and Creative Services with assistance from Office of University Communications director Tom Moore. No outside services were used.

The media/press kit, consisting of a cd and 12-page wirebound booklet which fit inside the cd’s jewel box case, was designed to provide the news media with historic and graphic images, along with news releases and key points about the “Powering Minds” brand and the university’s strategic plan.

The kit conveyed how the central image for the brand, “The Scholar” had been chosen and how that image provided inspiration for the graphic elements used to identify and support the brand. The news releases provided the public with an overview of the branding campaign by tying the historical origination of the theme art to the university’s direction for the future.

The press kit aided in the wide media coverage the unveiling of the new brand received. This media coverage, and campaign information disseminated by the ASU Alumni Association newsletter, and Inside ASU, the electronic newsletter for faculty and staff, helped to establish familiarity with the “Powering Minds” campaign very quickly.

Publications and Creative Services also received a third place Bronze level Achievement Award in Category 32, “Brochures/Flyers/Booklets,” for their two-color ASU Alumni Association Florida Pride Ride Invitation. The tri-fold invitation encouraged ASU alumni to attend events in six Florida cities over a six-day period. Alumni Association Executive Director Beth Smith and Chapter Coordinator Molly Phillips mingled with alums throughout Florida for dinner and a short program featuring current campus photos and news about the Cooper Alumni Center development on each of the six nights.

ASU’s prize-winning entries competed with those of CASE member universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
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