UCalgary Marketing team wins American Marketing Association award

• Above: Anju Visen-Singh, senior director of marketing and digital experience, and Mona Csada, associate director of marketing, accept the AMA Higher Education Marketing Team of the Year award on behalf of the University of Calgary.

On the first day of the annual American Marketing Association (AMA) Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education in Orlando, Fla., if you’d asked just about anyone where Calgary was, you would have likely been met with confusion.

By the end of Day 2, however, the 1,200 conference attendees had voted the University of Calgary in as 2018 AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketing Team of the Year — the first-ever Canadian team to earn the honour.

The Higher Education Marketing Team of the Year award recognizes extraordinary leadership and achievement in the field of higher education marketing. This year, UCalgary was shortlisted as one of three contender universities and invited to attend the symposium for the final selection. There, attendees representing university marketing teams from across North America and around the world were asked to select the winner. Results were announced live on Nov. 6, 2018.

“There is no doubt that higher education faces unique marketing hurdles,” says AMA CEO Russ Klein. “The team at UCalgary is an inspiration to the entire industry, showing that meaningful collaboration mixed with future-focused thinking can help create a brand experience that positively impacts future generations.”  

The purpose of marketing at UCalgary

The purpose of marketing at UCalgary is to enhance the university’s reputation, strengthen and amplify the university’s brand, influence enrolment and purchasing decisions, extend outreach and engagement, and reinforce the university’s relevance in the lives of key target audiences — including current and future students, faculty and staff, alumni, donors, academic peers, government, industry and friends. Between 2013 and 2017, public likelihood to recommend UCalgary increased measurably across the country and throughout Alberta.

“I am proud of what this exceptional team has accomplished, working collaboratively with so many across the university,” says Diane Kenyon, vice-president (university relations). “To be singled out and recognized by such a broad group of international peers — including those who steward the most successful university brands in the world — is a testament to the team’s important work in positioning UCalgary and increasing our brand and reputation provincially, nationally, and internationally.”

Over the period of 2012-18, the team has marked multiple advancements, including establishing a robust market research agenda; developing and executing a structured visual identity; building a fully functioning digital experience team; rolling out an award-winning user-driven web experience, a common platform for email marketing, and a core social media centre of excellence; and developing a core creative studio that proactively advances university design and brand work.

“Our submission outlined the incredible journey this team has been on over the past six years,” says Kim Lawrence, associate vice-president (marketing). “We started modestly but with an undaunted passion for our work and this special place. With the support of our entrepreneurially minded leadership, a campus culture that encourages cross-functional collaboration, a thriving network of marketing ambassadors across campus, and a strong institutional commitment to growing a distinct UCalgary brand, we have been able to make significant progress in a relatively short period of time.”

The two other finalists this year were Lynn University in Florida and Trinity University in Texas. Previous winners include New York University (NYU), The New School, and the University of Virginia.

As the largest community-based marketing association in the world, the American Marketing Association (AMA) is trusted by marketing and sales professionals to help them discover what’s coming next in the industry. The AMA has a community of local chapters in more than 70 cities and 350 college campuses throughout North America. The AMA is home to award-winning content, PCM professional certification, premiere academic journals, and industry-leading training events and conferences. The AMA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the association that works to elevate marketing visionaries and inspire future generations to make their mark through a comprehensive awards program.

The AMA Foundation Higher Education Marketing Team of the Year award is sponsored by Lipman Hearne — a Chicago-based marketing and communications firm focused on the non-profit and government sector.