Webster GMC Earns Multiple Education Digital Marketing Awards

Webster University's Global Marketing & Communications (GMC) unit was awarded multiple gold, silver and merit awards at the 9th annual Education Digital Marketing Awards, which recognize the best educational websites, digital content, electronic communications, mobile media and social media.

Webster GMC uses a multi-channel approach when it comes to communication, earned media, advertising, and marketing by integrating traditional and digital media to share information about the University story to diverse audiences. This approach has resulted in capturing these latest awards in November 2021:

Gold Award

• Streaming or On Demand Content: Webster World Report: Reviewing the Pandemic
• Diversity Campaign: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion virtual conference Beyond Conversation: Driving Our Future

Silver Award

• Institutional Website - Update/Refresh: Webster University Website Redesign
• Streaming or On Demand Content: Webster World Report Special: Global Issues in our Pandemic Times

Merit Award

• Social Media Content - Campaign: imPROMtu

Launched at the beginning of the pandemic, the Webster World Report podcast linked the global operations of Webster campuses on four continents, featuring faculty, staff and student voices around the world describing adjustments to the changes and related current events during the pandemic. In the Streaming or On Demand Content category, Episode 22 was awarded Gold, and Episode 13 awarded Silver.

"The creative team was rightly recognized for their work on our 6th annual DEI  Conference, delivering a strong visual at a time during which our nation continues to grapple with the call for social and racial justice," said Webster's Chief Diversity Officer Vincent C. Flewellen about the Gold Award for Diversity Campaign.

Leading up to the ImPROMtu event (a prom for all incoming Webster students who missed out on the high school experience because of COVID-19) in August 2021, the @websteru Instagram account invited student followers to guess which movies prom scene photos were from (with the Gorlok added!) to win a Webster face mask.

"GMC's partnership in creating a wonderful social media campaign for imPROMtu helped us achieve our goal of bringing a prom to our students that did not get the experience in high school," said Billy Ratz, director of First-Year Experience & Family Programs. "So many first-year students danced the night away thanks, in part, to GMC." 

Screenshot of one of the ImPROMtu posts from the @websteru Instagram account.

"Education marketing professionals have faced great obstacles in their efforts to present viable and useful information through their websites, digital content, electronic communications, mobile media and social media." -- EDM Awards organizers

A national panel of education marketers, advertising creative directors, marketing and advertising professionals reviewed each piece, judging creativity, marketing execution, message impact, technology application and innovation content.

Over 1,000 entries were received from colleges, universities and secondary schools across the country. Gold awards were granted to 222 institutions, silver awards were awarded to 125 institutions and bronze awards were awarded to 73 institutions.

In April 2021, the Global Marketing and Communications unit also received multiple gold, silver, bronze and merit placings in the 36th annual Educational Advertising Awards competition.