Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University’s Office of Communications staff earned five national awards, including a pair of first place honors in marketing and design, during Baptist Communicators Association’s 2017 Wilmer C. Fields Awards Competition. The winners were announced at an awards banquet held in conjunction with BCA’s annual workshop in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Baptist Communicators Association is the professional development organization of professional communicators serving at Baptist universities, mission boards, state conventions, newspapers, children’s homes and related ministry organizations. The annual awards competition “is designed to encourage professional excellence among association members and to recognize those members who have done exemplary work,” according to the BCA website.

Among Ouachita’s awards for professional excellence were:

First place – marketing strategy for Ouachita’s “Perfect Fit” recruiting campaign. The award honored the work of the Office of Communications staff in partnership with the Office of Institutional Advancement. The recruiting campaign involved developing a targeted, integrated communications flow to prospective students interested in a college experience like Ouachita offers. Brooke Zimny, director of communications and marketing, coordinated the campaign’s content and design. Judges affirmed the campaign’s “impressive results,” noting that “good planning equals great results.”

First place – special display design for the Ouachita Football team room wall wrap. The winning entry was designed by René Zimny, assistant director of graphic services. The wall wrap in the Kluck Team Meeting Room of AllCare Fieldhouse celebrates the Ouachita Tigers’ 2011 inaugural Great American Conference championship and the team’s 2014 undefeated GAC championship. Judges’ comments included “Super job!” and “Wow! Great motivator and very well done.” Second place for special display design was awarded to Baylor University and third place went to California Baptist University.

Second place – news writing package for “New Era of Leadership” news coverage of Dr. Ben Sells’ election as Ouachita’s 16^th president. The coverage by Trennis Henderson, vice president for communications, was published in the spring 2016 issue of The Ouachita Circle. According to the BCA judges, the news package featured “excellent writing, good balance of sources” as well as “nice variety of interviews – a strong piece!”

Second place – social media campaign for “Tripp the Tiger social media series” coordinated by Tyler Rosenthal, digital content coordinator. The social media series featured photos of Ouachita’s Tripp the Tiger mascot in various poses and campus settings. The series was posted on Ouachita’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts, providing a fun, lighthearted look at campus life. Judges’ responses included “Hilarious! Great idea” and “Goofy photos of mascot would definitely appeal to students.”

Third place – magazine design for the spring 2016 issue of The Ouachita Circle, Ouachita’s semi-annual alumni magazine. Judges affirmed the magazine’s “very strong layouts,” which included feature layouts highlighting coverage of Ouachita’s Biomedical Scholars Program, the dedication of Tollett Hall and the university’s first graduates in the Ouachita at New Life Church Associate of Arts degree program. The magazine’s overall design is coordinated by René Zimny who serves as creative director of The Circle.

“It’s always a privilege to be honored by our professional peers,” Henderson noted. “I am especially grateful that our team was recognized for excellence in the diverse areas of marketing, design, news writing and social media. That speaks well of our staff members’ ongoing efforts to effectively communicate Ouachita’s mission and message through a variety of communications channels.”

 

May 17, 2017