After a semester of preparation and hard work, students in the Cases and Campaigns class received the 2023 Platinum MarCom award.
Fall 2022, the students worked together to compile a campaign for Thriving Grant County/Thriving Mill Township, a small nonprofit resource center. Ashley Shirley, the executive director, was their client.
“It’s really cool to see a representation of just all the work and all the late nights and all the little tedious checks and obsessiveness, making sure everything was really good for this client of ours — to see an actual tangible piece of evidence of like, ‘Hey your work is recognized,’” senior Grace Toth, a public relations major, said.
Students worked together to rebrand, draft a new mission statement and make a cohesive plan for the organization. They split into four groups to focus on different portions of the campaign.
Donna Downs, associate professor of communication, guided her students as they embarked on the project. She compiled all their work into a document of 61 pages to submit to their client. The students presented their plan to Shirley for the organization to execute.
“I’m proud of the work my students do and believe in the importance of service learning,” Downs said. “Students who worked with Mill Township last fall saw the significant impact they can make in a community. Their knowledge of not only the importance of civic engagement but of how to actually step in and engage with their communities enables them to be servant-leaders no matter where they land.”
The groups researched the negative health effects and outcomes in Grant County, the health of Grant County, the educational needs in Mill Township/Grant County and the finances and education in Mill Township, according to the campaign document. The students developed a resource center based on the needs they discovered in the community.
Their goal was to “clarify to the Mill Township community who Thriving Grant County/Thriving Mill Township (Thriving) is and to increase community engagement with the resources it provides,” the campaign document said.
Senior Grace Toth worked on the food security portion of the project and also helped with the Grow program, a resource center for parents. While she doesn’t currently work with the Grow program, Toth still stays connected and up-to-date with what they’re doing.
“This real-life client experience is really special and unique within the PR (public relations) department,” senior Anna Pyle, a public relations major, said.
She said the project gave them experience in interpersonal communication that textbooks can’t teach.
The Platinum award is the highest ranking of the MarCom awards. Around 17% of the people who applied worldwide receive the Platinum award, Toth said.
Downs said the Platinum award is a reflection of the hard work and quality product that her students invested in. She said they are learning not only to put together a good campaign but also to apply their knowledge in real-world situations.
“It wasn’t always easy or smooth, but that’s what you’ve got to learn,” senior Charis Negley, a professional writing major, said. “It’s the professional world, and it’s about problem-solving. I mean, would it really be as satisfying in the end if you didn’t have to get around some hurdles?”
