Communications and Marketing, summer 2023
The Division of Communications and Marketing won five awards in the 2023 SUNY Council for University Advancement Awards for Excellence (SUNYCUAD). The awards recognize the best of the best in creative communications, events, photography, writing, advertising and design from across the state university system.
- Greg Schuter won for excellence in video for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feZkZyS8yFM
- Katie Honas and Burt Myers won for their design of the Watson, Harpur, Decker and pharmacy magazines.
See all awards on the SUNYCUAD website.
Great work all around!
The Division of Communications and Marketing plays a critical role in maintaining and growing Binghamton University’s reputation at the local, state, national and international levels. During the most recent quarter, efforts continued on the creative, media and communications fronts.
Staff provided writing and design support during a crucial time for both undergraduate and graduate recruitment, including crafting messages for Slate and developing publications for in-state and out-of-state prospects.
Commencement communications involved virtually all staff, from communications managers for each school, to photographers and videographers, to designers and copyeditors. Not only did the division provide exceptional coverage of all ceremonies, but produced the programs, edited the ceremony scripts and documented the ceremonies with photos and videos that are available online.
Ending the quarter, the division has hired Isabella Seastrand into a new position as digital content producer, starting July 6, and, as Katie Ellis retires June 30 after nearly 29 years with the University, we are in the process of hiring a full-time communications manager for the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and another person to serve as a writer and editor of Dateline and B-Line.
Creative Services
The Office of Creative Services had a busy second quarter on both the print publication and web fronts.
Magazines that were designed and published included the Binghamton University Magazine, which debuted a refreshed design, as well as the Watson Review and the College of Community and Public Affairs’ Confluence magazine.
In addition, event materials were developed and printed for the Binghamton University Forum Gala, summer Orientation sessions, two Admitted Student Days and the annual Alumni Association Awards Ceremony. All this in addition to the usual requests for stationary, fact sheets, postcards, posters, etc.
Web
There was a great deal of activity creating, monitoring and optimizing digital advertising campaigns and landing pages, along with search engine optimization audits and improvements.
The office also provided support for Slate for both undergraduate and graduate campaigns, including for recruitment email development and support
As always, work continued to maintaining the health of binghamton.edu through review and updates, including repairing broken links and checking for appropriate metadata, spelling and grammar across our pages. Maintenance also includes OmniUpdate account training, account creation and deletion, and handling requests from campus partners.
Enrollment marketing efforts
Anti-melt communications
Communications and Marketing supported all anti-melt efforts, which includes targeted messaging (email and social media) for first-years, transfer, international and BAP students, plus parent communications.
Fall 2023 recruitment
Preparation of print materials, emails and digital campaigns for the 2023-24 admission cycle continued.
New brochure for out-of-state high-school juniors
100,000 brochures were created and mailed to out-of-state high-school juniors. This is the first time Binghamton University has done this and it was the first full brochure using Carnegie’s new branding.
Counselor visits
We provided the invites and agendas for New York state and out-of-state counselor visits
Social media
The Undergraduate Admissions Instagram and Facebook accounts both saw an increase in followers this quarter: Facebook at +7% and Instagram at +8%. Spring semester brought a lot of diverse content sharing BingUNews stories, visit messaging and admitted student events. The largest campaign this past quarter was for National College Decision Day. We partnered with the Binghamton Bookstore and Binghamton University Dining Services for giveaways, reached over 80,000 Instagram accounts and engaged with 2,000 unique users in a seven-day timeframe. We gained 400 incoming student followers and will continue to serve them content throughout the summer. One of our spring interns will be rejoining us in August.
Media and Public Relations
University photographer Jonathan Cohen was recently presented with two prestigious awards, including a Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service and a Professional Staff Senate Distinguished Service Award. The awards are being presented to Cohen in recognition of his extraordinary service contributions, which have significantly enriched the University. By providing exemplary service, he has made invaluable contributions both to the campus community and to his profession.
In other departmental news, we are excited to welcome Bella Seastrand, who will be joining the Media and Public Relations team starting July 6. Seastrand will work as a digital content producer, helping us to amplify the Binghamton brand, create content and manage a wide variety of social media platforms.
We hit major follower milestones on our biggest social media accounts. Over the course of the semester, we surpassed 75,000 followers on Facebook and 50,000 followers on Instagram. In addition, our LinkedIn account has increased to 128,000+ followers.
Commencement and features highlighting the accomplishments of the Class of 2023 were featured prominently on the University’s social media platforms this quarter. Each Commencement ceremony was broadcast live on YouTube, garnering thousands of views and excited comments from parents and family. We also posted photo albums and galleries to our social media accounts each day, as well as a recap video.
National news coverage
Binghamton University faculty made a major impact in the media for their research and expertise, landing hits in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, NBC, and many other outlets by providing insight on topics ranging from the pushback against racial and gender studies in American schools to analysis of a fossil jawbone that may be evidence of early human presence in Europe.
John Swierk, assistant professor of inorganic chemistry, was featured by Yahoo!.com, YahooFinance.com, MSN.com, The New York Times, Healthnews and KTDY-FM, for a study he conducted that showed that sunlight exposure can cause tattoo inks to emit cancer-causing chemicals.
Leigh Ann Wheeler, professor of history, was featured by Yahoo!News, MSN.com and other publications, where she argued that the group Moms for Liberty is pushing a political agenda that goes well beyond parental rights.
Adam Laats, education historian and professor of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Educational Leadership, was featured by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Yahoo!News, Inside Higher Ed, Academic Minute, The New York Times and other publications, where he discussed several topics related to education, including the pushback against racial and gender studies in American schools, and how school board meetings have become “war zones” in which parents fight over hot-button issues.
Subimal Chatterjee, distinguished teaching professor of marketing, was featured in an NBC News article about Ticketmaster’s “Verified Fan”system.
William Eggleston, assistant professor of pharmacy practice, was featured by The Guardian, Healthline and The Washington Post, offering advice to partygoers after a series of druggings and a wave of violent crimes in New York City.
Rolf Quam, professor of anthropology, was featured by Yahoo!News.com and The Conversation for his recent reanalysis of a human fossil jawbone that may be evidence of early human presence in Europe.
David Clark, professor of political science, was featured in a Newsweek article about how the global cost-of-living crisis has reached a breaking point.
Donald Hall, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, was featured by Inside Higher Ed, Miami Herald, NPR and the Tampa Bay Times, for an op-ed where he calls out the anti-woke/trans movement in Florida.
Kelli Smith, assistant vice president for student success, was featured by Vox and MSNIreland, in an article that illustrates that Gen Z is more concerned with job stability than previous generations, including more of a willingness to work for government and defense contractors.