Oregon State University has received a Grand Gold award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) for its 2015 “Ocean Challenges” broadcast commercial. The commercial was produced by University Relations and Marketing and features a variety of faculty and students focused on marine studies. The award is the highest honor available for videos through CASE, and was awarded at their recent annual conference.
“The Circle of Excellence Awards receive entries from member institutions all over the world, so one could say we have one of the best TV commercials in higher education. We are very proud to receive this recognition for our work,” said Melody Oldfield, assistant vice president for University Relations and Marketing.
David Baker, director of Interactive Communications, said 10 staff members and three interns worked on the commercial, which was filmed at Mt. Hood, a river in the Cascades, a stream in the Willamette Valley, a coastal estuary and on the open ocean.
The video also featured 22 OSU staff, faculty and students.
“Everyone on the project, from the team that created the commercial to our narrator and all of our subjects were Oregon State people. There were no paid actors or hired producers,” he said. “We love to capture our homegrown talent. It is more authentic and ultimately makes for a better product.”
Baker said it’s unusual to focus on a single area of research in a university commercial, but that the decision was a strategic one in order to feature an area that is a point of differentiation for the university.
“The Marine Studies Initiative touches all of our colleges, but offered us the opportunity to focus on an area where Oregon State is making a huge impact,” he said.
CASE is one of the largest international associations of education institutions, serving more than 3,670 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in more than 80 countries. CASE is the leading resource for professional development, information, and standards in the fields of alumni relations, communications, educational fundraising and marketing.
