WSU takes home five regional CASE awards

Dozens of Washington State University employees are being recognized for their work as part of the 2024 Best District VIII Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, or CASE.

Five WSU communications and marketing projects were recognized. These projects ranged from a debut cookout with gene-edited meat to a digital campaign championing the affordability of the university.

Teams from University Marketing and Communications as well as the WSU Foundation produced these now-award-winning projects:

• Storytelling - CRISPR Sausage Cookout: To announce WSU becoming the first university to secure U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for human consumption of gene-edited meat, WSU's lead science writer Sara Zaske and the central news team produced an informative news release. Media outlets were also invited to a cookout featuring what was nicknamed CRISPR sausage and had opportunities to interview lead researcher Jon Oatley and his students. The UMC's video and photo teams also contributed to the overall presentation that resulted in news coverage that reached millions of potential readers and viewers.
• Communications Initiatives - 2023 WSU Top Ten Seniors: The WSU Alumni Association's longstanding tradition of honoring exceptional graduates was enhanced with new digital presentation and promotion from several units within the University Marketing and Communications department, including the central video, web and content teams.
• Marketing Microsites - WSU Pullman YouTube channel: The Pullman campus' YouTube page was completely overhauled by UMC's social team into a supercharged platform geared toward attracting the interest of potential Gen-Z students.
• Marketing Initiatives - WSU Affordability Campaign: A new website and video were launched by UMC staff to provide valuable information on options for additional funding to attend WSU, such as filing the FAFSA, applying for scholarships, and planning ahead with the university's financial aid estimator tool.
• Annual/Regular Giving Fundraising Campaigns - Annual Heritage Society Stewardship Mailing: Staff from the WSU Foundation created a contest for WSU students to create university-themed artwork, awarding cash prizes to five entrants using donor support. These winning pieces were then used on greeting cards sent to Heritage Society donors to ensure the Foundation keeps up-to-date with some of WSU's most ardent supporters.

Case awards honor and recognize outstanding communication and advancement efforts undertaken by higher education institutions across the country. More information about the CASE awards is available on the organization's website.