UNE Communications receives two National Gold Awards

The University of New England was named among the top in the nation in the 2014/2015 Collegiate Advertising Awards program, receiving Gold Awards for UNE Magazine in the Magazine Publication category, and for "War Letters – Write Again Soon" in the Special Video Production category.

Gold Awards are awarded to entries scoring between 95 – 99 percent, the top five percent in the nation. The Collegiate Advertising Awards (CAA) is an elite program recognizing higher education organizations for excellence in communications, marketing, advertising and promotions of their schools. CAA's 2014/2015 program contained, arguably, some of the best advertising projects in the world.

The 2014/2015 CAA program received more than 900 entries from across the United States, representing a diverse plethora of educational facilities from small community colleges to very large schools and universities. All submissions were reviewed and scored by a national panel of industry experts, with a possibility of 100 total points. Participants’ entries competed against those of similar-sized organizations in their specific groups and categories.

Awards were issued for entries that received top marks from judges placing them in the top 16 percent of the nation for educational advertising excellence. Judging criteria included creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

With the Winter 2014 issue, UNE changed the design of its magazine into a smaller i-pad sized format to better convey and share the dynamic changes happening at UNE. Part of the process of rethinking UNE’s communications strategy and reflecting UNE’s dynamic growth included hiring a full-time Emmy-nominated film director and producer.

Discussing the awards, Anouar Majid, Vice President of Communications and Marketing, said that he is not surprised to know that CAA is recognizing the outstanding achievements of UNE’s Office of Communications. "I have never worked with a more talented and professional team of creative people," he said. "Every single person in the department is committed to UNE’s mission. My colleagues in graphic design and film are truly first-rate artists. Our whole office could easily be an ad agency in Manhattan!"

All winners are posted on the Collegiate Advertising Awards website.