Alumni Association marketing competition heats up
Five out of 12 teams of students have made it through the exacting first round of
the Alumni Association Marketing Competition, a contest that challenges students (or teams of students) to come up with a marketing
and communications plan that promotes alumni engagement with the College and one another,
and extends the Creative Thought Matters brand. This group of finalists will now continue
on to Round II in a bid to win multiple prizes totaling $9,000. The top prize is $5,000.
Each successful team developed a preliminary plan for a campaign that reintroduces
the Skidmore College Alumni Association to the alumni base as well as to current students.
First-round submissions contained an overview of a marketing campaign, a proposed
name for the association, and a tagline. In Round II, contestants will flesh out their
plans with elements including, but not limited to, marketing materials, a distribution
plan, a roll-out strategy, and projected outcomes, as well as brand awareness events,
mailings, a web presence, and use of Skidmore Connect, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube,
and other social media.
Round I finalists were selected by a panel consisting of Alumni Board and Council
of 100 members, two of Skidmore's lead volunteer groups. The panel will also serve
as judges for Round II submissions.
Round I finalists are:
Carol Brown '13 and Sam Lawfer '13 (Team 3)
Andrew Craig '13, Tyler Orfao '13, and William Romano '13 (Team 5)
Stephen Lento '11 and Kyle Bessa-McManus '13 (Team 6)
Zack Schwartz '11, Margaux Hoagland '11, Alison Frey '12 (Team 7)
Ian Ritchey '11 and Josh Gladstone '11 (Team 9)
These teams must submit round-two materials by Friday, April 22. The winning team
will be announced in May.
The inspiration for this competition comes from current Skidmore Trustees Michele
Dunkerley '80 and Bill Ladd '83, who stepped forward to offer the prize money, and
is supported by other members of Skidmore's Alumni Association Board of Directors,
including Vicki Tisch '94, John Beckman '94, and Roz Rozkuszka '03.
