Conn wins two Grand Gold CASE awards

Conn’s Office of Communications has been awarded two CASE 2021 Circle of Excellence Awards

Connecticut College’s Office of Communications has been awarded two 2021 Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in the marketing and writing categories.

“Dancing Camels,” the College’s admitted students campaign for the Class of 2024, received the Grand Gold Award in the Marketing on a Shoestring subcategory, while “This Hard Land,” a Winter 2020 CC Magazine article, was honored with the Grand Gold Award in the Feature Writing subcategory.

The international CASE awards program honors outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing at colleges, universities, independent schools and affiliated nonprofits. A Grand Gold Award is the highest level of recognition in the program, and the award is reserved for entries that are extremely exceptional or “game-changing.” Grand Gold Awards are rare, and only one may be given per category.

The “Dancing Camels” campaign, led by Director of Admission Marketing Eileen Jenkins, was designed to publicly celebrate and welcome the Class of 2024, and direct them to take steps that would quickly make them feel part of the Camel community. The home page banner on the College website showcased a revolving carousel of video vignettes featuring the beloved Camel (a student in our mascot costume) in an array of amusing locations. The campaign also appeared on the admitted student landing page and on social media.

“The College’s creativity was fun and welcoming to new students, especially in a time of great uncertainty,” the CASE judges wrote. “Most importantly, the fun, welcoming Camel produced impressive results. The 91% of Early Decision I students making deposits and 31% of Early Decision II students making deposits is a win-win for the students and the college ... during the pandemic, when many prospective students were contemplating their choice to attend university or take a year off.”

“This Hard Land,” written by Assistant Director of Content Amy Martin, tells the story of the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation and the tribal members’ decades-long struggle to have their federal recognition—won briefly in 2002—restored.

The CASE judges called the article “one of the most gorgeous pieces of writing we have ever encountered in academic writing.”

“This feature reads like a transcript for This American Life. The subject is timely, providing both historical narrative and reckoning with injustice, but with healing and hope. This is the kind of central feature every magazine should strive to have,” they wrote.

This is the fifth CASE award for CC Magazine, the College’s flagship publication, since 2018.