From the Nominator

COVID-19 ran roughshod over countless campus traditions in 2020. Nowhere was this more apparent than the ranks of the world-famous Michigan Marching Band. Established with 22 players in 1896, the band now includes 400 players representing every school and college at U-M. It is one of the most rigorous and coveted programs in the nation. For Michigan Wolverines, the Michigan Marching Band is as closely associated with the university as the football team itself, thanks to its iconic “Let’s Go Blue” theme.

For the first time in its 123-year history, the band went completely virtual. And Michigan News was there. U-M’s Arts & Culture Initiative ran with a pitch by our student intern/onetime band member Jessica Jimenez. She would go inside the band to chronicle the experience from a senior student’s authentic perspective.

Arts editor Sydney Hawkins led the effort to create a multimedia package — featuring work from award-winning photographer Eric Bronson and design by Natsume Ono — that was anchored by a month-long social media campaign leading up to the football team’s first home game. The campaign created a sense of urgency, despite the fact that Michigan Stadium would be empty, and the band's iconic halftime show had been assembled, performed, and streamed online.

This story allowed us to showcase new ways of teaching music, capturing performance, and maintaining unity and tradition under dire circumstances. We even introduced the concept of PPE for both players and their instruments.

The story cheered bereft fans (alumni, students, faculty, and staff), while demonstrating the resilience and hope embodied in these talented students who were denied the traditional Michigan marching Band experience.

From the Judges

Great comprehensive campaign, with so many components that fit nicely together. We liked the creativity as well as the social engagement with these posts. And, to top if all off, the campaign also generated earned media coverage, so the message could be spread even further.