From the Nominator

"Social distancing, sheltering in place, event cancellations, and facility closures became the norm in March 2020. High anxiety was pervasive with the fear and unknown of the coronavirus. Our goal was to create an e-engagement initiative that was light, interesting, educational, and fun in an effort to stay connected and celebrate our common interests through Montana State University.  

The one ray of sunshine during COVID-19 was the sense of community that developed from persevering through challenging times together. We truly were In This Together—the name of our e-publication.  

A team of staff members from the Montana State University Alumni Foundation and specifically Alumni Engagement and Communications brainstormed format, content, design, and frequency strategies. We landed on an email communication with an overarching monthly theme, containing five consistent topic areas that would each feature a compelling photo and short, quick-read copy that included a link for additional information. A once-per-month frequency fit well into our growing, broad, and inclusive email sends and provided adequate preparation time between editions. We turned the concept into delivery in less than four weeks--our first edition was April 16, 2020. 

This project is assigned to two communications staff, a writer and a designer. The writer researches and develops the theme and writes the content. The designer then provides relevant images. Proofing is done by both communications and the alumni engagement team."

From the Judges

The In This Together (e-publication) was appropriate, timely, and intentional—when we all were persevering through challenging times together. This pivot truly had Montana State alumni in mind, as they were at the center of the content, not the college. Montana State had clear measurables and made improvements over previous initiatives of similar approach. This is a good model that can easily be adopted by other schools.