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Digital Storytelling: Technology & Narrative Can Improve Your Message

thursday, Feb 14  •  session 1, 9:00 am  •  galleria II / ballroom level
HARRY HAYWARD, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
brett oppegaard, assistant professor, washington state University vancouver;

Educational institutions are rich with stories that we want to share with prospective students and donors. The public today wants access to these stories when and where they want, through devices ranging from mobile phones to large-screen televisions. For those without an Avatar-like budget to produce these digital stories, this session will explain some of the best practices for sharing videos cost-effectively, including optimizing YouTube for marketing and fundraising.

Where’s Coverage of Higher Ed?

thursday, Feb 14  •  session 2, 10:30 am  •  galleria II / ballroom level
Moderator: Christopher Broderick, Associate Vice President for Communications and Marketing, Portland State University
Betsy Hammond, education reporter for The Oregonian
Matthew Kish, senior writer for the Portland Business Journal
Brad Neuhoff, news director for KOIN-TV in Portland

A roundtable discussion led by a panel of print and broadcast editors and reporters will discuss coverage of universities and colleges at a time of radical change for newsrooms, which have seen staff reductions and fewer resources. What happened to in-depth reporting of complex topics such as higher education? What can universities and colleges do to get their stories out in this media environment?

The Five-Second Rule: Build a Website that Markets Your Brand

thursday, Feb 14  •  session 3, 1:15 pm  •  galleria II / ballroom level
Karen Pederson, Senior Web Marketing and Communications Manager, Marylhurst University
Ed Ouellette, Interactive Manager/Producer, Phinney Bischoff Design House
Shirley  Skidmore, Director of Marketing and Communications, Marylhurst University 

Five seconds. That’s about the time prospective students will take to decide whether your website has the information they’re looking for. With that knowledge front and center, Marylhurst University launched a new website in 2012 that reflects the university’s updated brand identity. In 18 months they did more than build a website from scratch: they established clear business goals, identified priority audiences and, most important, stuck to our guns when the inevitable “put me on the home page” pushes came. Learn how to stay true to your goals and deliver a new, user-friendly website on time, on budget and with university buy-in.

Flip Video to Feature Documentaries

thursday, Feb 14  •  session 4, 2:45 pm  •  galleria II / ballroom level
david baker, dir. of web communications, oregon state university
Justin Smith, Multimedia Production Manager, Oregon State University
Thuy Tran, Dir. of Communications, College of Engineering, Oregon State University

Presentation Materials

If you’ve been following the trends in web video over the last five years, you know that it’s been a wild ride. Institutions and individuals have gone from sharing shaky “authentic” Flip Video footage to polished high definition cinematic content that advances institutional messages. We will look at OSU’s online video strategy as it evolved over the span of a few years, culminating in a pair of event-worthy projects that may be the first of their kind in long-format marketing storytelling on the web, as well as what other universities are doing.

Reap What You Sow: Cultivating Donors Through Stewardship

friday, Feb 15  •  session 5, 9:00 am  •  galleria II / ballroom level
Niya Hurley, Manager, Communications and Stewardship, Mount Royal University

Inspired by classic examples of groundbreaking, successful public relations campaigns, this session will discuss and illustrate how strategic cultivation and donor stewardship moves donors to their next, bigger gift. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore real examples of leadership gifts, and learn how specific and deliberate stewardship was able to bring those gifts to fruition. We’ll take a look at a selection of corporate and individual donors in the context of Mount Royal University’s most recent Changing the Face of Education fundraising campaign.

Build Your Brand Through Outreach & Publicity

Friday, Feb 15  •  session 6, 10:15 am  •  galleria II / ballroom level
Julie Smith, Dir. of Marketing, Portland State University

Paid media is expensive, earner media is getting harder to garner, and social media works best to build loyalty with audiences already connected to your institution. So, how do you influence the public audience in your community? In Portland State University’s case, we meet them where they are and invite them in to see how the University impacts their community. Join us for this interactive presentation and learn how we strive to improve public opinion by integrating outreach and publicity into the marketing mix.