Center for the Arts wins international and regional marketing and communications awards
A typo leads to an international award for the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech.
Heather Ducote, director of marketing and communications for the Center for the Arts, realized shortly after sending an email communication promoting “Guru of Chai" — a play the center presented with the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke, Va., last September — that the phone number for tickets was listed incorrectly. Moments later, a second message was sent correcting the error in a light-hearted, self-deprecating way that ended up garnering more attention for the play than the original message. The correction has won a 2011 gold MarCom award, which is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.
This year, more than 6,000 MarCom entries were received from the United States, Canada, and other countries. Gold MarCom awards are awarded to entries judged to exceed the high standards of the industry norm.
The Center for the Arts has also won a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Blue Ridge Chapter, silver Summit award for the public relations campaign supporting the Vocal Arts and Music Festival, which was held in Blacksburg in June and July 2011. Ducote; Susan Bland, communications manager for the Center for the Arts; and Ashleigh Zuke of Aldie, Va., a senior majoring in marketing in the Pamplin College of Business and marketing intern for the Center for the Arts, received this regional award at the organization's annual awards gala on Nov. 4 in Roanoke, Va.
Email promotion correcting typo wins award
A light-hearted email promotion was quickly created by Heather Ducote, director of marketing and communications, Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, after realizing a previous email communication included an incorrect phone number for tickets to the theatrical production of "Guru of Chai." The promotion has received an international marketing award.
