CU Connect collaborated with various student affinity groups to form the Culturs Coalition. Pictured here are attendees from their first meeting held in early February.
Get CUltured, in partnership with Kappa Alpha Theta, hosted a Panhellenic event celebrating the cultural diversity in CU 麻豆影院 sorority life.
By Hannah Stewart (Comm鈥19)
Photos from Get CUltured event by Jack Moody
Over the course of their time in the College of Media, Communication and Information, strategic communication students learn to adapt, think on their feet and creatively approach problem solving.听
This was especially true of the seniors completing this year鈥檚 Bateman Competition Capstone class in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design.
Each year, students participate in the听鈥攐rganized by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)鈥攂y taking on a real life client and then planning and carrying out a campaign.
鈥淭he benefit of Bateman is the execution. It鈥檚 a small class, and having two semesters really allows students to sit with the client problem, get to know the client, plan, get feedback and work with professional advisors,鈥 said听Erin Willis, an associate professor in the APRD department who鈥檚 running the course.
Unlike other capstones, which are frequently one semester long and focus more on the planning and strategic elements of a campaign, the Bateman course includes a second semester for students to execute their plan. At the conclusion of the term, student teams in the class compile a pitchbook, submitted to the national board, in which they evaluate the campaign.
The 2024 client was听听magazine, a digital and print magazine and ambassador program that seeks to highlight stories of people at the intersection of multiple identities. Rather than create a campaign to increase magazine subscriptions or ambassador enrollment, the CMCI teams鈥攏amed CU Connect and Get CUlturd鈥攄ecided to focus on spreading Culturs鈥 mission to the rest of campus.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a magazine, but it鈥檚 so much more. They curate cultural experiences,鈥 Willis said. 鈥淭he way the teams wanted to respond to the brief is awesome for the client and for the campus long term. It just might not be the traditional way other schools have responded.鈥澨
This year,听听ran under the slogan 鈥淏ridging the Gap鈥 and听听encouraged students to 鈥淕et Culturd, Stay Culturd.鈥 To learn more and take part in each group鈥檚 campaign, follow them on Instagram.
From left to right: Rebecca Cordingley, Kaitlyne Fallahi, Isabella Rohrer, Brianna Centeno, Alex Baughman
From left to right: Olivia Oosterhouse, Isabel Pitalue, Nalina Datta, Elizabeth Baker, Henley Beisert
Each team had access not only to Willis鈥攚ho has experience in public relations and marketing communications鈥攂ut also local professionals. Adjunct PR professor Bailey DeCamillis mentored the CU Connect team while Jane Dvorak, president of JKD & Co., mentored Get CUlturd. Both teams also benefited from the expertise of Jeffrey Spivock, a senior vice president at communications and PR agency Weber Shandwick.
Their expertise was invaluable to the students, especially given they were tasked with creating campaigns for a client whose mission is to promote diversity and inclusion, and whose brand is largely grounded in tangible products. Both teams concluded that Culturs was most valuable as a tool that could be used to talk about culture on campus.
鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping everyone understands that CU has its own culture and it鈥檚 important to bring our cultures to the university,鈥 said Isabel Pitalue, of Get CUlturd. 鈥淪o, we really wanted to spread the message rather than the magazine. If you feel misrepresented and you see articles about your culture, it can make you feel more empowered.鈥
Similarly, CU Connect appreciated how Culturs emphasizes the importance of global community while featuring stories about individual people鈥檚 experiences.
In order to prompt these conversations, both teams have used a mix of social media, tabling on campus and events to connect with students.
One such event Get CUlturd organized was a Panhellenic event to highlight the diversity within CU Greek life. They also collaborated with the 麻豆影院 chapter of PRSSA to host a seminar series featuring experts in marketing, journalism and sports media.听
Meanwhile, using the student surveys, the CU Connect found students were most interested in learning about culture through music and food. As such, much of their campaign centers around promoting new cultural experiences through food with discounts offered at restaurants such as Centro Mexican Kitchen, Pasta Jay鈥檚, Blofish Sushi and Sushi Hana. But they鈥檝e been most excited about their Culturs Coalition, which has brought together over 15 student affinity groups on campus.
鈥淚 think it has the most potential to stay on campus, because we had people ask us, 鈥楢re you going to put someone in charge of this?鈥 and 鈥楬ow can we make this last?鈥欌 said Brianna Centeno, of CU Connect.鈥淜nowing that you have this magazine that鈥檚 catered toward you, as a person of color or someone with many cultural experiences, is a really good resource for the coalition.鈥
The campaigns officially ended March 5. The teams are compiling their observations, findings and reflections into a report to submit to the competition鈥檚 board for review.
鈥淭he teams have absolutely blown my expectations away. The things they think about and have managed to execute have been awesome,鈥 Willis said. 鈥淚 want to win, but ultimately, this brief is about culture, diversity and the in between. The two plans that have been rolling across campus have been so good for CU 麻豆影院. I鈥檓 so proud of them.鈥