The Fall Campus Day photo booth
A new way of engaging prospective students in on-campus events through social media has garnered the University two prestigious awards. The Fall Campus Day Insta-Print Photo Booth was awarded a Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education (CCAE) Prix D'Excellence and a Council for the Advancement & Support of Education (CASE) Circle of Excellence Award.
The Fall Campus Day Insta-Print Photo Booth engaged prospective students visiting the annual Fall Campus Day last November. The Insta-Print Photo Booth collected photos from Instagram and Twitter during the event using a particular hashtag. Photos were then instantly printed out on a York U branded template for students to pick up throughout the day. Photos were also promoted and/or retweeted online and on screens in presentation rooms and common areas. Fall Campus Day took place on Nov. 9, 2013, and attracted 3,000 attendees.
One of the images posted as part of the new media campaign
The Insta-Print Photo Booth was a joint effort by the Recruitment team and the Division of Students (VPS) Communications unit to increase prospective student engagement with the University. The program cost less than traditional giveaways and adoption of the social media campaign was tremendous with more than 600 photos posted during the event, averaging five photos per minute. Students got to take home a keepsake and those not able to attend the event could follow online.
The social media effort was awarded a Bronze for “Best Use of Social Media.” The Prix D'Excellence is the annual awards program of the CCAE, recognizing outstanding achievements in alumni affairs, public affairs, communications, marketing, development, advancement services, stewardship, student recruitment and overall institutional advancement. This is the second year in a row that a joint Recruitment and VPS Communications project has won a CCAE award.
The social media event also won a Bronze CASE Circle of Excellence Award also for “Best Use of Social Media.” The Circle of Excellence is advancement's premier international awards program that recognizes the work of CASE members, acknowledging superior accomplishments that have a lasting impact, demonstrate the highest level of professionalism and deliver exceptional results. Winning programs epitomize the profession's best practices, raise standards and contribute to a growing body of knowledge about advancement.
“We’re thrilled to work within teams that embrace trying new ways to reach out to students and stay on the cutting edge of recruitment tactics,” says Donna Cope, director, Communications, Division of Students. “We’ve already rolled what we learned from Fall Campus Day into our Spring Open House event, which got us even better results, and we’re looking forward to topping it during Fall Campus Day 2014.”
What does the Fall Campus Day Insta-Print Photo Booth look like? See some of the photos that were submitted in 2013 on the Fall Campus Day website.