The hard work put into some of CPUT’s biggest campaigns, events and adverts was recognised recently.

Members of the Marketing and Communications Department and Web Office received four awards at the recent Marketing, Advancement and Communications in Education (MACE) awards.

CPUT clinched prizes for the excellent live streaming of the 2014 Graduation series, the Marine Sciences campaign as well as for the integrated marketing campaign for the launch of the CAPE SPEED formula racing car.

But judges seemed most impressed by the efforts put into the TshepisoSat launch and CPUT clinched the very first Skill award.

Marketing and Communications Director Norman Jacobs commended his department on their excellent work and praised their ability to pull together as a team.

Written by Lauren Kansley
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Liaises with the media and writes press releases about interesting developments at CPUT.

The Marketing and Communication Department is ending the year on a high note – scooping four prestigious awards in recent weeks.

The awards are: the Marketing, Advancement and Communication (MACE) Award of Excellence - Gold Award for SMART Graduation December 2021; the MACE Award of Excellence Bronze Award for Virtual Open Day; the Silver Quill Award of Excellence for Virtual Open Day and the Silver Quill Award of Excellence for SMART Graduation December 2021.

The International Association of Business Communicators – Africa Region facilitates the annual Silver Quill awards programme, which recognises business communication excellence across the African continent. It salutes work that makes a significant contribution to business outcomes, and that is innovative and unique. Entries are scored independently by two evaluators, who reconcile scores together. They review each entry against the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) standard of excellence, ensuring that communicators can demonstrate the impact their work has had on business goals. The aim is to encourage the pursuit of excellence rather than competition.

The MACE Excellence Awards takes place annually and recognises and celebrates excellence and the achievements of specialists and practitioners in marketing, communication and advancement in the higher education sector. Out of 171 entries from universities across South Africa, only 16 were awarded gold and 37 bronze.

Some of the comments the team received from the Silver Quill evaluators for the Virtual Open Day entry included:

“I commend you on creating an engaging platform that is unique and novel, and very relevant to a dispersed and tech savvy audience.

With reference to the SMART Graduation entry, the evaluators stated: “Congratulations on executing the project in a professional manner. We liked the look and feel of your videos and slides, they exude a feeling of warmth and connectedness. Your key message that CPUT cares, comes through clearly in the work sample.”

A proud Dr Garth Van Gensen, Director of the Marketing and Communication Department, said these industry awards show that the Marketing and Communication team were never happy to be average.

“We consistently provided innovative and creative solutions to satisfy the events and marketing requirements of the Western Cape’s largest university. We reinvented virtual events in a way in which the higher education industry had never seen before, and I am very proud of my team for consistently pushing the envelope and thinking outside the box. That is truly One Smart CPUT thinking.”

In terms of future plans, Virtual Open Day will run in parallel with a physical Open day next year and will feature a new user interface that lets visitors experience CPUT by creating a metaverse-type experience that enables them to explore various parts of our campuses in 360 degrees.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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