Ƶ 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 Ƶltured, in partnership with Kappa Alpha Theta, hosted a Panhellenic event celebrating the cultural diversity in Ƶ Boulder sorority life.
By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)
Photos from Get Ƶltured 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.
This was especially true of the seniors completing this year’s Bateman Competition Capstone class in the Department of Advertising, Public Relations and Media Design.
Each year, students participate in the—organized by the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA)—by taking on a real life client and then planning and carrying out a campaign.
“The benefit of Bateman is the execution. It’s 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,” saidErin Willis, an associate professor in the APRD department who’s 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 wasmagazine, 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—named Ƶ Connect and Get Ƶlturd—decided to focus on spreading Culturs’ mission to the rest of campus.
“It’s a magazine, but it’s so much more. They curate cultural experiences,” Willis said. “The 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.”
This year,ran under the slogan “Bridging the Gap” andencouraged students to “Get Culturd, Stay Culturd.” To learn more and take part in each group’s 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—who has experience in public relations and marketing communications—but also local professionals. Adjunct PR professor Bailey DeCamillis mentored the Ƶ Connect team while Jane Dvorak, president of JKD & Co., mentored Get Ƶlturd. 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.
“We’re hoping everyone understands that Ƶ has its own culture and it’s important to bring our cultures to the university,” said Isabel Pitalue, of Get Ƶlturd. “So, 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.”
Similarly, Ƶ Connect appreciated how Culturs emphasizes the importance of global community while featuring stories about individual people’s 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 Ƶlturd organized was a Panhellenic event to highlight the diversity within Ƶ Greek life. They also collaborated with the Boulder chapter of PRSSA to host a seminar series featuring experts in marketing, journalism and sports media.
Meanwhile, using the student surveys, the Ƶ 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’s, Blofish Sushi and Sushi Hana. But they’ve been most excited about their Culturs Coalition, which has brought together over 15 student affinity groups on campus.
“I think it has the most potential to stay on campus, because we had people ask us, ‘Are you going to put someone in charge of this?’ and ‘How can we make this last?’” said Brianna Centeno, of Ƶ Connect.“Knowing that you have this magazine that’s catered toward you, as a person of color or someone with many cultural experiences, is a really good resource for the coalition.”
The campaigns officially ended March 5. The teams are compiling their observations, findings and reflections into a report to submit to the competition’s board for review.
“The teams have absolutely blown my expectations away. The things they think about and have managed to execute have been awesome,” Willis said. “I 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 Ƶ Boulder. I’m so proud of them.”
The Get Ƶltured team achieved an honorable mention for . This marks the second year in a row that Ƶ students have been recognized for their campaigns.