2024 Awards

Explore award-winning work by the Office of Strategic Communication in 2024. Spanning campaigns, publications, branding, and digital, these projects reflect our approach to storytelling, marketing, and design. You can find more recent awards on our portfolio and awards page.

Awards and entry details

College of Engineering Building Campaign

CASE Circle of Excellence Award | Marketing Initiatives | Grand Gold

In fall 2023, we launched a campaign to secure legislative funding for a new College of Engineering building after years of setbacks. The campaign used paid, earned, and owned media to rally public support. The results: five million impressions, 1,000 emails to lawmakers, and, ultimately, a new engineering building.

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Screenshot from a website promoting the construction of a new building for the College of Engineering.

Institutional Print Ad Campaign

Hermes Creative Awards | Print Media: Advertising Campaign | Gold

Our print ad series “Can’t Stop a Badger” told a story of the UW’s vast educational opportunities through visual and messaging juxtaposition. Intentional in the way they used wit, scale, and color, the ads were deeply rooted in UW–Madison, yet unconventional — and unforgettable — in presentation.

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Three colorful, intriguing ads promoting UW–Madison with the tagline 'Can't stop a Badger'.

On Wisconsin Magazine: The Future Issue

CASE Circle of Excellence Award | Magazines: Single Topic/Special Editions | Gold

Our “Future Issue” of On Wisconsin showed the institution addressing the challenges of a rapidly changing world. The issue provided a forward-looking vision on a sweeping array of subjects, with a design reflecting the futuristic theme. The connecting thread: hope for the future, based on UW innovations.

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Cover of the On Wisconsin Future issue.

On Wisconsin Magazine: “Creating the Badger Brand”

Milwaukee Press Club | Best Feature Design | Gold

Milwaukee Press Club | Best Long Soft Feature Story | Bronze

“Creating the Badger Brand” combined prodigious research with a playful approach to the subject of UW–Madison’s iconic logos. The story explored the surprising origins of the mascot Bucky Badger, the athletic department’s Motion W, the academic W Crest, and the mysterious seal known as the Numen Lumen.

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A spread from On Wisconsin Magazine for a story titled 'Creating the Badger Brand', depicting a collage of UW branded items including the Field House crest, Numen Lumen, Bucky Badger, a real badger, a UW Crest branded waffle and the motion W, among other examples.

UW Brand Website

CASE Circle of Excellence Award | Marketing: Micro-sites | Silver

Our redesign of the UW brand website emphasized self-service, enabling campus partners to quickly find the resources they need. We overhauled the information architecture, redesigned page layouts, and refreshed content. The new resource library has become the most-visited page on the site.

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Screenshot from the Brand and Visual Identity Resources page, which allows users to search and filter for digital assets.

UW School of Nursing Centennial Brand Campaign

CASE Circle of Excellence Award | Marketing: Branding (Department or Subunit) | Bronze

Our brand campaign for the School of Nursing’s centennial year expanded the view of nursing beyond the bedside, emphasizing science research, cutting-edge technology, policymaking, and community engagement. Our ultimate message: UW’s School of Nursing is poised to lead the charge over the next 100 years.

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Pages from the School of Nursings’s Brand Guidelines.