University of Limerick’s multi-award winning marketing team has claimed global honours with an historic double gold win in the international CASE Circle of Excellence international awards.
Competing against third-level institutions from across the globe, University of Limerick took the top spot in two hotly contested categories; ‘Marketing initiatives by a team of >10’ and ‘Branding Programs fora Department or sub unit’.
Both accolades were awarded for work carried out as part of UL’s postgraduate focused ‘Stay Curious’ campaign, which was conceived and directed entirely by University of Limerick’s in-house team.
The CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Circle of Excellence Awards are regarded as a gold-standard in recognition for the international education sector.
The 2023 awards saw international judges evaluate 4,000+ nominations from entrants in 27 countries worldwide.
Judges, who come from peers in universities worldwide, noted the creativity and results-focused nature of UL’s entries, remarking: “This is a very nicely executed campaign. The panel particularly noticed the carefully tailored messaging, use of real people in collateral, an authentic presentation, and outstanding results. The team used photography extremely well. Of particular note is the use of metrics and specification of digital engagement all the way through the enrolment funnel. Congratulations!”
The international win is the latest in a series of external recognitions for UL’s Stay Curious campaign which has already taken the top honours in Ireland at the Irish Digital Media Awards and the Sockies Social Media Awards.
Phase two of the campaign is currently live, featuring powerful storytelling from established and early career researchers who are focused on driving world-changing innovation at University of Limerick.
University of Limerick President Professor Kerstin Mey said she was thrilled as the CASE Circle of Excellence awards are “premier accolades for educational advancement recognising the achievements of universities worldwide.
“For UL to receive such international recognition and to take two gold awards back to Ireland demonstrates how bold, creative, and resourceful our marketing team can be. They have been rightly recognised for how powerful it can be when teaching, learning and research are championed in an authentic and engaging way.
“These awards serve as a clear validation of the marketing team's vision, talent, and tireless efforts in delivering exceptional results,” Professor Mey added.
Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Affairs at UL, Laura Ryan said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with this global recognition as Stay Curious is UL’s first large scale postgraduate-focused marketing campaign conceived entirely in-house and shot by Limerick’s True Media.
“It featured proud UL graduates like Jerry Flannery, Mamobo Ogoro, Finola Cliffe and Siobhan Ryan who told their engaging stories and reflected on a different stage in their careers and personal lives.
“Our aim was to attract new postgraduate students and to inspire current undergraduate students to stay with us, we’re thrilled it was such a success not just nationally but internationally and to now get peer recognition globally as the only Irish university to be recognised by CASE for a Circle of Excellence award is something to be celebrated.”
University of Limerick’s Marketing and Communications team also took the top honours at the prestigious national Education Awards held in Dublin last April.
UL was the most awarded institution with five awards in total at the event, which recognises excellence in the third level education sector on the island of Ireland from both State and privately funded institutions.
UL won the awards for Best Marketing/Communications Team, Best Student Campus, Student Engagement & Communications, Best Use of Educational Technology/ICT Initiative of the Year, and the Overall Excellence Award, which was announced at the end of the night.
The premier accolades for educational advancement, the Circle of Excellence Awards recognize colleges, universities, and schools whose talented staff advanced their institutions with ingenuity and resourcefulness.
