Best of CASE District V Award
 

Institution: Kent State University

Title of entry: The Olympics Campaign

About this entry: Kent State University's Paris Olympics sponsorship with Cleveland's WKYC-TV created a strategic advertising platform to reach prospective students and families throughout Northeast Ohio—the university's primary recruitment market—at a uniquely advantageous moment in the media landscape.

This initiative capitalized on four critical opportunities:

The Olympics' late-summer timing provided an early but strong entry point for the fall brand campaign while strategically positioning Kent State to avoid the peak, cluttered, negative political advertising environment of fall 2024.

With university brand advertising budgets reduced nearly 50% over recent cycles due to state funding cuts and inflation, the Olympics offered exceptional value through appointment viewing that traditional advertising struggles to deliver.

A fortuitous content-gathering trip to France yielded extraordinary visual assets when our VP of Global Education—who serves on the Palace of Versailles Scientific Research Board—provided unprecedented Palace access. This created visually stunning content that powerfully reinforced Kent State's Global Presence brand pillar.

The Olympics' celebration of global unity and excellence provided the perfect context for showcasing Kent State's core values, diversity commitment, and prestigious partnerships with leading Cleveland institutions

The campaign delivered exceptional audience reach, exceeding viewership projections across both broadcast and accompanying digital platforms. By aligning Kent State's international connections with the Paris setting and leveraging the Olympics' family-oriented viewership, the initiative achieved both remarkable visibility and strategic brand positioning during an increasingly fragmented media environment.