Last week, the Marketing Department for the Maricopa County Community College District was recognized with a national award for its bachelor's degree marketing campaign. The 2023 Paragon Award is given by the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations (NCMPR) annually as one of the most distinguished award programs honoring two-year community and technical colleges. It is the only national competition of its kind.
The "Start Here. Finish Here." marketing campaign was developed to support awareness of the newly released bachelor's degrees and took home the honor of being awarded best recruitment or marketing campaign. The campaign rose above 1,500 entries from 210 community colleges and marks the second consecutive year that the District, or one of its colleges, has received an award at a national level for best marketing campaign (GateWay, Mesa, 2022).
The campaign was a collaboration between several marketing directors, and the District marketing team, and also included key stakeholders who worked on the bachelor’s degree project.
"What I am most proud of is that every one of our team members and college marketing teams have contributed to this in a meaningful way," said Lindsey Wilson, interim chief marketing officer for the District. "This award is representative of the tremendous creativity and talent we have across our System in the marketing and communications field. And while the award is a great honor, it more importantly represents the critical role we play in impacting real students and changing lives."
Enrollment numbers for Maricopa’s first Bachelor’s degree programs continue to climb, with a total of 2,488 students enrolled and taking classes since launch in Fall 2023.
District Office Chief Communications Officer Chuck Coolidge commended the team, stating, "This Paragon Award is a testament to our marketing team’s hard work and creativity. It marks a significant milestone for MCCCD. This achievement is just the beginning, and we look forward to accomplishing even bigger things."
Staff members of the District marketing team in alphabetical order:
- Rene Armendariz, Media Production & Design Analyst Senior
- Jan Hancock, Media Production & Design Analyst Senior
- Kevin Hufnagel, Video Producer/Editor
- Cam Huynh, Interim Assistant Marketing Director
- Sean Layton, PR Marketing Analyst
- Brittany Lewis, PR Marketing Analyst
- Stu Rodberg, Media Production & Design Analyst Senior
- Matt Rodgers, Web Marketing Manager
- Quincy Reams, Media Production & Design Analyst Senior
- Magdalena Soto, Media Production & Design Analyst Senior
- Lindsey Wilson, Interim District Marketing Director (CMO)
College marketing directors who contributed to the campaign:
- Simon Ring, Rio Salado College
- John Heckenlaible, Glendale Community College
- Bruce Battle, South Mountain Community College
- Eric Sells, Scottsdale Community College
- Christy Flora, Phoenix College
- Stacy Pickavance, Mesa Community College
- Lisha Dunlap, Chandler-Gilbert Community College
- Lysa Fitzhugh, Paradise Valley Community College
- Tom Kaczor, GateWay Community College
- Alissa Manzoeillo, Estrella Mountain Community College