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This story is part of our June 2022 CoSIDA 360 package, to view more stories,
click here.
University of Hawai’i and Utah Valley University staffs earn recognition for their innovative projects and initiatives created during the 2021-22 academic year.
by Barb Kowal – CoSIDA Director of Professional Development and External Affairs
Athletic communications staffs (and colleagues) from the
University of Hawai‘i and
Utah Valley University were selected as recipients of the 2021-22 CoSIDA ChangeMaker Innovation Award for their creative work projects during the academic year:
This is the second year for this CoSIDA award, created to recognize individual members or staffs who have created and managed innovative content during the current academic year. The purpose is to recognize forward-thinkers who bring new ideas to life — and strengthen the position of SIDs and our work — with special content, a branding and messaging campaign, new storyteller packages, social media initiatives, a digital series, etc.
The winning Hawai‘i initiative, submitted by assistant media relations director Eric Mathews, is entitled “Operation Greg Luzinski” (Oppo Grego). Their goal was to elevate social media content and engagement to help tell the stories of Hawai‘i student-athletes and show the beauty of the Hawaiian islands - while being a trendsetter on a national level.
The Utah Valley winning entry was a unique and creative idea to promote Fardaws Aimaq, reigning Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a NBA prospect, called “Big Maple Campaign.” Aimaq is nicknamed the “Big Maple,” noting his Canadian roots and his love for maple syrup which he carried with him everywhere. The Utah Valley staff focused on sending out an innovative promotion – a box of maple syrup with a label and QR code of his accomplishments and t-shirt so that the mid-major school and standout basketball player would catch the attention of the national media.
The ChangeMaker contest was open to any current CoSIDA individual member or team of college athletics communications professionals. If they collaborated on an initiative with department or campus/conference colleagues, the initiative had to include at least one current CoSIDA member who was integral to the project.
“CoSIDA represents a profession that epitomizes creativity and collaboration. The ChangeMaker Award acknowledges and honors those CoSIDA members who have opened the door to ingenuity, resourcefulness and originality in their work,” noted Doug Vance, CoSIDA Executive Director. “We congratulate Utah Valley and University of Hawai’i athletic communications staffs and their colleagues this year as they rolled out creative and meaningful content which captured the attention of many.”
Here is a closer look at the Changemaker Award recipients for 2021-22.
University of Hawai'i: Operation Greg Luzinski
Submitted by: Eric Mathews
Project Participants: Trevor Camello, Multimedia Specialist; Derek Inouchi, Director of Media Relations; Eric Mathews, Assistant Media Relations Director; Troy Yamamoto, Director of Digital Media
In the summer of 2020, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Hawai'i media relations team designed a plan named "Operation Greg Luzinski," - known in the department as "Oppo Grego." The goal was to keep their social media relevant during the pandemic when games and matches weren't guaranteed.
The UH media relations department, under director Derek Inouchi, revamped and enhanced the plan for the 2021-22 season, fine-tuning the content strategy to raise the social media profile of Hawai’I Athletics and increase engagement while telling the stories of Hawai’I student-athletes and showing the beauty of the Hawaiian islands.
The result of "Oppo Grego" elevated UH's social media presence as a consistent mainstay in the Skullsparks Top-50 since July 2021. Hawai’i is one of three other mid-major schools able to stay as consistent in the Skullsparks national rankings in terms of rankings and overall engagement numbers over the last year. Skullsparks partners with college sports brands across the country on digital strategy and promotes digital/video job opportunities while working with the nation’s network of sports creatives.
The "Oppo Grego" plan also launched several successful campaigns, including "Coming Home" (see video link) a mini-series showcasing the football's new home built out of emergency during the summer of 2021 due to Aloha Stadium closing down unexpectedly.
It featured a weekly "SportsCenter" type broadcast featuring highlights of all teams in season every Monday morning. Written projects "My Story" and "BowsStories" showcased student-athletes ' hardships overcoming odds to play in college athletics. Additionally, student-athletes across all sports were featured with campus photoshoots to show their personalities, style, and the beauty of the campus.
The project became a platform for UH students interested in social media, broadcasting, and journalism to contribute to, resulting in four former students landing their first jobs out of school through their work involving the "Oppo Grego" plan.
Oppo Grego Strategy Document
Utah Valley University: Big Maple Campaign
Submitted by: Jason Erickson
Project Participants: Clint Burgi, Associate Athletic Director - Communications; Kameron Dearing, Assistant Athletic Director - Wolverine Club & Signature Events; Jason Erickson, Assistant Athletic Director - Communications
To catch the attention of the national media while promoting NBA prospect Fardaws Aimaq, reigning WAC Player of the Year, the campaign started with the announcement that he would be withdrawing from the NBA Draft and returning to Utah Valley. Erickson created a newspaper in InDesign with the headline “Aimaq is Back” — printed on real newspaper paper to look authentic — and had a photo shoot with Aimaq reading the newspaper by his locker. On their social platforms, Utah Valley used the photo to tell Aimaq’s story of returning to the team in conjunction with his live announcement on MakingTheMadness.com. The livestreamed announcement also was on every Utah Valley athletic platform and on campus and community digital boards, while the printed newspapers were distributed across campus.
Using the Big Maple nickname (Aimaq always had bottles of maple syrup in his locker to use at team pancake/waffle breakfasts), Erickson created a maple syrup bottle to promote his 2021 accolades and preseason accolades, with the bottles purchased from Canada to keep authenticity. The finalized package included a list of Aimaq’s accomplishments and national articles with a QR code link tree, a photo on the inside of the box, a customized Aimaq t-shirt, and the maple syrup bottle wrapped in school colors (green wrap) with a wolverine sticker.
In submitting the campaign for ChangeMaker consideration, Erickson wrote: “The response was incredible! We received numerous feedback on social media from both our local media and the national media, including the Dan Patrick Show, ESPN’s Kevin Connors, Pat Forde, Matt Norlander, Clark Kellogg, and many others. The Dan Patrick Show even put together a video on the box they received. Aimaq got the attention we wanted, earned numerous awards, and gave Utah Valley University a national spotlight.”
Links: Big Maple Campaign - Article Links and Tweets Samples