From the Nominator

With in-person graduation ceremonies postponed due to coronavirus, the Class of 2020 was left without the traditional opportunity to celebrate their degree achievements with family and friends. The overall aim of our project was to address this by providing a digital graduation celebration targeted towards Loughborough’s summer and winter 2020 graduates and their families. We produced and aired a one-hour “as live” show. Produced like a television show with a range of segments, we wanted to appeal to differing interests. This was a brand-new activity–we have never produced a show such as this before. We sought to provide the cohort–our newest alumni–with a way to celebrate their achievements and feel connected to the university via a fun digital celebration. 

Expectation and excitement for the Class of 2020 show were built up in advance. We used a range of social media channels, web, and a targeted postal mailing to reach our audience and to encourage constituent participation, all of which were tied together by a consistent theme. We produced an additional video for winter graduation, featuring alumni from around the world. Graduates received email communications and we used social media to share the video with messages specifically for the winter cohort. Even a global pandemic could not get in the way of the Loughborough family celebrating the achievements of graduates and the passion of a tight-knit community. The campaign and its results encapsulated everything that Loughborough is about: family, community, and a competitive spirit.

From the Judges

Very creative and different way to celebrate the class of 2020. Impressed they pulled it together in such a short amount of time.