From the Nominator

The University of Wisconsin-Madison learned on Dec. 9, 2019 that the Badger football team was going back to the Rose Bowl for the 10th time since 1889. As the most historic college bowl game, the Rose Bowl has a national following—whether your alma mater is playing or not. Our alumni are rabid sports fans in regular years; when you add the Rose Bowl onto a winning season the enthusiasm level skyrockets. 

 

Knowing UW-Madison’s large alumni base would travel to the game because of their proximity to Pasadena or despite the fact that they were thousands of miles away, the stadium would be a sea of red just like the color of the Rose Bowl logo. The Wisconsin Alumni Association was determined to show support to the team, as well as alumni and friends of the university who traveled near and far to watch the sold-out game. 

 

With only 13 business days before the big game, and a limited budget to boot, the internal team brainstormed, researched, ideated, concepted, and vetted dozens of options. By day three, options were narrowed to one unbelievable opportunity: LA Live, the entertainment epicenter in downtown Los Angeles. Four chartered planes of alumni from Madison, the Badger football team, and thousands of additional alumni who traveled separately were staying in hotels mere feet away from LA Live’s central courtyard. The venue featured 12 prominent full-motion screens with synced audio, so we created a sensory experience that stopped pedestrians in their tracks.

From the Judges

We were very impressed with the team’s ability to work with an extremely short timeline to vet and go live with this project. Their detailed strategy helped them stay organized as they navigated the constraints of their timeline, resources, and potential vendors and it all paid off to create a unique experience for the university community.