From the Nominator

"A mission of our marketing & communications unit is to promote the university's thought leadership. But on social media, promoting thought leaders in a social-friendly way can sometimes be a challenge. We have covered Halloween in a lot of different ways, from pumpkin carving contests to the architectural gargoyles on campus. 

This year, we wanted to dig deeper into the holiday by satisfying some of the curiosity in Halloween-related themes. For example, when we watch a scary movie, why do we feel afraid? And if it makes us feel scared, why do we love scary movies so much? 

We engaged our news team to help identify a faculty member who could address these questions. Ryan Bogdan, associate professor of psychological & brain sciences, is an expert in emotions and was willing to participate. We engaged our multimedia team to develop a creative approach that centered on nostalgia, especially with b-movies. 

What results is a project unlike anything we had done before. Not only was it fun for our cross-disciplinary team to collaborate on, but the video was shared across all social media channels, which allowed us to present our thought leadership to all our audiences, from alumni to prospective students, in a friendly and accessible way. The video got many views, but it also showed us that engagement can mean more than eyes on the WashU brand. The video itself demonstrates that WashU is a place where you can be creative and do things a little differently."

From the Judges

Outstanding! What a creative endeavor. Great tie to education and connection to the holiday. Informative and entertaining. THIS is how you do a holiday video!