A recent marketing campaign that gave Red River College grads the VIP treatment has been recognized by the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS).

Last week, the CPRS announced RRC’s 2015 billboard campaign had won the 2016 Manitoba Communicator of the Year (Large Campaign) Award.

Launched last spring by RRC’s Marketing and Web Presence team, the campaign built on the success of previous alumni-focused promotions, by inviting industry partners to collaborate with RRC in showcasing the range of organizations where graduates find employment.

Employers were invited to nominate VIPs from within their organization, then shared a portion of the costs to promote their employees’ success on billboards, bus benches, transit ads and a range of other print and digital media.

With help from RRC’s Alumni Relations office, the pool of respondents was narrowed down to 40 VIPs from a variety of fields, whose images were featured on a series of highly visible ads. In addition to achieving its primary goals (raising the College’s profile, strengthening connections with industry, positioning RRC as a solution to Manitoba’s skilled labour shortage, etc.), the new campaign also generated nearly $40,000 in new revenue.

The College and the winner in the Small Campaign category (the Canadian Museum for Human Rights) will be honoured at an awards presentation and gala on May 4 at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Tickets to the gala are available here.