The Design and Marketing Awards recognize excellence in the field of design and marketing in university continuing education throughout Canada. These awards recognize the outstanding efforts of our members and focus attention on the communication aspect of program planning and development.
The adjudication process evaluates entries not only for visual richness, graphic ingenuity, and excellent writing but also examines the effectiveness of each entry as part of the overall strategy and its success in meeting its objectives with measurable results. The awards consider such factors as concept and design, clarity of messaging, effectiveness, and creativity in solving a problem, use of resources, return on marketing investment, strategic impact on the market, and identifiable results as critical in the success of the materials.
We are no longer accepting entries for 2024.
Objectives
The objectives of the CAUCE Design and Marketing Awards are to:
- Encourage excellence in the design and marketing efforts of university continuing education programs and services
- Recognize member institutions and individual subscriber members for outstanding efforts
- Focus attention on the communication aspect of program planning and development
- Gain from the spirit of friendly competition inspired by the awards
Top Reasons to Enter
- Receive recognition for work well done
- Enhance your CV with a well-recognized award
- Increase awareness of your program/institution
- Gain insights from and enjoy the fun of preparing your submissions
- Champion successful design and marketing in university continuing education
- Remind your boss of why you were hired and the value you contribute
- Share your best work and inspire your peers
Learn From Your Peers and Industry Experts
The CAUCE Design and Marketing Awards Committee members act as judges and the committee is comprised of volunteers from universities across the country. These judges are either in marketing and communications or in a program development role in their respective institutions. In our continued efforts to promote best practices and high standards with the works that are selected, we may invite up to two industry experts who can complement the knowledge of the academic industry representatives as part of the final selection process.
Eligibility & Process
Applications are accepted from any member institution and individual subscriber of CAUCE. Submissions from subscriber members must be related to programs carried out in conjunction with a CAUCE member institution.
- Awards are made annually and consist of a citation.
- There is one award for each category unless the judges deem there is a tie.
- An award may not be presented in a category for which the committee deems the submissions do not merit an award.
- Where entries involve a consortium of institutions, awards are granted to the institution designated as the contact on the application form, with copies going to each participating institution.
- Where entries are from subscriber members, awards are granted to the co-sponsoring CAUCE member institution, as well as the subscriber member.
- The secretariat will notify the institutions that have submitted winning entries prior to the annual meeting and conference; they also notify the winning institutions’ presidents after the CAUCE conference. A formal announcement and presentation will be made at the annual conference during the awards luncheon presentation.
- Submissions can be entered into multiple categories, however, each submission should be written to reflect the respective award category.
- One entry per category per institution is permitted.
- For materials specific to a program, course, seminar, or event, the program must have been operating and demonstrated results within the program year: March 1, 2023 – February 28, 2024.
- Course materials and materials created for units outside of continuing education are not eligible and will not be considered.
- If the submission is a part of a series, please limit your entry to one selection from the series and attach others as supporting documentation (if desired).
- Applications that do not meet all criteria, requirements, and deadlines will not be considered for an award. The application form must be fully completed and content must adhere to the word limits where specified.
- Applications must be made in accordance with the criteria for eligibility and the restrictions noted.
- Applications, including both the form and materials, must be sent by the stated deadline.
- A separate application form must be completed for each submission.
- Background documentation and context helps judges accurately assess the merits of an entry. If available, we suggest including tracking reports, marketing research results, media coverage/clippings, photographs and artwork files of final outputs, and any other information that you deem helpful for judging your entry.
- Please limit all of your supporting materials to no more than one (1) file of two (2) 8 1/2 x 11" pages. The maximum total size for your file is 10 MB.
- If you experience difficulty uploading your file, please send us a link to access your file.
Award Categories
All design and marketing initiatives must have been created to promote and/or reinforce the key messages for the promotion of a particular course, program, department, event, the concept of continuing education and/or its services. Materials may be adjudicated online if an URL are provided.
D1. Advertising – Broadcast and Video
Includes television, video, audio and web-based broadcast productions. Audio submissions will be judged on creative direction and tone as design elements. Includes earned and paid media.
D2. Advertising - Digital, Print and Out of Home
Includes advertisements placed in digital and print channels such as social media, display, programmatic newspapers, magazines, and periodical publications (for print please include the name of the publication), and advertisements and posters that are either printed or digitized and placed using out-of-home advertising vehicles such as transit or street furniture, in public common and waiting areas, or in specific commercial locations (such as in retail venues).
D3. Publications
Includes publications of all sizes - large and small. Publications can be a large bound, booklet format or small loose pamphlets, postcards, flyers, or booklets. Publications include print and digital formats and distribution methods.
M1. Digital Advertising
Digital display or pay-per-click advertisements including paid social media marketing, rich media and video advertising accessed through the Internet by computers or mobile devices. Success may be measured by click-through-rates, referrals, usability, and repeat visits and/or conversions.
M2. Email Marketing
This includes communications distributed via text-based or HTML emails including e-newsletters, e-magazines, and email campaigns. Must be digital initiatives that are either owned by the continuing education unit or owned by another party but with content dedicated to the continuing education unit (e.g., a sponsored dedicated email campaign distributed through a third-party; ads or partial content contributions to third-party emails will not be considered).
M3. Marketing Campaign Large (Budget over $5,000.00)
This category recognizes consistent, well-integrated marketing communication campaigns for a continuing education unit, program, conference, public relations/community and/or media relations events.
It demonstrates a multi-disciplinary, concerted effort that demonstrates that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Entries must include a minimum of three executions from the following: advertising, communications initiatives, email marketing, printed publications, display ads, social media, videos, websites and collateral materials such as displays, packaging, gifts, and other materials that support the marketing campaign.
Entries should focus on how these executions worked together in one synergistic campaign to accomplish the overall objectives.
M4. Marketing Campaign Medium (Budget between $1.00 - $5,000.00)
Marketing doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money. This category recognizes innovative and inexpensive ways to market to external audiences within a moderate budget range of $1.00 to $5,000.
The category can include strategies that effectively use a variety of mediums that can include but not limited to social media, digital display ads and print to build or maintain brand, market share, and/or facilitate conversations with the target audience while attaining marketing objectives. Please include the cost of the campaign if any were incurred.
M5. Marketing Campaign (No Budget/Unpaid)
For marketing to be successful you don’t have to spend money. This category recognizes inventive and effective ways to market to external audiences without a budget.
The category can include methods that successfully utilize social media, digital and print media to build or maintain brand awareness, market share, and/or engage in conversations with a target audience while achieving marketing goals.
M6. Website
Developed for a continuing education unit, program or event (e.g., conference), or thematic group of programs (e.g., all business programs). Development may include all or some of the following aspects of a brand new or refreshed website: content (not just copy, but the imagery, music, sound, animation, or video), structure and navigation, visual design, functionality, responsive design across mobile devices, and overall experience. Sites will be adjudicated online; please provide URLs.
M7. Internal Communications
This category recognizes effective internal communications circulated among participants within an organization. This category highlights the successful producing and delivering of communications on behalf of management to raise awareness on an issue, event or occasion as well as facilitating a dialogue with the people who make us the organization. Internal communications delivery methods can include but are not limited to print, digital, website, video and email communications.
Judges reserve the right to re-assign submissions to the most appropriate category and to disqualify entries that are not prepared according to instructions.
Evaluation criteria for Design awards differ from evaluation criteria for Marketing awards. Be sure to review the descriptions
Consult the Judging Rubric for how judges will review the submissions in each category.
How to Enter
We are no longer accepting entries for 2024.
Tips for Submitting
To help you with your award submissions, here are some tips to help you:
- Carefully read each category and choose the category that your submission best fits under. Ensure your campaign or its results took place in the eligible period.
- Consult the Judging Rubric for how judges will review the submissions in each category. Hit on the high points that are noted in the judging criteria of your category.
- Follow all guidelines and answer all submission form information that is requested on the submission forms.
- Clearly outline your objectives/strategic direction and target audience. Include relevant research that contributed to the planning. Demonstrate how your project was innovative, unique, or original.
- Include metrics and results enrolment, impression numbers, click through rates, number of leads generated. Be sure to keep this portion clear and concise.
- Know your audience, write in a voice that is engaging and compelling, and easy to understand. Avoid technical jargon or fluff and stick to the word count limit for the category.
- Include supportive materials that could include marketing materials to back up your submission or results and ROI that led to why your project was a success.
- Take some time to consider how to present your supportive materials. The branding and layout of any visual communication can help sell your entry. Perhaps have only one supporting document that is visually engaging and easy for judges to review. Make the supportive material logical – show the flow of the work so that the judges don’t need to dig to find out if you have met the criteria in the judging rubric. If you need a little inspiration, check out this sample submission to get your creative juices flowing.
- Collaborate. Share drafts of the submission with team members or others that participated in your submission. People close to the project may have valuable insights. A fresh set of eyes is always a valuable tool.
Our Award Winners
Design Stream
WINNER – ADVERTISING–BROADCAST AND VIDEO
Professional and Continuing Studies, Brock University
Build with Brock University - Professional and Continuing Studies
WINNER – DIGITAL AND PRINT ADVERTISING/OUT–OF–HOME
University of Calgary Continuing Education
University of Calgary Continuing Education
WINNER – PUBLICATIONS
University of Calgary Continuing Education
University of Calgary Publication
WINNER – BEST IN SHOW
Professional and Continuing Studies, Brock University
Build with Brock University - Professional and Continuing Studies
Marketing Stream
WINNER – DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Continuing Education, McMaster University
Fast-Track your Career Video Series
WINNER – EMAIL MARKETING
Continuing Education, McMaster University
Email Marketing With Intention
WINNER – MARKETING CAMPAIGN LARGE (budget over $5,000)
The G. Raymond Change School of Continuing Education, Toronto Metropolitan University
You're Built to Learn. We're Built For You.
WINNER – MARKETING CAMPAIGN MEDIUM (budget between $1 and $5,000)
WatSPEED, University of Waterloo
Pioneering Throught Leadership in Executive Education at the University of Waterloo
WINNER – MARKETING CAMPAIGN (no budget/unpaid)
Continuing Education, University of Windsor
Pioneering Throught Leadership in Executive Education at the University of Waterloo
WINNER – WEBSITE
WatSPEED, University of Waterloo
Redefining WatSPEED's Web Landscape
WINNER – EMAIL MARKETING
Continuing Education, McMaster University
McMaster Continuing Education - Marketing Minute Newsletter
WINNER – BEST IN SHOW
Continuing Education, McMaster University
Email Marketing With Intention
Design Stream
WINNER – ADVERTISING–BROADCAST AND VIDEO
Continuing Education, McMaster University
Student Stories Video Series
WINNER – DIGITAL AND PRINT ADVERTISING/OUT–OF–HOME
Open Learning and Educational Support (OpenEd), University of Guelph
Dear PSW
WINNER – PUBLICATIONS
Centre for Continuing Education, University of Regina
NEXT Magazine
WINNER – BEST IN SHOW
Open Learning and Educational Support (OpenEd), University of Guelph
Dear PSW
Marketing Stream
WINNER – DIGITAL ADVERTISING
WatSPEED, University of Waterloo
Modern Data Literacy Promotion
WINNER – EMAIL MARKETING
WatSPEED, University of Waterloo
Nurturing interest in big data: WatSPEED’s online Data Science program (Email campaign, fall 2022)
WINNER – MARKETING CAMPAIGN LARGE (Budget over $5,000)
Continuing Education, McMaster University
2022-2023 Annual Marketing Campaign
WINNER – MARKETING CAMPAIGN MEDIUM (budget between $1 and $5,000)
Continuing Education, McMaster University
McMaster Continuing Education Virtual Graduation Campaign
WINNER – WEBSITE
Continuing Education, McMaster University
New McMaster University Continuing Education Website
WINNER – BEST IN SHOW
Continuing Education, McMaster University
2022-2023 Annual Marketing Campaign
Design Stream
WINNER – D1. ADVERTISING–BROADCAST AND VIDEO
Ryerson University, The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education
Fall 2021 Repositioning/Recruitment Campaign: Meet The Right People
WINNER – D2. DIGITAL AND PRINT ADVERTISING/OUT–OF–HOME
University of New Brunswick, College of Extended Learning
UNB Is Here - Certificate in Psychologically Safe Leadership magazing ad
WINNER – D3. PUBLICATIONS
University of Calgary Continuing Education
University of Calgary Publication
Marketing Stream
WINNER – M1. DIGITAL ADVERTISING
Extended Learning, University of British Columbia
UBC Certificate in Biomedical Visualization and Communication - January 2022 Cohort
WINNER – M2. EMAIL MARKETING
McMaster University, Continuing Education
McMaster University Continuing Education - Email Drip Campaigns
WINNER – M3. MARKETING CAMPAIGN LARGE
PowerEd™ Athabasca University
The Uplift: Creating a Valued Learning Community
WINNER – M4. MARKETING CAMPAIGN MEDIUM
OCAD University, School of Continuing Studies
Meet Students and Instructors from Continuing Studies!
Student and Instructor Promotional Videos, 2021
WINNER – M5. MARKETING CAMPAIGN (NO BUDGET/UNPAID)
University of Calgary Continuing Education
Virtual Graduation Ceremony
WINNER – M6. WEBSITE
Simon Fraser University Lifelong Learning
New Website for SFU Continuing Studies
WINNER – M7. INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS (NEW)
University of Calgary Continuing Education
University of Calgary ContEd Express
Design Stream
WINNER – D1. ADVERTISING–BROADCAST AND VIDEO
University of Calgary Continuing Education
UCalgary Online Learning Video
WINNER – D2. DIGITAL AND PRINT ADVERTISING/OUT–OF–HOME
School of Continuing Studies, York University
Professional Programs Display Ads
WINNERS – D3. PRINT PUBLICATIONS (LARGE)
Strategic Communications and Marketing, University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
A Unique Microsite to Tell Our SCS Story
WINNERS – D4. PRINT PUBLICATIONS (SMALL)
School of Continuing Studies, York University
School of Continuing Studies 2019-2020 Annual Report
Marketing Stream
WINNER – M1. ADVERTISING - ONLINE (PAID)
Extended Learning, University of British Columbia
Fall Acquisition Campaign - UBC Certificate in Organizational Coaching
WINNER – M2. EMAIL MARKETING
University of Calgary Continuing Education
UCalgary Personalized Certificate Campaign
WINNER – M3. MARKETING CAMPAIGN (budget over $1000)
MarComm, The Chang School of Continuing Education, Ryerson University
Spring/Summer 2020 Advertising Campaign: This way forward
WINNER – M4. MARKETING CAMPAIGN (unpaid/budget under $1000)
Strategic Communications and Marketing, University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
Engaging Adult Learners Through the UofT SCS Knowledge Hub
WINNERS – M5. WEBSITE
Marketing and Strategic Insights, University of Alberta Faculty of Extension
U of A Faculty of Extension Website: Powering New Pathways