ALMA — Alma College’s new website and brand platform, refreshed earlier this year by a collaborative team of marketing and web design experts, college students, staff and faculty, has secured two prestigious industry awards.
Alma received a Gold award at the HMR Publications Group’s 11th Annual Educational Digital Marketing Awards. The event recognizes excellence in educational websites, digital content, electronic communications, mobile media and social media.
Alma has also been honored with a Gold Award at the 19th annual Davey Awards, sanctioned and judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of professionals from media, advertising and marketing firms.
“We are honored and privileged to see Alma College’s new website and brand platform honored by these prestigious organizations,” said President Jeff Abernathy. “We believe these awards speak to the quality of the many improvements that have been made over the course of the year in our marketing and communications, which will help broadcast the good news of Alma College to more people than ever before. There is so much to be proud of here.”
Alma’s new branding includes a refreshed color palette, typography, patterns, graphics and more. It is being deployed across all of the college’s many platforms; including on-campus signage, merchandise, print publications, social media and the website.
The website includes a multitude of new features; including capacity for high-resolution images and video, a mobile-friendly display for seamless viewing on different media devices and a “Program Finder” quiz that allows prospective students to be matched with their ideal academic programs. Accessibility has been improved by creating a high contrast between text and background colors and color combinations that are easy to distinguish for users with various types of color vision impairments
The college contracted with Ologie, an Ohio-based advertising agency, to help coordinate the refresh effort, and used extensive market research with all of Alma’s audiences to inform its efforts. A team of staff, students and faculty from across multiple disciplines served on an advisory committee to oversee the project, which took roughly 18 months from start to finish.
“I’m so proud of the collaborative team that joined the Scots community to produce this outstanding new website and brand platform,” said Melinda Booth, vice president for communication and marketing. “Our goal throughout this process has always been to draw people in and show them how Alma prepares graduates who think critically, serve generously, lead purposefully and live responsibly. We are pleased to share the stories that make us Alma College in new and effective ways.”