Recipients of the inaugural C3 Summit Awards include (from left) Cole Russell, Design Award; Tina Hahn, Communicator of the Year Award; and Webb Lewis, Collaborations and Partnerships Award. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
OXFORD, Miss. – Behind each student, faculty and staff member at the University of Mississippi, there’s a story waiting to be told. The university’s marketing and communications professionals across the campus spent time last week learning how to share those stories with the world.
University Marketing and Communications hosted the first C3 Communications Summit, bringing together nearly 100 participants from the colleges, schools and departments across campus that take on the shared responsibility of telling the university’s story through marketing and communication efforts.
The conference, Aug. 14 at The Inn at Ole Miss, provided a day of communicating, creating and collaborating with a variety of speakers from higher education and other industries throughout the daylong event.
“People are connecting in ever-changing ways with each other and the brands that matter to them,” said Jim Zook, UM chief marketing and communications officer. “As a network of communications professionals, we must always strive to create new ways of storytelling that will deliver the university’s story to every audience we need to reach, and to do so in a way that matters to them.”
Four awards were presented to Ole Miss communicators who were nominated by their peers for the first C3 Summit Awards, spotlighting some of the top work produced across campus.
Award recipients were:
- Michael Newsom, University Marketing and Communications – Storytelling Award
- Webb Lewis, University Marketing and Communications – Collaborations and Partnerships Award
- Cole Russell, University Marketing and Communications – Design Award
- Tina Hahn, University Development – Communicator of the Year Award
Hahn, director of communications for University Development, was described by a nominator as someone who “consistently seeks to partner with other communication and marketing professionals across campus to better the institution.”
“Ole Miss is where it is today because of the tremendous service of students, faculty, staff, alumni and others,” Hahn said. “To be part of this legacy of service is such an important part of my life; to be recognized for it is the ‘icing on the cake.'”
For Lewis, a digital content specialist with University Marketing and Communications, the award reinforced the work he and his peers are doing, he said.
“This beautiful campus is filled with extraordinary people,” he said. “The more we can partner together to create content, the better.”
Natasha Gregoire, managing director of communications for FedEx Freight, delivered the keynote address during the first C3 Communications Summit at the University of Mississippi. The event brought together more than 100 professionals from across and beyond the Oxford campus. Photo by Kevin Bain, Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Natasha Gregoire, managing director of communications in culture and change management at FedEx Freight, delivered the keynote address and spoke about the power of storytelling; specifically, how FedEx works to tell stories that connect people across the globe.
During her address, Gregoire – an Ole Miss alumna and Hall of Fame member – shared her personal story of learning and growing during her time on campus and encouraged conference participants to realize the potential of the powerful stories around them.
“This is not just a university,” she said. “Dreams are made here.”
The day also included morning and afternoon panel discussions. Rod Guajardo, associate director of strategic communications, moderated a morning panel discussion featuring representatives from Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WTVA-9 News in Tupelo, WMC-5 News in Memphis and the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
Desare Frazier, Mississippi Public Radio, takes questions during a panel discussion at the C3 Summit. Other media representatives on the panel were, from left, Allie Herrera, reporter for WMC-TV Action News 5 in Memphis; Elizabeth Walters, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal; and Craig Ford, WTVA-TV News in Tupelo. Photo by Kevin Bain, Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Lewis moderated an afternoon panel featuring representatives from FedEx, Texas A&M University and Waffle Records, a subsidiary of Waffle House Inc.
The discussion was followed by six “lighting round” presentations, moderated by Ryan Whittington, director of marketing and brand strategy. Topics included fundraising, Google analytics, empowering student athletes, social media accessibility and creating engaging social media content.
Other presenters and their topics included Bill Faust, senior partner and chief strategy officer for Ologie, who discussed “The Truth About Generation Z”; Krista Berend, director of social media at Texas A&M, who addressed “Beyond Events and News Releases: Content Creation for Social Media”; and Jim Beaugez, APR marketing specialist for C Spire, who mused on “Channeling Hemingway: Write Drunk, Edit Sober.”