Silver Anvil Case Study 2015: Carnegie Mellon University Named First, Exclusive Higher Education Partner of the Tony Awards
Despite its status as a global research university with world-class programs spanning the humanities, engineering and computer science, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) struggled with brand association related to its unique value proposition of arts and technology education.Leveraging the centennial of its School of Drama, CMU and long-time agency partner Hornercom recognized that the internationally renowned Tony Awards represented an ideal opportunity to promote CMU’s connection to the arts — and research into their alumni network revealed that more than 30 had won Tony Awards and hundreds were past nominees.Met with the special challenge of having less than eight weeks to launch and execute the campaign, CMU outlined 6 core objectives:
- Present their “intersection of art and technology” brand to yield high-potential donors.
- Generate worldwide media exposure for their School of Drama, its value proposition and its centennial.
- Create opportunities for new donor interaction and donor re-engagement.
- Provide an opportunity for alumni to proactively embrace and support.
- Create opportunities for current faculty and students.
- Establish head-turning brand associations for their School of Drama with other premier entertainment thought leaders, institutions and icons.
Making The ConnectionIn collaboration with CMU’s College of Fine Arts (CFA) and University Advancement, Hornercom researched, defined and secured the opportunity for CMU to become the first exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards, presenting the first ever “Excellence in Theatre Education Award.” The partnership was unveiled in a national and international news release and social media campaign that was launched the day before the 2014 Tony Award nominees were announced. To reinforce the CMU brand with a global audience, the university negotiated two 30-second TV spots that would air during the Tony Awards broadcast. The commercial spoke to CMU’s cross-disciplinary leadership in the arts and sciences and was narrated by alumnus, Tony winner and “Kinky Boots” star, Billy Porter. CMU also arranged two on-stage moments during the Tony Awards to commemorate its School of Drama centennial and preview the upcoming “Excellence in Theatre Education Award.” The first moment was to occur during the Creative Arts Awards, which took place pre-broadcast. Dan Martin, Dean of the College of Fine Arts; Paula Wagner, CMU alumna, Board of Trustees member; and Porter spoke to 6,000+ audience members to reinforce CMU’s leadership in theater education. The second was scheduled during the live CBS Network Tony Awards broadcast, when CMU alumni Zachary Quinto and Matt Bomer announced that CMU and the Tony Awards would co-create the first “Excellence in Theatre Education Award” to recognize K-12 arts educators nationwide. Showtime On awards night, CMU used press kits and branded signage to reinforce its partnership for 200 national and global news outlets. The university also deployed a team of “CMU Correspondents,” including a videographer, photographer and interviewer to capture alumni winners.Ratings from the star-studded ceremony showed that 7,000,000 people in seven countries tuned in to watch the primetime broadcast on CBS television — and strategic media outreach resulted in more than 100,000,000 branded media impressions and over 1,000 print, online and broadcast stories about CMU’s new affiliation with the Tony Awards. The overall success of this campaign resulted in a dramatic shift in how the University was perceived as evidenced by word cloud research which included “proud,” “exclusive,” “arts,” “science” and “educator,” among others.Additional Results:
- Media highlights included: CBS national broadcast, USA Today, Huffington Post, International Business Times, Variety, Playbill, Broadway.com and Broadway World. Fans around the world made the connection over social media—reaching more than 9.3 million on Twitter, increasing CMU followers on Facebook and Twitter by 6.3% and 4.4% respectively, and earning 20,000+ views of CMU’s TV commercial on YouTube.
- n its inaugural year, the donor relations team set a goal to sell 10 Tony Experience VIP packages. Even with a very short window for marketing and execution, the team was able to secure nine packages—generating $86,000 to help offset costs of the Tony partnership.
- Friends and fans of CMU from all over the world were quick to send messages of “thanks” and “bravo.” Alumna and Tony winner Judith Light volunteered to serve on the committee for the “Excellence in Theatre Education Award” and Pennsylvania Congressman Keith Rothfus shared a “congrats” and CMU’s press release on his Facebook page.
- Faculty and students shared and celebrated CMU success in person, in writing and via social media.
- As a result of this successful campaign, The Tony Awards, arts education and Carnegie Mellon University were securely linked by the “Excellence in Theatre Education Award.”
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