VALDOSTA — Wiregrass Georgia Technical College was named among the top in the nation in the 2020 Collegiate Advertising program. 

The Collegiate Advertising Awards recognizes higher education organizations for excellence in communications, marketing, advertising and promotions of their schools, college officials said in a statement.

The 2020 CAA program had entries from the United States and Canada representing small community colleges all the way up to large colleges and universities. Submissions were reviewed by a national panel of industry experts on a rubric with the possibility of 100 points total. Participant’s entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their specific groups and categories, college officials said.

Wiregrass marketing and public relations team received a gold award for a commercial titled, “Local Heroes,” under the TV/video advertising/PSA-single category. The college was one of five colleges in the nation to receive an award for the TV/Video category.

The team also received a silver award for an ad titled, “Are you ready to be a hero?” in the magazine advertising- single category. Wiregrass was among two colleges awarded a silver award in this category.

“When the pandemic sent everyone home last year, Wiregrass’ marketing strategy that was being used the week prior ended immediately,” said Lydia Hubert, Wiregrass director of marketing and public relations. “We had to re-think our messages and look at where our audience’s thoughts were at that moment.” 

During that time the college noticed the essential workers such as nurses, radiology technicians and paramedics continued working and keeping others safe and well were Wiregrass graduates, college officials said. 

Manufacturing needs increased requiring the skills of many Wiregrass graduates in the fields of welding, mechatronics and precision machining. 

“This thought process birthed the idea to team up once again with Wiregrass graduates Glenn Boswell and T.J. Taylor who own Motion Wave Production LLC, a video production company from Valdosta, to produce a 30-second video conveying the local heroes and essential workers as proud Wiregrass Tech graduates,” college officials said. 

The video was used on the college’s social media accounts as well as a TV commercial and was titled, “Local Heroes.”

The hero theme continued as the college designed a full-page ad for the Lowndes County School System’s “One Lowndes” annual magazine. Paige Duckworth, Wiregrass graphic design specialist, created a colorful super hero ad challenging parents and students to consider enrolling in the college’s dual-enrollment classes.

Awards were issued for entries that received top marks from judges placing them in the top 5% of the nation for advertising excellence. Judging criteria included creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

Representing all areas of communications, media, marketing, advertising and promotions, the 2020 Collegiate Advertising Awards program showcased the nation’s best advertising projects. 

“Collegiate Advertising Awards is pleased to recognize the outstanding creative achievements of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College,” organizers said in a statement. “The marketing and public relations team at Wiregrass are Paige Duckworth, graphic design specialist; Steven Sauls, webmaster; and Lydia Hubert, director of marketing and public relations.”

All winners are posted on the Collegiate Advertising Awards website at www.collegiateadawards.com. 

The college is accepting new students for summer or fall semester. Summer classes start May 19. To learn more about what’s required or apply, visit the college website at www.wiregrass.edu. 

To view the winning commercials and new commercials since produced by Motion Wave Productions, visit the college’s You Tube page at Wiregrass GA Tech.