WASHINGTON – The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has selected the Howard University Office of University Communications (OUC) as a 2020 Bronze Anvil Award Winner in the Twitter Engagement Category. This is the first Bronze Anvil win for the department, which is awarded for the team’s work on the “Howard University Homecoming 2019: Howard Forward” campaign. Last year, OUC won the Award of Commendation (runner-up) in the same category.
“The PRSA Bronze Anvil is one of the premiere awards of the public relations industry and it is an honor to be recognized by our peers,” said Alonda Thomas, Howard University Director of Public Relations. “This award-winning campaign is a direct result of the collaborative Homecoming planning efforts from the entire Office of University Communications staff and visionary leadership of the Office of the President, Development and Alumni Relations, and Events and Protocol.”
The PRSA Bronze Anvil Awards program recognizes and honors the very best public relations tactics executed each year. This year’s competition drew a total of 322 entries. Of those, only 37 organizations were selected by the judges as Bronze Anvil winners. This demonstrates the high standards applied by the judges in their evaluation process.
“The Howard University community joins me in extending our heartfelt congratulations to the Office of University Communications on this outstanding accomplishment and recognition for their work,” said President Wayne A. I. Frederick. “I’d like to thank the entire unit for constantly pushing the envelope to promote our institution in strategic and creative ways.”
Howard University’s Homecoming has been celebrated in pop culture by notable Hip Hop celebrities such as Notorious B.I.G., Ludacris and the Lox. Howard’s challenge in 2019 was to utilize the attention to not only host a memorable occasion, but to spotlight the great work occurring on campus as the institution prepares scholars to live a life of service and purpose.
The Office of University Communications developed a communications campaign which utilized Twitter engagement to spotlight the festivities and the great work occurring on campus through the new strategic plan, “Howard Forward: 2024.” The strategic plan outlines the University’s vision to advance the institution’s mission over the next five years. As the Bison community returned to 
campus, Homecoming presented an opportunity to leverage Howard’s twitter platform for entertainment and infotainment promotion. The 2019 Howard Homecoming theme, “Forward,” was a creative play on words connected to the strategic plan. OUC’s social media campaign was conducted Sept. 13 – Oct. 19, 2019.
The social media team designed a campaign to highlight the nine days filled with Homecoming festivities. Staple events like the International Yardfest and the Homecoming Football Game typically garner most of the hype and digital engagement, so increased efforts were placed on amplifying events that focused on the 5 pillars of the strategic plan: to enhance academic excellence, inspire new knowledge, serve the community, improve efficiency and effectiveness and achieve financial sustainability.
As the ultimate compliment to the entire communications campaign, in February 2020 the Howard University Homecoming celebration was recognized by Google as the “most searched homecoming” in the country. Howard University was also noted as the most searched historically black college or university.
For more than 45 years, PRSA's Bronze Anvil Awards have recognized the best of the best in public relations tactics — the use of social media, video, blogs, podcasts, annual reports, digital newsletters, websites — that contribute to the success of overall programs or campaigns. Judging is performed across the United States by teams of PRSA members and others with expertise in the specific categories.
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About Howard University
Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.
