News Article

CNA wins three more awards


6/23/2009 3:40:39 PM


Nanuk’s Notebook and the college’s Facebook Page each took home Silver Awards of Distinction from the 15th Annual Communicator Awards. This is the second year in a row that the college has taken home a win from this international competition.

College of the North Atlantic has been recognized with two Silver Awards of Distinction from the 15th Annual Communicator Awards. The wins recognize the college’s Facebook Page and Nanuk’s Notebook.

This is the second time CNA has entered and won awards from this competition and
Stephen Lee, CNA’s manager of marketing and communications, says it is an honour for the college to be recognized once again.

"This year we rolled out our social media strategy and two of the major components of the campaign are Nanuk’s Notebook and our Facebook Page," says Lee. "I'm very proud of the award-winning team we have in the Marketing and Communications department here at College of the North Atlantic.”

The 15th Annual Communicator Awards received over 7,000 entries from across the US and around the world and honors the creative excellence of communications professionals.

Corinne Dunne, the college’s vice-president of Development and College Advancement, oversees the college’s marketing efforts; says she’s extremely proud of the accomplishments of the marketing and communications department.

“This award is very well deserved,” says Dunne. “Our marketing and communications team continues to make us proud with their exceptional work and these awards show that external organizations obviously feel the same way about the quality. Our social media strategy builds on the college’s commitment to stay fresh with new ideas and trends and to utilize new technologies. CNA is still relatively new to using social media and I think it is fabulous that we have received international recognition for our ground-breaking work.”

The Communicator Awards are judged and overseen by the International Academy of the
Visual Arts (IAVA), an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a who's who of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms.

“The quality, creativity and execution of this year’s work is a true testament to the talents and abilities of communications professionals from around the world. The entries received reflect an increasingly diversified industry and the work once again sets the bar extremely high,” noted Linda Day, director of the IAVA.

She added, “On behalf of the entire Academy, we are honored to have once again judged the 15th Annual Communicator Awards and we are proud to honor the outstanding communications professionals who continue to push a high standard of excellence.”

Mascot re-launch takes IABC award

The re-launch of CNA’s polar bear mascot, Nanuk, has received an award from the International Association of Business Communicators.

The college took home an Award of Distinction from the Pinnacle Awards on June 4 in St. John’s. The win was for the planning of the re-launch which consisted of a radio campaign, local campus contests, and official unveiling at the Herder Finals hockey game on March 29, 2008.

“The college had three goals with the re-launch,” says Lee, “To highlight the fun, friendly face of CNA using the mascot; to build on the sense of community at CNA; and to create awareness that CNA has a mascot.”

He says the college managed to exceed these expectations.

“We also wanted to create school spirit and an emotional attachment to our mascot – we did this by using a friendly looking version of a popular figure in Newfoundland and Labrador culture, the polar bear. In addition, we were able to emphasize key messaging during the Mile One Stadium event to create awareness of college programming.”

“There was so much enthusiasm and support in making Nanuk’s re-launch a tremendous evening,” adds Dunne. “This event encompassed many activities – from an information booth set up in the lobby of Mile One Stadium, to the staff and students who attended.”

She says CNA garnered fabulous exposure throughout the night as there were over 4,000 fans at the Herder – an ideal target audience for the college’s promotion.

“This event really shows how enthusiastic our staff are to make CNA a fun place for students to attend and events such as Nanuk’s re-launch go a long way towards that. Our team did an outstanding job and Nanuk was a big hit! This was recognized even further with our Pinnacle Award win.”

Neil Moores, Student Development Officer at Prince Philip Drive campus, says the crowd reaction to our seven foot tall mascot was unreal.

“Nanuk was walking around the stadium visiting the different sections, and people were very enthusiastic – especially the children,” says Moores. “He was seen as a friendly mascot and not one to be afraid of or stay away from. Children were approaching us to have their photos taken with Nanuk or to get his autograph.”

He feels overall, Nanuk was well received.

“Considering we had limited resources, we walked away with big results. We were able to reach some people who may not have thought of us as an option for post secondary education – for them it was a reminder that CNA does exist and we do support the community,” he continues.

“It was great publicity for Nanuk and the college as a whole. It really couldn’t have been gone any better – it was a community event, encompassing many facets of the college.”

Wayne Loveless, a professional mascot hired for the event, says he was impressed with the planning for the event.

“As a professional mascot I had to admit that the Herder game/Nanuk re-launch was one of the best events I have ever attended. The staff from CNA attending the event… showed me that they wanted to get the most from their character,” says Loveless.

“It was one of the few events that I walked away from proud to have been a part of and I am confident that CNA will continue to build upon the momentum of that day and promote Nanuk with the same enthusiasm and drive as I had seen during the event.”

Overall, the college has considered the re-launch a huge success based on the number of people in attendance, the messages conveyed to those in attendance, and the overall crowd reaction to Nanuk.

“The Pinnacle Award win is just the icing on the cake for a wonderful event,” concludes Lee.

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For more information contact:
Roger Hulan
Communications Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
(709) 643-7938
Roger.Hulan@cna.nl.ca