Communications & Marketing is thrilled to host the inaugural Summer Summit on Tuesday, Aug. 2 and Wednesday, Aug. 3. 

This year's theme is "Amplify & Engage." Join us, live and in person in the Jaguar Student Activities Center to learn new approaches to strategizing and connecting with those that make our university like no other. 
 
summer summit logo
 
The packed program will feature innovative, insightful industry-specific sessions, notable speakers, outstanding case studies and valuable in-person networking.
 
Don’t miss out on the C&M's inaugural Summer Summit: Amplify & Engage!

Contact Us

Raysean Ricks

Health Sciences Campus

G. Lombard Kelly Building

rricks@augusta.edu

Benefits of Attending

The Summer Summit is a valuable investment in you and your respective college or unit. Through the summit you will have a tremendous opportunity to:

  • Receive practical training in key concepts and review best practices and trends for the communications and marketing field .  
  • Gain a deeper understanding of how communications and marketing plays an integral role at an institution.
  • Develop practical strategies that will improve and advance your communications and marketing initiatives.
  • Discuss the ever-changing landscape of communications and marketing metrics and ROI.
  • The opportunity to make valuable connections with peers who you can call upon throughout your career.

 

Who Should Attend

1. Marketing and communication professionals responsible for the university brand position
2. Professionals new to the field of communications and marketing
3. Experienced professionals with new communications and marketing responsibilities
4. Experienced communications and marketing professionals who are new to higher education
5. Campus leaders and anyone who wants to better understand communications, marketing and multimedia fundamentals

This conference is designed for all professionals on campus with any communications and marketing responsibilities as well as those interested in learning more about our division.

Learning Objectives

After attending, you will be able to:
 
  • Identify creative ideas and innovative techniques that will set you apart while upholding the university's brand.
  • Develop a process to align resources to achieve brand awareness and preference across your institution or within your college or school unit.
  • Demonstrate effective strategies to champion your department chair, vice president, dean and other campus leaders.
  • Prioritize operational effectiveness to better structure your marketing/communication function.
  • Analyze data-driven insights to inform institutional brand and communication strategy and reputation.

Program Schedule

Day One

Tuesday, Aug. 2

10 a.m. Welcome

(Williams Ballroom, JSAC)

11 a.m. State of the Division Address

The Communications & Marketing leadership team will review the past year and share what's ahead for the upcoming year! 

12 p.m. Lunch (on your own)

1 p.m. Breakout Session I

The art of storytelling

Stacey Eidson

Butler Meeting Room, JSAC

What makes a story great?  What makes someone a good storyteller?  Storytelling is something we all do naturally, starting at a young age, but there’s a difference between good storytelling and great storytelling. Come learn how to tell the stories of your office in the best way.

Building your brand

Taylor Lamb & Alison Rohdy

Hardy Meeting Room, JSAC

Sometimes choosing a vendor is as simple as asking a friend who they use in their business. Other times you need to go through a formal selection process. This session will share recommended university vendors and how to go about finding the best vendor for all your marketing needs.

Turning your media pitch into a homerun

Kevin Faigle

Coffeehouse Meeting Room, JSAC

Are you having trouble getting your ideas for the media on the scoreboard? Join Kevin Faigle, media relations specialist, how to give the best pitch to get media attention. This detailed session will show you all the bases to get your ideas sliding into home!

Lights, Camera, Action: Film and camera shooting

Art Berger, Andrew Everett and Tim Johnson

Williams Ballroom, JSAC

Most emerging media trends are revolving around video content. Come learn from the Communications & Marketing multimedia team on how to collaborate with them to create compelling video content.

2 p.m. Breakout Session II

The seven deadly sins of social media

Elizabeth Canas

Coffeehouse Meeting Room, JSAC

In the world of social media, is your social media a force for good? Or are you going to turn to the dark side - ruining your chances and infuriating those who cross your path? Join Elizabeth Canas, communications and marketing strategist to learn the universal principles of social media.

Overcoming Obstacles: A roadmap to collaborating with challenging personalities

Danielle Harris

Hardy Meeting Room, JSAC

Collaborating and compromising can feel difficult when you're the one of the only communications experts in your office. Learn habits and goal-oriented strategies of how to work with others – even when they don't know how to work with you.

Applying anti-racist practices to your communications

Heather Henley

Butler Meeting Room, JSAC

Are your sure that your communications strategies are inclusive? Equally important to understanding what language to avoid within anti-racist communications is understanding the narrative that we want to create. Discover how you can develop a narrative that lives up the university's core value of inclusivity.

A Case Study: Augusta Gives: Back to the Future

Andrew Everett & Tim Johnson

Williams Ballroom, JSAC

Discover the behind the scenes of the short film titled Augusta Gives: Back to the Future. created to support the university’s inaugural giving day, Augusta Gives. The six-minute video won a silver Telly Award in the non-broadcast fundraising category. Find out what it takes to create video content to support a university campaign.

Day Two

Wednesday, Aug. 3

10 a.m. Keynote Speaker

(Williams Ballroom, JSAC)

11 a.m. Know Your News (Media Panel)

Join Kevin Faigle, media relations specialist, as he moderates the panel of some of Augusta's top multimedia journalists.

12 p.m. Lunch (on your own)

1 p.m. Breakout Session III

From Not to Hot: How to make better graphics

Sergio Gallardo

Coffeehouse Meeting Room, JSAC

Whether you’re creating videos for social media or designing invitations for an upcoming event, the application of graphic design is vast and versatile. Attend to get a better understanding and applying on the basic principles of graphic design.

Creating communications strategy for big initiatives

Paige Fowler

Butler Meeting Room, JSAC

When your unit has a new project — whether it’s a large event or the launch of a high-impact program — the communications and marketing needs can feel overwhelming. Find out how to use the university's most efficient and effective communication tools.

Using analytics as your secret weapon

Lacey Oellerich

Hardy Meeting Room, JSAC

Are you falling victim to a data avalanche? Or do you feel completely lost when looking at an analytics report? Come learn more about data literacy, where to find the best data, and how you can begin making better data-driven decisions.

2 p.m. Breakout Session IV

The power of podcasting

David Bash

Hardy Meeting Room, JSAC

Podcasts provide an escape, a touchpoint with the world outside, and a sense of community—and not just for the listeners. Join David Bash, co-host and co-creator of DropTheDis, to learn how you can use podcasting as another marketing tool in your toolbox.

Too many birds, one stone: How to turn one idea into several types of content

Milledge Austin

Coffeehouse Meeting Room, JSAC

What if we told you that one big idea can supply the topics of all your communications and marketing content for the next few months and that you don’t need to stress every time you need content created? This session will show you step-by-step tactics to make sure your ideas can soar.

"What? Like, it's hard?": Creating a newsletter your audience will actually read

Rachel Robbins

Butler Meeting Room, JSAC

How confident are you that your emails are hitting –and reaching – their mark? What is the least effective subject line? When is the best time to send an email? How do you measure a campaign's success when it doesn't ask for dollars? This practical how-to session will give an efficient and easy-to-remember run down of industry best practices for email campaign creation. It will cover everything from design layout, engaging content, text formatting, calls-to-action and more, while also teaching how to best measure how well a campaign engaged with its audience.

Photos 101: Editing, shooting and more

Michael Holahan

Williams Ballroom, JSAC

We all enjoy taking photos of the things we love, but what happens when issues such as poor lighting, contrast issues, or dull colors ruin the moments we want to cherish? Or what can you do when there's a photo-op, but you don't have access to the best equipment? Join award-winning photographer Michael Holahan. as he shows practical ways to capture the best photos in this engaging workshop.

 

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