5 brilliant alumni marketing and communications examples
These alumni marketing comms examples will get the ideas flowing for your next fundraising campaign, outreach activity, or alumni network success story.
by Ben Ice
by Ben Ice
Higher education institutions or dedicated alumni community associations must ensure their marketing and communication efforts are engaging enough not to be missed or ignored.
Great storytelling can help alumni marketing and comms play an important role in broader higher education marketing, keep alumni audiences engaged and connected, and be the perfect way to promote alumni events, fundraisers, and other initiatives.
The examples in this article include digital magazines, retrospectives, donor comms reports, and more. Each has found a way to be creative and engaging in reaching out to its desired audience.
The retrospective
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
'Boilers in the boat', Purdue Alumnus magazine.
Proud histories are an important part of a university’s brand, and sharing stories of student achievements over the years is a great way to capture engagement today.
‘Boilers in the boat’, an article in the Purdue Alumnus alumni association magazine, tells the story of the Boilermakers, the school’s rowing team. With historic photos and videos compiled in media galleries and frame designs, it’s a fantastic story. It includes an important “Give now” call-to-action at the end, urging readers to make a gift to the crew’s endowment.
School pride
'We Are #TENver', Denver University. Illustration by Nate Padavick.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University. Illustration by Nate Padavick.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
'We Are #TENver', Denver University.
The connections and fandom built around college and university sports teams usually doesn’t go away after graduation day. Passionate alumni fans don team colours, catch up, and reminisce about the old days at their alma mater. Appealing to this passion with something like a sports story is a great way for marketing campaign teams to boost engagement.
'We are #TENver' by Denver University celebrates the school’s college ice hockey championship win, taking a scrolling tour around the US to alumni fan catchups and watch parties celebrating the victory.
By embedding social media photos shared by alumni fans themselves, it boosts the sense of community, turning former students into storytellers. This in turn enhances their feeling of being connected, and increases the likelihood of the story being shared on social media platforms.
Donor outreach
University of Bath’s INSPIRE digital magazine.
University of Bath’s INSPIRE digital magazine.
University of Bath’s INSPIRE digital magazine.
University of Bath’s INSPIRE digital magazine.
INSPIRE digital magazine.
INSPIRE digital magazine.
INSPIRE digital magazine.
INSPIRE digital magazine.
University of Bath’s INSPIRE digital magazine looks at a year of philanthropy in action. In a donor impact report style, it first contains a message of thanks from the university’s Director of Advancement, expressing gratitude to university alumni, supporters, and students.
It showcases three ‘research impact stories’, enabling alumni and supporters to see the results of their giving. It then shares some financial and impact results with some brilliant scrolling graphics and data visualisations.
The seasonal crowd pleaser
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
'Love at UQ', University of Queensland.
This is a great example of the tried and trusted marketing strategy of leveraging seasonal events and trending topics. This time, it was for Valentine’s Day, with the annual ‘Love at UQ’ story in The University of Queensland’s Contact digital magazine.
Current students, recent graduates, and older alumni tell the stories of how they met and fell in love at the school. It features full-width photos and smaller love albums of happy couples on campus, abroad, and for some, on their wedding days.
It’s a fun story that ends with a call-to-action for readers to submit their own love stories to be featured next year.
The success story
Meet the Cambridge 2024 Olympians, Cambridge University. Image credit Team GB
Meet the Cambridge 2024 Olympians, Cambridge University. Image credit Team GB
Meet the Cambridge 2024 Olympians, Cambridge University. Image credit Team GB
Meet the Cambridge 2024 Olympians, Cambridge University. Image credit Team GB
Meet the Cambridge 2024 Olympians, Cambridge University. Image credit Team GB
Meet the Cambridge 2024 Olympians, Cambridge University. Image credit Team GB
What better way to keep alumni engagement up than by celebrating the achievements of a number of former students out there in the world making a difference or chasing success? When the world got excited to keep up with all the Paris Olympics news and action, Cambridge University showcased a handful of its own alumni who were headed to the games.
Alumni success stories like these are a great way to foster school pride, and enhance the prestige of universities.
For more inspiration from great universities and colleges, explore our gallery of higher education and research communications examples, featuring work from some of the world’s most recognisable institutions.
If you're ready to get started, take a look at our 7 free templates for university comms teams.
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