Waco, TX
AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Waco
Newly built hotel lacked local relevance and connection to Baylor University, struggling to utilize their state of the art event spaces.
The AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Waco’s Opportunity Grant
The grant is an opportunity for Baylor University clubs and organizations to win $2,500 based on their ambitions to create beneficial impact within the local community.
Additionally, organizations can apply to win the second and third place prizes of free event space in the hotel’s soon-to-open skyline ballroom.
1st Place
$2,500 Grant Awarded by Check
2nd Place
Free Event Space at the AC Hotel Waco’s Skyline Ballroom
3rd Place
Free Event Space at the AC Hotel Waco’s Skyline Ballroom
The AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Waco Opportunity Grant Awards Ceremony
What better way to let students know of the hotel’s event space than to invite them to an event in the space?! The AC Hotel hosts a semi-formal dinner event that all opportunity grant finalists are invited to. Here, the three winners will be welcomed on stage to receive their reward and lauded for their impact to the community.
Grant and Award Ceremony Marketing
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5 outside corporate sponsors secured for the event. 3 companies donated products which allowed for a raffle giveaway at event start. Another company donated a beautiful array of flowers to help with event decoration. The final sponsor provided a giveaway worth $2,000 to our grant winner and to every event guest that was included in the parting gift.
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Carefully curated grant signup flyers were produced by a local print shop and distributed by hand to members of Baylor University’s club and organization members. This was to ensure authentic feel and genuine nature of the campaign.
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Billboards advertising the grant opportunity were placed strategically around campus in places of high upperclassmen traffic (it is a requirement for club and organization leadership to hold upperclassmen status). Additionally, a billboard was created with only a large QR code leading to the grant form. This was to create a sense of mystery and attract more QR scans and higher awareness.
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A local podcast appearance was sourced, discussing the campaign as well as the grant opportunity and what this could mean for some of the organizations on campus. There are hundreds of clubs on campus and while some have access to capital, others have limited resource access and this grant could be quite influential.
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A television spot on central Texas’ KWTX was secured. They would use event footage captured by our team to cover the event, the campaign, and its impact.
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An email campaign launched, sent to all presidents of Baylor clubs and organizations to make known the grant opportunity and share the signup form. Additionally, a photo and video shoot day was hosted at the hotel to collect content for 3 social media posts. These were shared strategically throughout the campaign.
CAMPAIGN RESULTS
28 TOTAL GRANT APPLICANTS
150+ EVENT ATTENDEES
OVER 200 CONTACTED ORGANIZATIONS
$2,500 AWARDED TO ORGANIZATION HELPING THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
TV SPOT ON CENTRAL TEXAS’ KWTX
FEATURE ON BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LOCAL NEWS - BAYLOR LARIAT
PODCAST APPEARANCE ON ‘KNOW WACO’
$17,500 COMBINED AWARDS FROM AC HOTEL WACO AND 5 CORPORATE SPONSORS