During the 2021-2022 academic year, Mount Paran Christian School won several prestigious honors in recognition of its marketing and communications initiatives, as well as its advancement and community-building efforts. CASE AWARDS The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) presented MPCS with top honors in the Circle of Excellence Awards in the Holiday/Year-End Video category. MPCS received Gold for its “Merry Christmas” video.
The CASE Circle of Excellence Awards represent the very best in advancement. For Mount Paran Christian School to win Gold is quite the honor – most of the awards are presented to colleges and universities. Sidwell Friends School also earned a Gold award. The Silver award was presented to Marquette University and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, with Bronze awarded to Michigan State University, Washington State University, York University, and Washington University St. Louis.
MPCS Chief Development Officer Jennifer New shared, “CASE Awards are the most competitive field in college and independent school advancement. It is truly a special recognition to win one and extremely rare for a K-12 school.”
For its award-winning video, MPCS submitted an e-greeting Christmas video message, which is sent to the entire school community. The idea for the 2021 Christmas message was born from COVID, as the MPCS marketing team wanted to strategically share a happy, cheerful message that included Dr. Tim Wiens, the MPCS head of school. “After months of serious but important messaging about COVID protocols, we wanted to show Dr. Wiens’s lighthearted side, while also offering something fun and entertaining to brighten the spirits of the school community,” said MPCS Director of Marketing and Communications Tiffany Westbrook.
The video concept spotlights Dr. Wiens dressed in festive holiday attire, singing and dancing his way across the school campus. The aim was to achieve a seamless, one-take feel, with upbeat music and a positive, joyful vibe. The feedback was entirely positive, with the email greeting garnering a 34-percent increase in open rates from the previous year. Across all social media channels, the video has been viewed more than 4,000 times, impressive for a PK-12 independent school of only 1,250 students. The CASE judges said of the MPCS entry, “The video successfully portrays the festive and joyful atmosphere of Christmas. [It] engaged a whole lot of people who clearly were having a good time. Kudos to the head of school for being willing to be silly – and nice job singing! Their results are extremely impressive, and all of it was done with very few resources and time.”
View the Winner’s Gallery summary:
https://www.case.org/awards/circle-excellence/2022/merry-christmas-mount-paran-christian-school
EDUCATIONAL ADVERTISING AWARDS
Mount Paran Christian School also won a total of three awards from the 37th Annual Educational Advertising Awards: Gold – Total Fundraising/Development Campaign for “Annual Fund in 5”; Bronze – Total Recruitment Package for “Experience MPCS”; and Merit – Special Video for “911 Tribute”.
The awards, which are sponsored by Higher Education Marketing Report, are the largest, oldest, and most respected educational advertising awards in the country. This year, more than 2,000 entries were received from more than one-thousand colleges, universities, and secondary schools from all fifty states and several foreign countries. Judges for the Educational Advertising Awards consisted of a national panel of higher education marketers, advertising creative directors, and marketing and advertising professionals.
About Mount Paran Christian School
Mount Paran Christian School, the largest private Christian school in Cobb County, is a non-denominational, college-preparatory school for students in preschool age three through grade 12. MPCS is committed to excellence in academics, award-winning arts, and championship athletics, all within a Christian environment with small class sizes. Founded in 1976, MPCS is fully accredited (SAIS/Cognia) and located near Kennesaw Mountain on a 68-acre collegiate-like campus. Providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment, MPCS unites with home and church to prepare servant-leaders to honor God, love others, and walk in truth.
