Chosen because Marin Academy won Bronze for Social Media Campaign in the 2023 Brilliance Awards. InspirED talked with Melissa Neal, Marin Academy’s Digital Media Manager to learn more about the win.

“Beautiful videography combined with authentic voices make this an outstanding arts-focused campaign. There’s some really powerful visual storytelling here.”

— Brilliance Awards Judge's Comment

Step 1: Raise Awareness

The goal of this campaign was to showcase the Marin Academy Performing Arts Department, bringing dance, music, and theater into the spotlight.

Step 2: Execute Strategically

Marin’s Digital Media Manager, Melissa Neal, shoots throughout the entire school year, with an emphasis on capturing b-roll from August - December.

“We have several content pillars including arts, athletics, academics and community,” says Melissa. “We shoot (or curate) content evenly across these pillars, giving us the flexibility to highlight different areas of campus life through various channels including (but not limited to) email, our website, social media, printed banners and more produced marketing materials.”

By December Marin had shot enough content to post daily on social media and to refresh their website. They continue to shoot through the last half of the year, but tend to pull back to focus on large-scale events and less on the “day-to-day” campus life.

This also aligns with the local weather when outdoor shooting is tricky due to rain in the winter and spring.

“It’s our second year in a row winning one of these major school marketing awards, and it’s a testament to Melissa’s incredible contributions to our school.”

— Justine Clifford, Director of Marketing and Communications

Step 3: Learn from Experience

Melissa recommends that schools batch-shoot content over several weeks instead of grabbing footage at the last minute. “That may work occasionally,” she says, “but more often than not, it leads to inconsistent quality and tone.”

For more advice, Melissa suggests taking advantage of good lighting situations, trying to get multiple posts out of a single session by incorporating different students, and asking them a variety of questions for later use.

“It felt great to have the work recognized, I was so proud. Marin Academy is full of extremely talented students, staff and faculty and as we highlight their accomplishments, we become increasingly motivated to increase the amount we spotlight the dedication, passion and effort put into our programs.”

— Melissa Neal, Digital Media Manager

Marin Academy’s Entries

Music After School (MAS) Program:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwi2kX7SyV-/

Student Experience: MA Dance Program

https://www.instagram.com/p/CukR8NmL0U9/

Spring Dance Performance:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtznBAxPBoV/

Advanced Bands Concert:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtAvKqsuLrk/?img_index=1

Spring Dance Concert:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs__e2APxUo/?img_index=1

Spring Play Promotion:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CsCWTvprNgx/

Marin Academy Dance Company (MADCO) Promotion:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CreaDH0s9V_/

Performing Arts Center

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqnvh1JskN6/

Student Experience: Build Your Own Guitar

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqLgl9AgHp8/

Winter Play Highlights

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoXw_9MO6sk/

Congratulations, Marin Academy! You are brilliant!

TEAM
Justine Clifford
Melissa Neal
Julie Helmbrecht

See All the 2023 Winners

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