Hotel at Kirkwood Center the focus of multiple marketing and design awards
With its opening still months away, The Hotel at Kirkwood Center is already winning the favor of advertising and marketing professionals. In the past three months the Marketing Services department at Kirkwood Community College has earned accolades, awards and trophies for its in-house creative projects promoting the new hospitality teaching facility.
By mid-March Kirkwood had won a total of 10 awards from three different marketing groups, with several honors focused on The Hotel at Kirkwood Center. The first came in late January as the Advertising Federation of Cedar Rapids honored Kirkwood with three silver awards in its annual ADDY competition. Late February brought news that the Higher Education Association awarded Kirkwood five prizes, including those for Hotel promotional designs and a video introduction to the new teaching facility.
At the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations annual conference in Albuquerque, NM March 16, Kirkwood won two Paragon Gold Awards for creative design and marketing. One of those again honored Kirkwood’s video production promoting The Hotel and college Hospitality Arts degree programs. Both the Higher Education Association and NCMPR competitions pitted Kirkwood work against those of colleges and universities around the nation.
Kirkwood Director of Marketing and Communications Services Kathy Kaiser said the late-winter bevy of honors was a “high water mark” for the department’s efforts in one year.
“We are pleased to receive these accolades from our peers in the communications and college marketing fields. Even more gratifying is the response from our staff, students and community partners who have responded with enrollments, support and advocacy for Kirkwood’s service to our area. We salute this incredible creative team that keeps raising the bar in timely, innovative communications,” Kaiser said.
“In this industry, it is vital that our marketing messages reflect the positioning of the product,” said Hotel Manager Lee Belfield. “In our case, the task is even more difficult because we blend both hotel operations and hospitality education. Obviously, the Kirkwood Marketing team has done an outstanding job in achieving this balance. These awards are well-deserved and the work is much appreciated by our whole Hotel team.”
The Hotel at Kirkwood Center is an innovative teaching laboratory designed to provide a high level of customer service in a highly functional, modern style hotel. Situated on the south side of Kirkwood’s Cedar Rapids campus, The Hotel offers 71 rooms including six suites, a full-service restaurant, meeting and conference spaces with catering and other guest amenities. Kirkwood officials plan to open the facility to guests in mid-summer 2010.
Information and guest reservations for the Hotel at Kirkwood Center can be made by calling (319) 848-7801. Additional information is also available on the Web at:
www.hotelatkirkwood.com