At the beginning of last year I received an email from the communication department about an internship opportunity with Hope’s Public Affairs and Marketing Department. I applied and ultimately got the position, but was then left thinking, ‘okay, but what is it they do?’ (Great interview preparation, I know.)
Now, a year and a half later I find myself constantly thinking, “what is it they don’t do?!” I know, I know, this totally sounds like I’m trying to kiss up to my bosses here, but it’s true!
You may have noticed that this year Hope’s Snapchat account has really gotten an upgrade. Since it’s “debut” last year there have been serious efforts made to post fun and engaging content for both prospective students and current students. And the people behind this mystery Hope College account? Yep, you guessed it, Public Affairs and Marketing. The team here are the creative minds behind Visit Day, Game Day, campus events, and even just spur of the moment snapstories. That is, unless they lend it out for a Snapchat takeover. During Snapchat take overs we give full access to sports teams or student groups to upload their own content for a fun and dynamic change of pace.
In addition to maintaining the Snapchat account, we’re also responsible for keeping up to date and relevant information on all our social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you weren’t already aware of Hope’s presence on these platforms, be sure to check us out! We’re always eager to repost photos and tweets of Hope Students engaged in various activities around campus, so who knows, you could be featured and not even know it!
But our office is about more than just social media. Public Affairs and Marketing is responsible for the new website redesign, making content more easily accessible and tailored toward students. We also partner with offices and departments across campus to keep prospective students, parents and alumni involved in Hope College happenings via magazine.hope.edu, calendar.hope.edu, in.hope.edu. We work creatively to produce exciting content like videos and photos to engage prospective students, alumni, current students, and parents alike.
The Creative Services team is responsible for the News from Hope College magazine redesign, advertising, dozens of event posters, department and program brochures, event promotional materials for annual events like Homecoming and enough t-shirts to fill your closet (everything from Orientation to Spring Fling).
The Events and Conference office is also a part of the Public Affairs and Marketing division, which works to organize and coordinate all the campus wide events, as well as plan various conferences and arts events. This office is also responsible for managing any and all events held inside DeVos and Dimnent Chapel. So anyone with dreams of getting married in Dimnent now knows who to become friendly with.
Overwhelmed yet? Well if you can believe it, this is only a fraction of the things we do here, but I hope it’s helped to somewhat back my whole “what don’t they do?” comment from the beginning. It’s an office that really does it all, but to sum it up quickly: we’re in the business of storytelling. Whether it’s via social media, words, video or art, we want the stories of Hope to be told in the best way possible. So if you feel like you have a story to share, let us know, because we want to share it!
Public Affairs and Marketing is excited to bring you 