(London, Ontario)—For the second year in a row, Fanshawe is a first place winner for the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC). The global award secures their partner organization, the London Children’s Museum, a $15,000 USD donation from Google.
The team of Tess Bobbie, Nick Broadley, Shannon Cross and Emily Matlovich, under the tutelage of professor Liz Gray, won first place for the AdWords Social Impact Awards and was also the Americas winner for the Google+ Social Media Marketing Awards.
“It’s rewarding to see students take what they have learned in the classroom to make a difference in their community,” said Professor Gray. “I’m incredibly proud of all the teams who participated in the challenge. This is an exciting win for Fanshawe and the London Children’s Museum.”
The team developed a search engine advertising campaign to increase the London Children’s Museum’s enrollment for camps, birthday parties and memberships.
"At the London Children's Museum we value learning. We are thrilled and grateful to partner with Fanshawe College and their talented students. Their work has helped us evolve our marketing which is now almost completely focused on digital efforts," said Amanda Conlon, Executive Director, London Children's Museum. "We are very proud that the students' efforts won them first place. Congratulations!"
The GOMC is a unique opportunity for students to experience and create online marketing campaigns using Google AdWords and Google+. Over 100,000 students and professors from almost 100 countries have participated in the past 8 years.
With a $250 AdWords advertising budget provided by Google, students develop and run an online advertising campaign for a business or non-profit organization over a three week period.
Each year over 30 organizations approach Fanshawe to be assigned a team of graduate-level students taking a dedicated course in search engine marketing, in which GOMC is the central project, as a means of improving their online visibility and gaining traffic to their websites.
The Children's Museum will use the donation from Google for website enhancements and to continue their digital marketing efforts.
For further information, please contact:
Kyle Rooks
Corporate Communications Officer, Fanshawe College
519-452-4430 x5059
krooks@fanshawec.ca
Jill Osborne
Director of Development and Communications, London Children’s Museum
519-434-5726 x232
jill@londonchildrensmuseum.ca
About Fanshawe
Fanshawe is one of Ontario’s largest colleges. Its campuses, located in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock, serve close to half a million people with a promise to educate, engage, empower and excite. For nearly 50 years, Fanshawe has been helping people to unlock their potential and achieve success. The College attracts students from 50 countries every year and opens up a world of possibilities through more than 200 degree, diploma and certificate programs, along with apprenticeship training.
About the London Children’s Museum
The London Children’s Museum provides children and their grown-ups with extraordinary hands-on learning experiences in a distinctly child-centred environment. Part of the London community for more than 35 years, the Children’s Museum is where approximately 80,000 children and their families visit each year to dream and play, and gather to learn and grow. Exhibits and stimulating learning experiences allow them to explore history and heritage, investigate the complexities of science and social relationships, and celebrate the beauty in art and culture. The Children’s Museum helps children indulge their curiosity and play their way to a life of innovation and creative discovery.
