The National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) announced this week that the Penn Athletics Marketing Department was awarded a Silver in the Multi-Platform Branding Campaign category for their work on the 125 Years of Franklin Field campaign.

2019 marked 125 years since the opening of historic Franklin Field. From January through December, Penn Athletics executed a collaborative campaign to celebrate the history and impact of Franklin Field. It began with the unveiling of a logo, announcement of corporate partners, launching a landing page and monthly posts on social media. Throughout the year a four-part video series supported the celebration and told the story of Franklin Field. Special events like Wawa Welcome America’s Philly at the Movies were held in the stadium. No campaign is complete without giveaways—Franklin Field 125 was featured on frisbees, stickers, a commemorative key chain and lead the theme for the 2019 Penn Football schedule poster.

33rd Street was lined with Franklin Field 125 street banners. Inside the stadium one could see signage on the field, a season-long field stencil in the end zones, and Weightman Hall marking the anniversary. Plus, a special art installation was debuted on the concourse of Franklin Field and took onlookers through a visual timeline of the stadium’s evolution and impact on life at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia sports scene. The theme carried throughout football with in-game trivia, commemorative season ticket stock and digital advertising. The equipment department got into the celebration by adding the logo to helmets of teams that played in Franklin Field, along with throwback jerseys and helmets for the football team. The uniforms garnered national attention and were featured on the “Gear Up” segment on ESPN.

The NACMA Best of Awards program honors outstanding achievement in marketing and promotions. Awards are presented in 16 categories, with each category divided into three groups based upon school size and conference affiliations to promote fairness. In 2019-2020, approximately 900 entries were submitted through the NACMA community.