ACUHO-I Award Submissions

What do you do when you still have rooms to sell after first-years' priority deadline? You reach out to the commuters - those students who live inside the 50-mile radius from campus, and are not required to live in university housing. This audience represents about 40% of the incoming class.

Dangle a motivator on a personalized 9" x 12" post card: Do you want the dreary commute all year, or fun-at-your-doorstop living on campus?

The postcard mailing targeted students at both the main and regional campuses. Results from the main campus were particularly strong:

• 22% of recipients completed an application (signed Terms & Conditions and submitted the fee)
• An additional 7% started the application process

Although regional campus response rates were lower, as expected, the mailing still yielded:

• 65 completed applications—representing 5% of total pieces sent to that group

The overall cancellation rate remains low at under 4% of completed applications.

Context Matters: Direct mail campaigns typically see conversion rates between 0.5% and 4.5%, depending on the industry. This campaign significantly outperformed standard benchmarks, demonstrating strong engagement and message alignment with the target audience.

Creative credits:
Staff graphic designers - Jill Siry and Hayley Steffy
Staff lead - Cathy Barnes

When it comes to move-in time, keeping team spirit up lightens the exhausting work. Of course, visits from our Bearcat mascot are a must, but adding a team head topper adds fun, keeps heads cooler (literally), and

Creative credits:
Student graphic designer - Ellie Tranter
Staff leads - Jill Siry and Cathy Barnes

The time between submitting a housing application and room assignment to move-in can seem very long, especially for first-year students. Although they receive ample communications from us during that time, it doesn't feel as welcoming as one-on-one attention.

We bridge that gap by touching base with all incoming residents in early summer with a gift flag and a mailer to remind them of services and contacts. Also included is a sheet of pre-addressed labels so families understand how to send mail and packages to our locker center for residents.

The 2025 flag design is covered in stickers that connect students to campus landmarks, the surrounding neigborhoods collectively known as Uptown, and even our famous ice cream.

36" wide X 24" high

Folds to 7" wide X 6" high x 1/4" deep

Creative credits:
Student graphic designer - Kat Burke
Staff leads - Jill Siry and Cathy Barnes

We all have blank walls in our residence halls that just need SOMEthing to make them shine in the space. Our marketing team's communication design co-op students collaborated with housing's interior design co-ops to create designs that do just that.

All murals pair the inextricable connection between University of Cincinnati, the urban campus spirit, with Cincinnati, Ohio, our beautiful, iconic, culture-filled city on the river.

Below are the first six murals in the series, in lounges and lobbies, with widths spanning between 10 and 17 feet. The project continues into next year, as additional locations are identified.

Creative credits:
Student graphic designers - Annie Salter, Kat Burke, Tyler Adams
Staff graphic designer - Hayley Steffy
Staff leads - Jill Siry and Cathy Barnes

Student workers can be difficult to catch to share a word of encouragement, thanks or to brag about their performance. Our leaders now have pocket-size pads to do just that. The 2.5" x 3.5" designs in UC colors are printed on smooth cardstock to accept all types of writing instruments, and padded.

Creative credits:
Staff graphic designer - Hayley Steffy
Staff leads - Jill Siry and Cathy Barnes

Our Facilities Operations team was in need of a comfortable, uniquely-designed uniform shirt. To meet the vision of a completely custom, all-over design, they selected dye sublimation versus a typical imprint. The goal was a mostly black shirt with red accents with line-art drawings of residence halls.

The result was a stunning diagonal speckled ombre pattern. The team loves the shirts!

Creative credits:
Student graphic designer - Annie Salter
Staff leads - Jill Siry and Cathy Barnes