The Council of 75

A hybrid brand campaign by LeTourneau University Marketing & Communications

Overview & Purpose

LeTourneau University’s Council of 75 was established in 2021 to extend a welcome to new key partners and deepen relationships with existing ones—expanding and strengthening the network of highly engaged donors and friends of the institution. The primary goal of ‘C75’ was to lay groundwork for the university’s upcoming comprehensive fundraising campaign in light of the university’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan.

As part of our new strategic plan, we wanted to consider how best to focus our institutional giftedness, time, attention, and resources for meeting both the exciting opportunities and challenges of our day. But, we recognized that we cannot do this alone. We needed the collective wisdom and shared experiences of strategically aligned individuals to help inform a bright and God-honoring future for LeTourneau University.

We created the “Council of 75” for the purpose of convening a group of like-minded Christian leaders to share their insights and perspectives with us whose thoughts are crucial for the shape and scope of our university’s plans for the future. Membership was solicited by invitation, based on university CRM data targeting ability and willingness to engage at a high level.

The primary embodiment of this esteemed group included two on-campus events, the first of which was held to listen and glean feedback from members and the second of which was held to present snapshots of the university current experience and preferred future.

Event Programming & Messaging

Council Meeting I

The first meeting of the Council of 75 was held in December 2021. Discussion centered around the changing landscape of our world, organizations, churches, and Christian higher education, as well as the legacy, saga, mission and distinctiveness of LeTourneau as The Christian Polytechnic University. Content included breakout sessions surrounding eight themes central to LeTourneau University’s brand: The Next Chapter of LeTourneau’s ‘Organizational Saga,’ The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Control + Alt+ Delete¬—Rebooting Health and Wellness in a Post-Pandemic World, The iPhone Entrepreneur Next Door, Follow the (Christian Polytechnic) Leader, Who Wants to be an Evangelical Anymore?, Saturday Night Fever and Sunday Morning Worship, and What’s the Big Idea/Engineering for the ‘Grant Challenges.’ As a part of the registration process, guests were invited to rank their top three themes of choice to help inform which breakout sessions they attended at the December meeting. Each breakout session was facilitated by a combination of university administrators, faculty, and staff, whose expertise related to the topic at hand.

C75 members less familiar with the Longview, Texas, campus were offered tours to further experience a glimpse of on-campus living and learning.

Three plenary sessions were also incorporated, including: an introduction to ‘The Christian Polytechnic University’ from Dr. Steven D. Mason, LeTourneau University President; a discussion about The Student of Today and Tomorrow, presented by Dr. Kristy Morgan, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Dr. Steve Conn, Dean of Students; and a closing session led by Dr. Mason.

The feedback we received at the inaugural council meeting in December affirmed God has blessed us with a unique heritage and set of gifts, a genuine institutional vocation and fortitude, and proven outcomes as educators. Members helped us see clearly that we are called not to double back but rather to double down on our commitments to excellent Christian, polytechnic education and service in Jesus’ name. It is not a small thing to ensure that the values that founded us remain the values that go with us into the future. It is no small promise to say that we will claim the cross of Christ as the signifier and vision for each young man and woman’s life, and that we will again affirm our commitment as faculty and as leaders to make famous the name of Jesus in our day. These are affirmations and encouragements to stay the course and garner preparations for that course aimed at new heights.

C75 members were sent a printed letter from President Mason following the December meeting with an executive summary of the feedback from the first gathering, along with a prompt to attend the April meeting.

Council Meeting II

The second C75 gathering was held in April 2022. The content strategy revolved around what this could look like at LeTourneau University in bold, visionary terms, as God’s instrument of transformation in the future. The group continued to discuss key insights from December, but was also presented with what we believe is at stake and what is in store over the next decade for LeTourneau University within higher education. Through in-person testimonials, panels, stories, and other engaging presentations, we offered a courageous vision that we believe LeTourneau is poised to pursue at this important juncture, by the grace and power of God and for his Kingdom’s sake. These visioning points laid the foundation for strategic campaign priorities.

The day-long production included eight panels involving LeTourneau faculty, staff, alumni, and students, with topics ranging from Faith, Science, & Technology, Community & Spiritual Development, Engineering Senior Design Projects, Alumni & Industry Testimonials, and Student Success & Wellness, to the state of the nursing industry. Two recorded conversations with outside experts and the university president were integrated into the experience, featuring two thought leaders in the faith—cultural apologist Dr. Jim Denison and tech & culture strategist Andy Crouch. The day ended with a vision casting session led by President Mason and a call to action of prayer and considered future engagement.

STRATEGIC EVENT COMMUNICATIONS

• Appeals to the C75 target market were made primarily through personal engagement and one-on-one invitations; however, event-specific calls to action were distributed through traditional and digital platforms.

• Save the dates, formal invitations, and communications were printed and mailed to supplement key in-person interactions and invitations by representatives from University Development, the Chancellor’s Office, and the Office of the President.

• Event details were made available through the university’s website to help guide understanding and logistics regarding the event. Content included a greeting from the president, link to register, event details, and agenda. It also featured a university marketing-produced video celebrating 75 years of Christian Polytechnic education.

• Event registration was executed via the university’s event management software, Brushfire.

Invitation

The C75 crest came to life by in-house university design talent and was featured in the production of targeted event collateral. This included the initial invitations, which leveraged high-impact print techniques and pointed to digital informational and registration components.

Themes insert

Each of the eight core themes was featured on a front/back insert, provided at each member’s place at the December meeting. Each theme and description informed the eight breakout sessions held throughout the day.

Save The Date

An inverse of the formal December invitation followed in advance of the April meeting, the second of two parts in the C75 visionary engagement series, continuing the adherence to the distinguished C75 brand icons.

Presidential Briefing

A 20+ page briefing document was created for the university president and primary event managers for reference during both C75 event days. It incorporated the agenda, attendee list, table assignments, notes for each panel, interview, transition, and speech, as well as a section of detailed event logistics. (Specific pages were excluded for attendee privacy purposes.)

Letter from President Mason

Between the December and April events, a two-page letter was printed and mailed to all C75 members who attended the December event summarizing member feedback and setting up the second event. Design continuity was a hallmark of all design collateral used throughout the course of the academic year to C75 guests.

Confirmation email

Each registrant received a confirmation email through Brushfire, the university’s event management and communication platform. Tickets and breakout session preferences were facilitated through this platform, along with follow-up communications from the university president.

Production Value

Bringing the vision for C75 to life involved a complex set of production challenges and opportunities to deliver elite-level hybrid content experiences. We emphasized:

• An attention to detail in elegant animation in keeping with the elite tone of the event
  
• Seamless transitions between prerecorded and live video content
• Debuting our newly finished in-house production studio for hybrid remote interview content from subject-matter experts
• Creating an integrated experience through live feeds from drones and VR
  

Hybrid Content Selections

Interview with Dr. Jim Denison

To frame the stakes surrounding current realities facing Christian higher education, we leveraged our new in-house production studio to virtually host a subject-matter expert.

Virtual Aviation Experience

Using a live drone feed, we brought our aviation satellite campus to event attendees, then transitioned to a live feed from a VR headset to virtually explore the aviation facilities in front of guests.

Nursing Panel + Jane's Story

We hosted Jane Wortham, LETU Nursing alumna, to share her life-changing experience at LeTourneau University to illustrate the impact of our academic offerings.

Alumni & Industry Testimonials

Accomplished alumni who built their story at LeTourneau and went on to great achievements in industry shared their LETU experience and were recognized in person at the event.

Faith, Science & Technology Panel

A content expert panel made up of LETU faculty discussed our institution's unique approach to Christian higher education at the intersection of faith, science & technology.

Dr. Steven D. Mason: Vision CAsting

University President Dr. Steven D. Mason concluded the C75 event with a vision-casting presentation which tied together the messaging from throughout the day's presentations.

Event tech chart

Stage design, equipment configuration, and signal routing was produced 100% in-house to create an elite A/V experience involving live camera feeds w/ overlays, pre-recorded video content, and the VR headset + drone live stream.

cue-to-cue binder

The 8-hour C75 program was broken down and meticulously rehearsed according to 54 distinct lighting/sound/media cues, semi-automated through Open Broadcast Software, Elgato Stream Deck & Blackmagic ATEM Control.

3d Stage Mockup + DMX Lighting

Stage design produced in Adobe Substance Designer 3D to coordinate event setup & lighting placements, which were configured using semi-automated DMX presets to coordinate seamlessly with media cues.

Impact

• Each Council of 75 member in attendance at the December meeting was given a custom university prayer journal and copy of Movers of Men & Mountains, the autobiography of LeTourneau University’s founder, R.G. LeTourneau. April meeting attendees received a customized medallion in recognition of their engagement and service as part of the Council of 75.
  

• Follow up email and print communications were sent as part of a multi-layered expression of gratitude for participation, sent from the Office of the President.
  

• A series of individual meetings between the university president and C75 members resulted from interest generated at C75 to establish interested areas of engagement and giving, as well as areas of continued feedback and relationship building. This is currently fueling the institution’s future capital campaign work.
  

THe TEAM

Each member of the LeTourneau University Marketing & Communications team had a strategic role to play in successfully achieving the C75 campaign's desired outcomes.

Don Egle

Executive Producer

Kate Day

Strategic Marketing & Communications

Nathan O'Day

Technical Director | Experience Design

Content Production

Jeremiah Shepherd

Creative Direction | Photography Lead

Grant Bridgman

Content Support | Crew Support

Mark Roedel

Data Coordinator

Jake Hall

Camera Operation | Crew Support

Sara Bryan

Photography | Graphic Design

Rebekah Browning

Guest Relations | Logistics Manager

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