about.me/gusforward (832) 588.0924
gus.forward@emerus.com
Gus J. Forward During my five-plus years at the University of Houston, I built an impressive record of achievement and advancement through a series of progressively responsible positions leading high growth ventures in capital fundraising and top-of-mind awareness. My collegiate portfolio highlights some of my recent brand management and organizational leadership, which included 4 AMA Crystal, 4 PRSA Excalibur and 3 IABC Gold Quill Awards, for social media and maverick marketing, special events, internal communications, TV advertising, logo design, promotional product, interactive/multimedia marketing, and outdoor signage. Noteworthy campaigns include:
You Are The Pride Campaign | Conducted market research and analysis to effectively develop brand initiatives for You Are The Pride (YATP), a community awareness campaign that would help establish an international identity and community of cougars. Coordinating external vendors, in-house marketing and creative teams which included brand ambassadors (student volunteers), I executed a founder’s day event (Legacy of the Pride) and multimedia video series of organizational testimonials (prominent current students, alumni) that told the nostalgic story of a university and city reaching greater heights over an 80-year history. The YATP programs, which won an AMA Crystal Award for Best Non-profit Event, successfully re-defined the public image of the university and directly contributed to over $50 million in corporate/community donations and $5 million in alumni contributions.
Keep Houston Red Campaign | Spearheaded Keep Houston Red (keephoustonred.com), a community outreach campaign that celebrated the university’s 85 years of community impact in the city of Houston. I orchestrated all messaging, programming and promotional collateral for the event, which encourages area businesses, residents and governmental agencies to fly the UH flag, wear red, volunteer in their community and embrace red as the symbol of unified city and university. In 2012, the campaign won two AMA Crystal Awards for Best Social Media Campaign and Overall Judges Favorite, and directly contributed to $75 million in corporate/community donations, $8.4 million in alumni contributions.
ESPN College GameDay | Event Manager at several institutional media events, managing the development and implementation of national TV spots, promotional giveaways, outdoor signage, social media blitzes and multimedia presentations that included ESPN’s College GameDay Tour at the University of Houston. In addition to directly contributing to $75 million in corporate/community donations and $8.4 million in alumni contributions, the special event struck a chord with target audiences and cultivated deeper reasons to believe in UH.
Sincerely, Gus Forward