Head of Marketing and Communications for the CMRI, Lorel Colgin, said the research institute was made up of 150 people, but the marketing team comprised of a nimble four-person staff compliment.
With a small team servicing two major national fundraising programs, maintaining five websites, and working across different programs for the CMRI, winning the Excellence in Marketing and Business of the Year is a huge kudos for the team and the organisation.
The team is made up of a graphic designer, a social media manager and a marketing manager, and lead by team head, Lorel. The team overseas all marketing for the CRMI and CellBank, another non-for-profit organisation affiliated to the CMRI.
Originally part of Westmead’s Children’s Hospital, CMRI moved out of the hospital as an independent research institute.
Now the CMRI are responsible for some of the largest national fundraising event including the annual Genes for Jeans Day which takes place in early August every year, and the Great Cycle Challenge which occurs in October.
CMRI raised $12 million from its fundraising activities in 2014. CMRI is an independent organisation committed to unlocking the mysteries of childhood diseases.
One in 20 children are born with a birth defect or genetic disease and world-wide over 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. CMRI works to find the real answers so children can have a healthier future.
Fighting childhood diseases is the primary purpose of CMRI, but the organisation has grown into an international platform for scientific research and science education. In research CMRI is a world leader in the areas of cancer, embryology, neurobiology, and gene therapy.
CellBank provides validated cell lines and related throughout Australia and internationally. It acts as a distributor of ECACC cell lines and as a repository for cell lines developed by the local research community.
Lorel said while her team is responsible for the marketing and communications of CMRI, they also worked closely with groups volunteers and with teams in ACT and NSW that co-ordinate fundraising events throughout the year.
“This marketing team was formed about three to four years ago and we are responsible for marketing for the whole of CMRI. We are a small team, but work closely with all the different digital and traditional marketing platforms,” said Lorel.
She said this was the first time her team entered WSABE and were very excited to be in the finals.
“We are an important part of the Western Sydney community, and to be in the finals is a great achievement. It’s certainly better than we expected.
“Usually we are very busy and never find the time to enter the awards. This year our brand awareness video did very well. Since May we got 14 million views, the success of the video gave us an opportunity to look and what we do, think about the brand we have, and enter the awards,” she said.
Fighting childhood diseases is the primary purpose of CMRI, but the organisation has grown into an international platform for scientific research and science education. In research CMRI is a world leader in the areas of cancer, embryology, neurobiology, and gene therapy.
