The University of Houston-Downtown’s Marilyn Davies College of Business Marketing team has once again earned recognition from the American Marketing Association Houston Chapter, receiving four nominations at the prestigious Crystal Awards and winning in the Marketing Campaign: Non-Profit category.
The team’s award-winning work centered on a comprehensive summer and winter online advertising campaign designed to promote MDCOB programs. Competing in multiple categories—including Marketing Campaign: Small Budget and Advertising: Paid Social Media—the campaign stood out for its strategic use of digital platforms and measurable impact. Ultimately, it was recognized as the top non-profit marketing campaign.
On top of securing an AMA win, the campaign also delivered measurable results, contributing to a reported 6% increase in enrollment.
Victor Henson, Digital Communications manager and team leader, said that while the campaign was a time-intensive project, it tees MDCOB up well for future outreach. “Our team really came together and created a successful full funnel higher education campaign that can be recreated year after year.”
In addition to the winning campaign, the team earned a fourth nomination for its Welcome Week Fall 2026 promotional social media video in the Interactive, Multimedia & Video: Social Media category. For the project, Marketing Specialist Evangelina Vazquez managed to set up a collaboration between UHD and the Houston Dynamo.
Henson credits his team’s collaborative, all-hands-on-deck approach for pulling off these two projects. Team cohesion also played a major role in its success. “The process, although it’s a lot of work, it becomes less stressful whenever you're really enjoying the work that you're doing with the team that you really enjoy doing the work with,” Henson said.
The team includes Vazquez and Program and Marketing Coordinator Alejandra Perez, who played key roles in strategy, implementation, and partnerships. Digital Marketing Specialist Diana Cervantes maintained strong analytics and SEO practices. And student contributors Samantha Saldivar, Marketing senior, and Angie Celeste Monterroso, who graduated May 2026 with a degree in Marketing, were instrumental in content creation and social media execution, gaining valuable real-world experience in the process.
This marks the third consecutive year the team has brought home at least one Crystal Award, underscoring its continued excellence in creative strategy and execution. For the team, the AMA Crystal Awards recognition affirms the direction the team has taken over the past three years. “Winning this award for the third time is especially meaningful and serves as a testament to the hard work, energy, passion, and dedication we pour into every project,” said Vazquez.