GWU and Video Production Partner, Kim Brattain Media, Win Silver Telly Award

Winning Video Captures Energy and Determination of GWU Football Program During Pandemic

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Gardner-Webb University and its video production partner, Kim Brattain Media (KBM) in Charlotte, N.C., won a Silver Telly Award for the video, “This is Gardner-Webb Football.” Produced during 2020, the film was created to build excitement for the fall 2020 football season.

The Telly Awards honor video and television across all screens. Other 2021 winners include Netflix, Jennifer Garner, HBO Latin America, Microsoft, RadicalMedia, Conde Nast, Adobe, Nickelodeon and Partizan. “We are in revered company,” noted Kim Brattain, the company’s owner. “For me personally, this award exemplifies our close partnership with the University. We get an idea from your excellent communications team, then work to make it into video that people want to watch again and again—video that inspires and takes your breath away. We feel lucky to have this kind of partnership with Gardner-Webb.”

Kim Kreuzman, GWU social media manager, works with KBM on video productions for Gardner-Webb and is media producer of the award-winning football video. “This video sat on our shelf for many months, because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she shared. “Coach Tre Lamb was hired in December 2019, and it was February 2021, and the Runnin’ Bulldogs hadn’t had an opportunity to take the field; but the athletes, coaching staff and Bulldog Nation were eager and ready. We were fortunate to able to come back and shoot additional footage in the spring of 2021 as the Runnin’ Bulldogs made preparations to take the field for their first game under Coach Lamb.”

Richard McDevitt, GWU Vice President of Marketing, served as communications director on the production. “This is the kind of work we have to be doing,” he affirmed. “With strong partnership from our team mates in Athletics, it raises the bar and gets the Runnin’ Bulldog family excited and pumped up.”

Kreuzman added that KBM and the GWU team worked to capture “the grind, the resilience, the energy, and the commitment of these athletes throughout the pandemic. The University shared this video across the digital landscape and social media to call Runnin’ Bulldogs back to Spangler Stadium and show them exactly what GWU football had been working on for the last 16 months.” 

Additionally, in August 2020, Gardner-Webb received the generous gift of a new digital scoreboard from the Randy Marion family. “We were also eager to showcase the board and up the game-day experience for our fans and athletes,” Kreuzman asserted. “This video did just that. Whether you are in the stadium, or walking around Lake Hollifield, you can hear the music and feel the energy calling you to Spangler.”

She concluded, “It’s humbling to win a Telly, seeing the talented teams and caliber of videos in our category and across the submissions. This video represents many creative minds working together to explore new concepts, execute them well, and take risks and evolve our brand and our image, taking it to the next level. I am proud of how well our team adapted to the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and pushed the envelope of what’s possible while maintaining the safety of all involved.”

The GWU award-winning video is below.

About The Telly Awards:

Established in 1979, The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks. Partners of The Telly Awards include NAB, Stash Media, Production Hub, and Independent Filmmaker Project.

About Gardner-Webb:

Located in the North Carolina foothills, Gardner-Webb University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university. Gardner-Webb emphasizes a strong student-centered experience and rigorous academics to prepare students to become effective leaders within the global community. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.