Communications office wins awards for recent projects

In the recent months, with funding from the Catholic Communications Campaign along with a $1,500 Catholic Communications Grant from the National Catholic Society of Foresters, the renewal efforts of the New Ulm diocesan Office of Vocations to reach young men who are considering the priesthood has shown results!

"It’s hip, it’s young, it’s quick, and it’s right at you!" says vocations director Reverend Brian Oestreich of the website, www.OurMIB.org, aimed at 13 to 24 year old males. The flashy, effective internet site is only one component of a marketing campaign designed to recruit young men to the priesthood for the Catholic Diocese of New Ulm, and it’s working!

Father Brian says the design of the site is tongue-in-cheek, playing off Men In Black - the movie. Since the site was launched in early 1999, www.OurMIB.org has averaged 5,000 hits per month offering

on-going conversation with interested candidates for the priesthood from as far away as Hungary and France.

The project began in 1998 when diocesan leaders began brainstorming about the challenges of vocation recruitment. The decision to use the internet as the hinge-pin of the campaign brought together creative people volunteering their labor from New Ulm, Minneapolis, Moscow, and South Africa — a world wide team of art directors, designers, writers, musicians, video editors, and web developers working together on the world wide web. All promotional items "tease" people to the website including: a Hollywood style poster featuring Our Men In Black II —The Seminarians; phone cards; postcards, pencils, mouse pads, caps, jackets, T-shirts, and a series of 15 second television commercials that aired locally during this year’s Superbowl and College Basketball Final Four.

Since the launch of the innovative Vocation’s marketing strategy, the Diocese of New Ulm has been recognized in its efforts and has received several awards.

In recent months, the Our Men in Black II - The Seminarians Poster received two prestigious awards:

• The Catholic Communication Campaign Proclaim Award, presented by the United States Catholic Conference, Washington D.C., which recognizes the outstanding efforts of dioceses to proclaim the gospel message through the media, and;

• The National Religion Communicators Council DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Award of Excellence, given to those who demonstrate excellence in religion communications and public relations. This Hollywood film style poster features "hip" looking seminarians of the diocese in sunglasses encouraging people to visit www.OurMIB.org.

• The Our Men in Black national press kit, distributed in January to 140 media outlets (secular and religious), received the National Religion Communicators Council DeRose-Hinkhouse Award of Excellence- "Best of Class".

The National Order of Foresters has awarded the Office of Communications a $1,500.00 grant to continue the work begun on the vocations website. Plans are underway to syndicate OurMIB.org, encouraging other dioceses to "fish from the same net."