Office of Marketing and Communications

How We Work

The Penn Engineering Office of Marketing and Communications (MarComms) works with stakeholders in the School of Engineering and Applied Science to meet their needs in supporting the Penn Engineering brand, marketing themselves and their accomplishments, and producing external communications deliverables.

In order to best meet your needs and appropriately prioritize your project, MarComms requests at least 30 days’ notice for short-term or small-scale projects in order to be able to deliver on your request.

To kick off large-scale, long-term projects or strategic initiatives, please contact Eleni Rengepis (rengepis@seas.upenn.edu), Executive Director of Marketing and Communications. Turnaround time for such requests will depend on the scope of work.

Request a Project

Collaborators should use the MarComms Project Request Form to schedule a project with the Office.

To complete this form, please look over the options listed below for marketing and communications support, and have ready a brief description of your project. If your project involves a research paper, please have the URL of the paper or a link to a draft in a file share (Google Drive, Box, etc.) platform of your choice, along with the publication date if known.

Once the team has reviewed your request, we will be in touch for the additional information that is needed to complete your project. Again, we request at least 30 days’ notice for project requests.

Project Request Form

Marketing Services

Branding

MarComms helps departments and offices within Penn Engineering leverage the global brand recognition of the School. Our team promotes correct and consistent use of the Penn Engineering logo and brand attributes across all communications, including web, print and social media. We also advise departments, labs and centers on best practices about maintaining or establishing their own identities.

Contact us to learn how we can help your department develop its visual expression.

Branding areas of expertise include:

  • Education on leveraging Penn Engineering’s brand equity
  • Recommending which Penn Engineering branding option is right for you
  • Providing logo files for master branding
  • Providing branding for your department
  • Referring you to skilled designers
  • Obtaining design estimates
  • Offering feedback on designs

Websites

Creating a website can be a formidable task. Penn Engineering MarComms can support you in several aspects of the web development process, including discovery, content strategy, and connecting with creative partners. We can help you by soliciting competitive bids and providing objective feedback throughout the lifecycle of your project.

Contact us to learn how we can help with your website project.

Website areas of expertise include:

  • Discovery and content strategy
  • Assessing your project needs
  • Reviewing how your site aligns with your other communications
  • Providing recommendations regarding content strategy
  • Suggesting creative vendors, including designers, developers, copywriters, photographers and videographers
  • Helping to draft requests for proposals
  • Reviewing bids
  • Design and development
  • Advising on information architecture and user testing
  • Providing advice on Penn Engineering branding
  • Offering design and content feedback
  • Connecting you with accessibility and usability resources

Social Media

Whether you’re sharing original content or supporting an event, social media is vital to reaching your audiences. MarComms can help you plan a strategy, identify appropriate platforms and advise on best practices for your social media campaigns.

Contact us to learn how we can optimize your social media strategy.

Social media areas of expertise include:

  • Strategy and assessment
  • Helping to craft a social media strategy
  • Assessing social media efforts
  • Advising on social media branding
  • Guiding the selection of appropriate social channels
  • Recommending tools, software and apps
  • Counseling on best practices
  • Advising on analytics reporting and assessment

Email Marketing

The popularity of social media continues to grow by leaps and bounds, yet email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to reach audiences. Whether it’s advising on best practices in template use, or selecting the best provider for your communications, let us help you guide your email marketing strategy.

Contact us to learn how we can add value to your email marketing projects.

Email marketing areas of expertise include:

  • Review your overall email marketing plan
  • Advise on template design
  • Provide an overview of different email service providers
  • Advise on best practices
  • Suggest metrics for measuring effectiveness
  • Recommend vendors and tools

The most commonly used email marketing services at Penn are Mailchimp, Marketing Cloud, iModules and Emma.

Photos and Videos

MarComms can help you determine the best use of photography and video assets for your project, and we can recommend professional photographers and videographers for custom shoots.

Contact us to learn how we can assist with your photo or video project.

Image and video expertise includes:

  • Recommending photographers and videographers
  • Advising on file formats that align with your needs
  • Suggesting strategies to organize and share photos
  • Correct usage
  • Advising on permissions and best practices

Print Pieces

MarComms can work with you to make your print project run smoothly. We can help connect you to creative vendors, develop a production plan and communication strategy, and even review designs and content along the way.

Contact us early in the planning stage of your project, so we can help you get the best results.

Print expertise includes:

  • Print strategy
  • Assessing your project needs
  • Advising on how your print materials should coordinate with web and social media
  • Recommending creative vendors, including designers, copywriters and photographers
  • Creative process
  • Providing objective feedback on design and content
  • Advising on Penn Engineering brand standards
  • Production
  • Recommending appropriate printers
  • Reviewing print specifications to ensure accurate bids

Event Promotion

Are you organizing a seminar, symposium, or other function at Penn Engineering? Please be sure your event is included in the Penn Engineering Events Calendar.

This calendar includes open events of scholarly interest throughout the Penn Engineering community. Events are included in a weekly, automated mailing to Penn Engineering faculty, staff and students.

Staff and faculty can request calendar access to add events; to do so, please email cets@seas.upenn.edu. Students should contact marcomms@seas.upenn.edu regarding their event and must have a departmental sponsor who can enter events on their behalf.

Communications Services

Written Communications

MarComms can help you tell your stories through various written deliverables. We will work with you to identify the most effective way to accomplish your external communications goals.

Contact us as early as possible in your project, research, grant or journal publication process so that we can coordinate the best method to promote it in a timely way.

Written communications expertise includes:

  • Press releases (see below)
  • Research features
  • Profiles and other storytelling
  • Institutional announcements
  • Promotion of significant grants, honors and awards

Press Releases

Press Releases

The primary way to engage with the media is to issue a press release (or media notice) to reporters. Press releases help to highlight important news from throughout Penn Engineering and can create content for the School and University websites, social media channels, and external outlets to help generate media and public interest.

Contact us if you are interested in highlighting recent research, initiatives or awards and we can work with you to decide if a press release is the appropriate solution.

Additional information on Penn Engineering press releases, including best practices and processes, can be found here.

Media Relations

Media Relations

MarComms works with Penn’s Office of University Communications (UComms) to manage and/or direct all media calls. In some cases, one of these offices may direct a member of the media to you. If you are unable to fulfill the reporter’s request, please forward the inquiry back to MarComms. We may know of someone else within Penn Engineering or within the University who could fulfill this request.

If you receive a call or email directly from a reporter, please notify MarComms of this inquiry. Our office keeps track of all of the communications faculty or staff are having with the media in order to document our reach.

Additional information on working with the media, including best practices and processes, can be found here.

Penn Engineering Marketing and Communications Groups

Penn Engineering has a variety of groups that provide communications and marketing staff forums for discussion, collaboration and support. These include:

Penn Engineering Communicators Slack channel

Staff with a communications role are welcome to join the Penn Engineering Communicators Slack channel. Contact us for an invite.

SPARK Quarterly Meetings

SPARK meetings are intended to discuss best practices and highlight examples of communications initiatives and campaigns that showcase Penn Engineering and amplify engaging content. These meetings are intended for any staff with a communications role. To be a part of these meetings, contact the MarComms team.

Contact MarComms:

Penn Engineering Marketing and Communications can be reached at marcomms@seas.upenn.edu. Once your message has been received, the appropriate team member will respond to you.

MarComms Team:

Eleni Rengepis
Executive Director

Mark Griffey
Director of Digital Marketing

Olivia McMahon
Senior Writer, Executive Communications and Institutional Projects

Melissa Pappas
Junior Science Writer

Charles Rorke
Marketing and Communications Specialist

Ian Scheffler
Senior Science Writer

Holly Wojcik
Director of Media Relations

Mailing Address:

Penn Engineering Marketing and Communications
Office of the Dean
1B Towne Building
220 South 33rd Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6391