Sacred Stories of Notre Dame
Where do spiritual reflection, the holiday season, and collegiate nostalgia meet? Look no further than Sacred Stories of Notre Dame.
A seasonal daily outreach to the Notre Dame family.
These stories, collected from alumni, students, faculty, and staff, celebrate the sacred and meaningful moments made possible by Notre Dame, inviting the audience to consider where they see the sacred at work in their lives, regardless of faith.
After leading an award-winning rebrand of the series in 2022 from Sacred Places of Notre Dame, I again spearheaded the project in 2023 to even greater success.
Something Different.
Sacred Stories of Notre Dame combines several elements that make it resonate with our audience, including faith & spirituality, affinity for Notre Dame, and a holiday theme. At its core, it is a spiritual outreach of FaithND, which aims to further the University’s Catholic mission by supporting alumni, parents, and friends in their faith lives. This is a key constituency for the series, but by not limiting stories to any one faith identity, we have found the series resonates far beyond a Catholic audience. By rooting each story in a uniquely Notre Dame experience, we tap into the many reasons why the Notre Dame community so strongly identifies with the University, thus continuing to foster that affinity. Advent presents a perfect opportunity for this, as the holiday season is often thought of as a time for joy, priming the audience for positive and uplifting stories that remind them why they love Notre Dame.
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I have never forgotten this moment when Our Lady, the University, and the Glee Club all came together to give me this amazing gift of beauty, grace, and peace that I have carried long since in my heart.
— Greg Weismantel, Sacred Stories 2022
As project lead, I managed a collaborative team of designers, writers, and digital marketing pros, and maintained relationships with cross-campus partners in video production.
The launch of Sacred Stories required the creation of entirely new visual assets, messaging, and video design, as well as the design of a new website. Additionally, we featured alumni in the series for the first time, having previously only included students, faculty, and staff.
I also introduced a new targeted email strategy to share each video with audiences that shared ties with the person featured — such as fellow classmates, local alumni club members, and dorm alumni.
Because the series follows the Catholic liturgical calendar, its length varies from year to year.
In 2022, we produced 29 videos spanning from the first Sunday of Advent (Nov. 27) through Christmas Day. In 2023, the first Sunday of Advent fell on Dec. 3, resulting in a 23-video series.
Additionally, while the 2022 series was distributed on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, 2023's series was limited from appearing on the latter platform (now X) due to restrictions in video length. Despite these disparities, 2023 continued to set viewership and engagement records, including in total views.
