UCLA 2022 CAMPAIGN
UCLA 2022 CAMPAIGN
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“Our goal has been, from day one, very simple, and that is to bring the Bruin community together and help revitalize Westwood. It is a big, audacious goal and one I think we’re making a dent in every First Thursday.”
- Mary Osako, Vice Chancellor, UCLA Strategic Communications
APPROACH
UCLA needs no introduction as a brand. It is firmly rooted as an iconic collegiate powerhouse. The mission for 2022, coming out of the pandemic, was to revitalize Westwood and UCLA's commitment to the greater Los Angeles community. There were many unique challenges in building a comprehensive marketing strategy which leveraged campus partners, businesses and student participation during this time. We needed a grand vision that was nimble enough to adapt on a moment's notice.
MISSION
Together, we set out to develop a holistic experiential campaign welcoming the UCLA community back to campus after a year away. Our activations focused on creating a movement to bring the community together, celebrate what it means to be a Bruin and revitalize Westwood to the vibrant college town it once was.
CLIENT: UCLA
ROLE: Account Manager & Brand Strategy
AGENCY: Manifold
SERVICES: Campaign Management, Experiential Marketing, Event Production, Content Creation, Social Media
IMMERSIVE ART & TECHNOLOGY
As we entered year 3 of the pandemic, our goal was to create an art-based experience that would create a sense of collective renewal. UCLA Alumni, Refik Anadol was commissioned to create the resulting work, "Machine Simulations: Nature" – a dazzling display from feeding machine-learning algorithms a dataset of more than 300 million images of nature. This immersive event was ultimately extended to accommodate growing demand.
Participants: 5,000
"UCLA IS HERE" CAMPAIGN
The 2022 school year brought many successes that UCLA was eager to share, like being ranked the #1 public university for the 6th straight year! We produced an integrated campaign to spread the cheer with the new school year and spotlight campus achievements.
ACTIVATE THE STREETS
In collaboration with the UCLA StratComm team we developed, programmed and produced the monthly event, UCLA FIRST THURSDAYS, which activated an entire block in Westwood, and spotlighted Bruin talent, campus partners, and local businesses alongside iconic brands like Nike, Netflix, & Pixar.
Participants: 50,000
Activation Engagements: 108,000
NEW TRADITIONS
College Move-In Week is one of life's greatest memories. We created Westwood Wander, as an annual celebration where students parade from their dorms to the UCLA Westwood block party.
Participants: 15,000
SURPRISE & DELIGHT
A Bruin Buggy was designed and fabricated to activate Surprise & Delight moments throughout the year and promote notable events.
Activation Engagements: 20,000
GET SOCIAL
Custom fabricated selfie stations were activated around campus, and at notable events, to optimize social engagement through Bruin storytelling.
BEAUTIFY
UCLA signage, banners, and public art were commissioned to create a spark of energy while we awaited retail shops to reopen their doors.
COMMUNITY
UCLA FIRST THURSDAYS began as a small block party with several hundred guests and grew over the year to maximum capacity with lines around the block on Broxton Ave. The objective was to bring the campus and community together and revitalize Westwood.
We programmed a thematic calendar, working closely with the UCLA Strategic Communications team and campus partners to ensure that each month supported the overall strategy, notable events, achievements, and editorial calendar.
With each passing event, we were able to refine the experience, expand the audience and improve the production quality of the event. Investment in the design and fabrication of key structural elements allowed us to create a more visually stunning backdrop while reducing rental fees, disposable products and optimizing the budget. The result was a highly immersive experience with rich content captured at every event.
By the end of the year RSVPs were needed to alleviate crowd control!
BRANDING
The design of UCLA First Thursdays was developed to integrate seemlessly alongside UCLA's well established brand guidelines. Clean font design and attention to the brand's primary and secondary palette were central to the creation of the First Thursdays logo. Each month offered a unique thematic twist on the concept of the block party which was tastefully treated across all digital, physical and structural signage.
SOCIAL
Every activation offered a unique moment to create new memories and for the community to be a part of the story. The success of our social media media growth relied on creating a backdrop for authentic engagement.
AWARDS
Golden Titan Business Award - 2022 Business Award for UCLA FIRST THURSDAYS
Event Marketer Magazine - 2022 Experience Design & Technology Award (Gold)
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