UCLA – Overarching

In just shy of a century, UCLA has achieved, innovated, and accomplished more than most institutions twice its age. It’s where the Internet first blinked to life. Where racial integration began, decades before Brown v. Board of Education. Where Nobel Laureates, Academy Award winners, Fortune 500 executives and entrepreneurs, rock stars and Hall of Famers, inventors and initiators got their start. But despite its vast accomplishments, and in part due to its fierce independence and decentralized structure, significant misunderstandings persisted about UCLA’s impact, costing public support. The University was in need of a singular brand platform to cut through the noisy Southern California media market and beyond, one that could unify and encompass the then $5 billion, multi-layered business enterprise, furthering its standing as an international leader in teaching, research, and service for the advancement of society. As the former Chief Creative Officer and Sr Executive Director of Marketing for UCLA, I was responsible for developing a strong in-house marketing team, creating a “brand standard” for UCLA unifying its decentralized tendencies, ran the internal agency serving several campus units, and prepared for its ambitious $4.2B capital campaign. The University thrived, becoming the #1 Public University and unified more than it ever had within its first 100 years. The brand grew from $5B to $8B, and the Centennial Capital fundraising campaign was more successful than anyone could of dreamed. They raised $5.4B, exceeding their goal and raising the most money for a public university in the shortest period of time EVER.