UCLA – Samueli School of Engineering

UCLA is a vast enterprise. It is the number 4 largest employer in Los Angeles. It generates in excess of $11B towards the California economy. It is one of the smallest physical footprints within the UC system, but its impact is the largest. UCLA has 13 professional schools, 5 colleges, over 250 centers and institutes, K-12 endeavors, multiple hospitals and healthcare centers... (a wide eclectic net to say the least). It is a challenge for UCLA to unify so that all can be successful businesses and for UCLA to be leveraged and receive “credit” for its impact. UCLA and our leadership determined that UCLA was to be a branded house vs a house of brands. And over the course of several years, we were successful in instituting similar ethos, look/feel identity across the board with a very high percentage of adoption. Global languages, in regional dialect as we like to call it. Not unlike brands that resonate on global scales with consistency yet for cultural adaption and trends. Below is just one example in how one of the professional schools evolved to embrace the power of the UCLA brand. We set out to partner with Engineering Communications to develop an identity for the school that will set it apart as the most admired engineering school in the country and align with the overall UCLA brand. After extensive research, we determined UCLA Samueli to be a "Challenger Brand." A challenger brand is neither the market leader nor a niche brand. It is defined, primarily, by a mind-set – it has business ambitions bigger than its conventional resources and is prepared to do something bold to break through. Avis, Pepsi and Apple were all challenger brands at one time. Today, Uber, T-Mobile, Warby Parker and Airbnb are among the most prominent challenger brands. Positioning Statement: Dedicated to serving the common good in a global city that thrives on innovation and teems with opportunity, UCLA Samueli is a new kind of engineering school. Collaborative. Interdisciplinary. Fearless. Nimble. Dedicated to excellence. And driven by the conviction that anything is possible. Concept/Creative: Engineer Change.