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Optimism and a Commitment to Every/One

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. A penchant for ‘firsts’ and a pattern of fierce independence is part of UCLA’s DNA, ensuring its outcomes span the breadth of human endeavor. But it’s also led to decentralization and University-wide struggles to cohesively communicate impact. UCLA recognized the need to redefine itself in the eyes of the public, and called on 160over90 to create a brand that would elevate perception; celebrate differences and difference makers; and reposition UCLA as a world-leading University.

160over90 identified a common thread in this complex, wildly diverse, multidimensional institution—a palpable sense of optimism. Just about every student, faculty, and staff member, no matter their background, exuded an air of informed optimism, infectious enthusiasm, and certainty that they could make a difference. This inspiring ethos became the through-line of the new brand, ‘Optimists.’

We launched a star-studded reputational campaign featuring film icons James Dean, James Franco, and Francis Ford Coppola; athletes Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Jackie Robinson, and famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden; and scientific discoverers from astronaut Anna Lee Fisher to Internet founder Vinton Cerf—all UCLA alumni, and all game-changers in their respective fields who shared a common, unyielding optimism.

The campaign came to life though nationally broadcast TV spots, outdoor, digital, radio, print, and non-traditional. Optimism was infused throughout viewbooks, acceptance packages, and the .edu. And it was applied across all 12 colleges, the health system, advancement, and athletics, unifying an $8 billion, 42-unit institution under one brand voice.

All of this set the stage for UCLA’s $4.2 billion centennial campaign. 160over90 drew inspiration from the ‘Optimists’ platform and the UC System motto, introducing a purposefully open-ended campaign theme— ‘Let There Be ____’ —that is flexible enough to extend to and encompasses all facets of the UCLA community, recognizing remarkable forward leaps in the institution’s first 100 years and setting up for a second century of breakthroughs.

More recently, we helped UCLA take a stand on equity, diversity, and inclusion, supporting Chancellor Block’s strategic focus areas. We developed an Every/One brand campaign to uplift disparate voices and encourage meaningful dialogue and exchange, complete with an on-campus discussion series and “Courses of Action” dinner parties. And we highlighted related UCLA diversity research as another way to affirming a campus culture based on core values of excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Diversity Focus Groups and a Fearless Front

Texas A&M University is a fearless front. A community standing side by side in solidarity. Steeped in military history and athletic tradition, yet compelled to discover the unknown and solve for the grand global challenges of our time.

In 2015, with just six months to the public launch of a $4 billion comprehensive campaign, 160over90 set about developing a singular, cohesive brand voice for the institution—one that would concurrently raise funds and academic reputation, and bridge the divide between “preservationists” and “futurists.”

A&M’s resulting brand platform is centered on the idea of fearlessness, a common characteristic among Aggies past and present. For more than 140 years, fueled by its land-, sea- and space-grant heritage, Texas A&M has been fearlessly transforming lives and charting impact.

For admissions—to support diversity efforts and shape a more inclusive campus climate—we conducted on-campus focus groups with African American, Hispanic, out-of-state, and international students, exploring the unique context that each audience brings to the search process, their perceptions and prior knowledge of Texas A&M, and potential strategies to increase engagement.

On the campaign front—to match the big, bold, very ambitious nature of the $4 billion goal—we produced a highly memorable, three-day campaign launch event demonstrating how Texas A&M is leaving an indelible mark on the world, beginning in the great state of Texas.

Subsequently, through a combination of large-scale advertisements, earned media, innovative digital touchpoints, and experiential marketing, 160over90 has successfully seeded stories of societal impact, positioning A&M as a national model of excellence, access, and affordability and a leader in practical, purpose-driven research. We brought the ‘fearless’ brand to life through a DC Metro Station Domination, earning an audience with Aggies on the Hill, commuters coming in and out of the capital, and key research funders. We helped Texas A&M take an international stage at SXSW’s Interactive Week, showcasing its position as a tier-one research institution and global change-maker with panel discussions and virtual reality experiences. And we directed an anthem video that serves as the centerpiece of the reputation campaign, authentically capturing the institutional ethic of Texas A&M – to live lives of meaning and impact.

And all along the way, to humanize the institutional narrative, we carved out a powerful, individual share of voice for President Michael K. Young, which served to strengthen internal communications; to facilitate fundraising and donor outreach in support of the campaign; and to elevate mainstream recognition of the University’s academic and research excellence.

Championing Virtue Capitalism and Diversity in Business

In 2015, with Erika James newly in place as Dean of Emory’s Goizueta Business School, 160over90 was tapped for a branding and marketing initiative originally intended to beat the competition and boost the MBA applicant pool, but ultimately equipped to reboot the category.

160over90 honed in on the intrinsic correlation between virtuous business practice and public benefit—a commitment uniquely carried out by Goizueta Business School. The school’s namesake, Roberto Goizueta—former chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola—is one of the most respected business leaders of the 20th century, famed for creating shareholder value but also for stewarding an organization that puts people first. And Dean James—an award-winning educator, diversity in business advocate, and crisis management researcher—has long espoused the power of principled leadership.

With this in mind, rather than simply react to the changing needs of prospective MBA students, we helped Goizueta and Dean James proactively answer the call of industry and focus attention on business’ true purpose—to operate in service to society at large, improving quality of life for all. We crafted a values-driven “Goizueta Beyond” marketing campaign that hit airwaves, online, and out-of-home, inviting future students and fellow business leaders to go beyond the profits, beyond the bottom line, and beyond a transactional business education.

And Dean James championed a Virtue Capitalism platform [inclusive of a diversity narrative], first launched in a 2017 ‘Open Letter to Business’ and since elaborated on in a series of high-profile industry speaking engagements.

Most recently, we helped Goizueta commemorate two milestones—the school’s centennial anniversary, and the 25th anniversary of its naming in honor of Mr. Goizueta—penning 100 business principles and 100 personal stories that embody empowerment, empathy, and the continual pursuit of better in business.

While Dean James moved on to Wharton as of July 1, 2020, we’re confident the Goizueta brand positioning and the aptly named “Goizueta Effect” will continue well into the years ahead.