Multimedia campaign to bring nationwide attention to campus

Marketing effort will reach about 6 million people in January and up to 17 million people by the year's end.

Banners on campus celebrate the 50th anniversary.
Banners on campus light poles celebrate the 50th anniversary.
Campus shuttles wrapped with anniversary signs

Two campus bike shuttles wrapped in a slug motiff highlight the 50th.

In support of the 50th anniversary, UC Santa Cruz has launched a national multimedia marketing campaign to showcase the campus’s original thinking that’s pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

“While there will be plenty of opportunities to celebrate the 50th birthday, we also wanted to take the time to showcase how far the campus has come and share some of the work that our faculty, students, and alumni have done to change the world,” Vice Chancellor for University Relations Keith Brant said.

The effort will reach about 6 million people in January and up to 17 million people by the year’s end. The goal is to increase the university’s state and national visibility and enhance its reputation.

The anniversary will celebrate the achievements of the first 50 years, while also illuminating the future of UC Santa Cruz. The events, on and off campus, offer opportunities for engagement with alumni, the campus community, local residents, and students.

The effort includes:

  • A robust 50th anniversary website that looks back to the early days of UC Santa Cruz and shows the campus’s path toward even more success.
  • A music video with a song written by alumnus Brett Dennen;
  • Banners on campus and in the city;
  • A series of articles that focus on the campus’s start, its founders and its alumni;
  • Two campus buses branded with 50th anniversary logos and Sammy the Slug;
  • Articles in the online magazine Slate that emphasize UC Santa Cruz’s real-world impacts; the first article features Professor Enrico Ramriez-Ruiz and his success attracting underrepresented students to the sciences;
  • “Who says … ” print advertisements in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, and local newspapers that build off the campaign fundraising theme, “The Original Authority on Questioning Authority”;
  • Radio sponsorships
  • Bay Area billboards featuring the “Who says” advertisements

Share your photos and memories all through 2015 using the hashtag #UCSC50. We'll be featuring your photos and vintage shots of the campus every Thursday to celebrate our 50th on social media.