University of British Columbia

The Challenge

The University of British Columbia Faculty of Applied Science set an ambitious $300M capital campaign goal: to build a groundbreaking living laboratory—Applied One—that would house several schools under one roof. The problem: many of their would-be donors were not inclined to fund “buildings.”

Services

  • Campaigns
  • Creative

The Insight

But we saw the campaign being about so much more than a building—they were raising money for what the building will do for society: Unlike siloed universities worldwide, Applied One would host a new model of education in which engineers, architects, and planners collaborate with community members and industry leaders to solve the world’s most complex problems. The unique campaign positioning we developed was intended to unite and excite UBC’s audiences about new ways of working together that rewrite the rules of applied science.

The Journey

Though their donor types are quite varied, we helped the Faculty develop on-strategy campaign materials including a website, case for support brochure, and moving video, to impress upon their donors the urgency of the matter: “We’re at a turning point where we must work collaboratively or submit to a status quo of waning impact and relevance. But if it doesn’t happen now, it will happen too late.”

The Impact

This bold and visionary strategy came alive throughout groundbreaking communication tools. Handwritten typeface and photos accentuated the collaborative nature of the campaign, and a powerful hero image reinforced the campaign’s dynamism and pivotal nature on the microsite. UCB is on track to meet or exceed their goal well before the end of the campaign!

Visit the campaign website.

It has been an incredible journey and your team has been outstanding to work with on this project.

Valerie Martin  as Director, Development and  Communications at Applied Sciences, University of British Columbia

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