Background
The University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) is home to one of the premier nursing schools in the country – ranked No. 12 in graduate schools of nursing by U.S. News and World Report and No. 5 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health. But the field of nursing is changing, and the school sought to position itself on the forefront of that change. Kevin/Ross was retained to help the school’s quest to redefine and “reimagine” nursing and, by doing so, helped brand the school as one of “uncompromised excellence in research, education, practice, policy and patient advocacy.”
Action
- Create a media relations program to support the school’s branding initiative.
- Position the dean as a leading spokesperson for the changing role of nursing.
- Capitalize on the reputation and name equity inherent in the UCLA Medical Center brand.
- Leverage existing marketing materials of the school to help tell its redefined story.
Results
- Successfully promoted the launch and first three years of the “Nurse 21” awards honoring the champions of nursing.
- A series of bylined articles, ghostwritten by Kevin/Ross on behalf of the dean, appeared in select trade publications in major markets around the country including Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
- Garnered extensive media coverage on research initiatives conducted by the UCLA School of Nursing faculty.
- Developed and released press releases discussing the rise of nurse practitioners, the role of nurses as patient advocates, the research contributions made by nurses, and the increasingly important role of nursing given the shortage of primary care physicians.
