Kitty Felde
May 11, 2009
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It's not that unusual to see big ads in Washington, D.C. newspapers that aim to sway a Capitol Hill debate one way or another. KPCC's Washington Correspondent Kitty Felde says today's big ad looking to influence lawmakers in the east came from Westwood.
Andrea Ghez: The reason that I came to UCLA was to get access to the Keck Telescope.
Kitty Felde: Astronomy Professor Andrea Ghez is a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, and now the star of a 30-second YouTube video. She's one of a number of academics and community leaders extolling the virtues of UCLA online, on TV, and in newspaper ads.
UCLA has blown its own horn in the Los Angeles media two years in a row. This year, the school expanded its effort to include Washington, D.C. The
Washington Post featured two half-page ads for UCLA. And the online Washington staples Roll Call and Politico also featured Bruin ads.
Lawrence Lockman: UCLA is overall second in the nation in research expenditures from government grants and foundation contracts.
Felde: Lawrence Lockman is an assistant vice chancellor at UCLA.
Lockman: It's a competitive area and we certainly want to make our strength as well known as possible in D.C.
Felde: The ads feature a diverse group of UCLA cheerleaders that includes homebuilder and philanthropist Eli Broad, Linkin Park lead guitarist Brad Delson, and Democratic Congresswoman Diane Watson. The media campaign appears less than a week after the UC Board of Regents approved a 9 percent student fee hike.
Lockman says the $1.25 million that paid for the ads came not from student fees or state funding – but from the UCLA Foundation, the university endowment, and other sources. He calls it a "cost effective" way of reaching alumni and supporters.
Lockman: As we have seen frankly a steady increase in cuts to the UCLA budget and have relied more and more on expanding our philanthropic support, we have turned to using paid media strategically to help augment our efforts in those areas.
Felde: Other UC campuses have taken out ads to tout new programs or new schools. But nothing compares to the UCLA media blitz. That could change. Four million dollars has been set aside to get the word out about the value of all the UC campuses. A strategist for UC President Mark Yudof says simply – "Marketing is not a dirty word."
Ad: One of the fun things about research is you never know the surprises you're going to get.
Felde: UCLA's Lawrence Lockman says UCLA did some research on the ads that ran last year. He says those who saw them picked up the intended message that UCLA is an important community asset. Soon the university will see if running ads in Washington, D.C. translates into more federal money for research.
