UCLA First Thursdays

Urban Revitalization through brand experience.

The UCLA First Thursdays monthly series, is developed in partnership with the Westwood Village Improvement Association. UCLA First Thursdays features daytime and evening events for students, staff, faculty, alumni and members of the local community designed to highlight the village’s attractions and revitalize the historic link between the campus and the neighborhood.

We launched First Thursdays, a holistic experiential campaign welcoming the UCLA community back to campus after a year away during the pandemic. On the first Thursday of every month, we show up with a new theme and a fresh set of experiential activities that celebrate what it means to be a Bruin and member of the Westwood community.

What We Did

  • Campaign Management
  • Creative Direction
  • Experience Production

Our inaugural event was entitled “Game On” highlighting all things sports! The event featured an eSports activation area with giant wall projection featuring NBA 2K, FIFA 22 and Madden for guests to enjoy a little friendly competition, playing Nintendo games for free tacos. Lily Breeze, a graffiti muralist and UCLA Alumni, provided a live art experience celebrating UCLA mens and women’s basketball teams in her design. Student art in the form of custom sneakers were displayed down Broxton St. for all to view as they entered and exited the main event space, the Barney’s Beanery parking lot. Other elements like UCLA Alumni DJ Valida, a basketball dunk photo booth, food trucks and custom heat press t-shirts brought the rest of the lot to life.

In the months following, we have explored themes like “Joy Fest” which promoted student music groups and the campus event Spring Sing, “Friendsgiving” which spotlighted UCLA faculty culinary talent and on- campus food resources through a live cooking show, and many more.

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