Go Lions! Authentic Stories For Loyola Marymount University
- Drake Africa
- Apr 25
- 5 min read
In an age where career prospects and community are becoming more desirable from institutes of higher education, universities face the challenge of making a good impression amongst students and families. LMU's Marketing and Communications team has created many initiatives to engage prospective students, alumni, and the extended Lion family. This study explores how MarComm and I created compelling content that drove the university’s mission forward with clarity, integrity, and inclusion.
The Challenge of University Engagement
Authentic storytelling for the MarComm department goes beyond mere advertising. It taps into the values that has made Jesuit education endure for so long, while also adapting to the times to keep these values relevant. At the time I had started my internship in 2019, LMU refreshed its visual identity to strengthen brand recognition, unify campus communications, and better reflect the pillars of the university’s mission:
The Encouragement of Learning
The Education of the Whole Person
The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice
After landing at No. 64 on the U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” rankings that year, LMU launched several initiatives to foster not only academic and professional development, but also physical, social, psychological, moral, cultural, and spiritual growth. As part of this push to drive prospective and current student engagement, LMU MarComm inspired trust, loyalty, and init-building through several media outlets that I helped to develop.
Marcomm's Answer: Effective Storytelling
To build upon the momentum of LMU’s exceptional optics, my team at MarComm focused on developing several key narratives that showcased how the university encourages a holistic approach to personal development. To accomplish this, my team and I created media that highlighted academic resources, student accomplishments, and series that students could contribute to with their own perspectives on the state of the university and the community that fuels it.
The first project I’d contribute to as part of these initiatives was the LMU “BTS” series, which was one of our first campaigns to get our Instagram followers to follow our TikTok account:
Giving students a glimpse of different enrichment opportunities available through our campus organizations and amenities, this short campaign set a precedent that would eventually be improved on by our student-led “Instagram Takeover” and “Lion on the Street” series.
I went on to work on the set of our “Legends Build Legacies” commercial, a promotion which would screen nationally and move attention towards our broader “$44,000 in 44 days for #44” campaign to honor the legacy of Hank Gathers, one of LMU’s greatest athletes.
This campaign officially started in November of 2019, providing donors time to learn more about Gathers’ extraordinary accomplishments and fund the construction of a statue in his likeness, which was unveiled on campus in February of 2020. Before then, I edited a video showcasing the Gathers’ family reacting to the first unveiling of his statue. This was meant to help Lions explore who Hank was off the court—dedicated to his family, loyal to his teammates and committed to his education at LMU.
While LMU Athletics gathered attention and capital for the statue project, MarComm also sought to empower students by directing them to the Academic Resource Center. As a part I also produced LMU’s first student-led documentary on the campus Writing Center.
Years before the popularization of AI writing assistants, the ARC offered free, peer-to-peer writing support for undergraduate and graduate students in any discipline and at any stage in the writing process. With my fellow student interns at MarComm, I designed a shoot that would emphasize the variety of use cases for the center’s services and the approachability of its staff members. The video still serves as a point of reference for students seeking to complete writing and research projects with confidence.
Following these projects , LMU shifted focus to address the needs of students and families facing uncertainty during the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020. This culminated in the #LMUTogether campaign. MarComm and all public-facing Lions would emphasize the importance of embracing community while navigating online education throughout the rest of the year.
These communications included the I Am LMU Thankful series, which ran through November of 2020 as a Thanksgiving-themed celebration of the community-oriented values that the university worked to uplift. I found great holiday cheer in gathering student submissions to this campaign.
MarComm’s efforts in this time culminated in the #OneLMUDrive campaign, which was a multi-departmental push to gather funds from donors to bolster academic and athletic programs for LMU’s Day of Giving.
Here’s the initial pitch, which I enjoyed editing:
From the School of Film and Television to the Office for International Students/Scholars, several university entities acted as part of my team’s strategy to “drive LMU forward” using social media. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and even Buster, LMU’s therapy dog, got into the excitement of the day on social media.
Videos, photos and passionate pleas to give to LMU were seen and heard on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and even TikTok. It was certainly the most integrated campaign I ever contributed to!
By the end of the campaign, the community raised $2,368,608 from 4,441 gifts in just 24 hours - an increase of 169 percent over the previous year’s totals. Lions from 48 states and 11 countries came together to unlock 31 challenges and match gift opportunities from 49 generous donors.
After working on campaign materials for this drive and the Gathers statue reactions, I was thrilled to see that the donations from this drive would contribute to the launching of LMU’s Tip Off Club, which would provide alumni, supporters, and community leaders access to coaches, student-athletes, content, hospitality, and special events to benefit the men’s and women’s basketball teams. In one of the most challenging years for college athletics, this campaign showed me what institutions can accomplish with truly integrated marketing and communications.
Going Forward with Pride: Conclusion
Before graduating from LMU, I had trouble conceptualizing the scope of what marketing professionals do to leave a lasting impact once an ad is over – once the audience starts swiping and scrolling again. As I continued to study under the guidance of Yoshi, the Art Director of Digital Content, I came to find that video content isn’t just for pushing people to buy a product or service. It’s also for bringing people together. It’s for reminding them that they’re not alone, and that resources are available to make their days a little easier. It’s for celebrating huge wins and taking time to appreciate the small details that make life beautiful, and making all of this easy to access. That’s what keeps me coming back to marketing and communications, and I’ll always be grateful that my journey in this field started on the shoulders of roaring successes. GO LIONS!
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