Red Cactus wins 9 MARCOM Awards!

Cal State Monterey Bay

The Strenth of us

Engaging the Cal State Monterey Bay community in a transformative brand journey focused on elevating the University's brand identity and expanding its regional, national, and international recognition.

The Strength of Collaboration

On April 4, 2024, Cal State Monterey Bay unveiled its new brand campaign, "The Strength of Us," through an on-campus launch event. This milestone marked the culmination of an extensive, iterative process refined through surveys, focus groups, and open sessions with key stakeholders.

This collaborative process led to a refreshed brand identity, the creation of comprehensive brand guidelines, and a versatile suite of marketing templates designed to ensure a cohesive brand implementation across various marketing and communication channels, including brochures, banners, postcards, videos, and social media.

While the campaign just officially launched in April 2024, Cal State Monterey Bay has already seen a significant increase in student inquiries and campus visits, with social media engagement at an all-time high. Enrollment for Fall 2024 saw a 15% increase - the highest of any other university in the California State University system.

As the university celebrates its strongest enrollment growth in over five years, "The Strength of Us" will be a foundation for future initiatives, fostering stronger community ties, alumni engagement, and extended outreach to prospective students.

The campaign won Gold at the 2023 MARCOM Awards for our creative design process and Gold at the 2024 Hermes Awards for the brand campaign and ethos video.

What We Did

Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Competitor Positioning Analysis

Brand Positioning Framework

Brand Creative Concepts

Logo Refresh

Spirit Mark Development

Concept Testing

Brand Guidelines

Brand Rollout Planning

Photography/Videography

Brand Launch Video

Airport Digital Displays

Marketing Templates

Website Content

Want to learn more about our branding process?

Contact Beatrice

You nailed it! The colors, fonts, choices with word placement, and "Strength of Us" tagline all feel fresh, aligned, and brilliant. As an alum, I couldn't be happier with this new brand evolution!

Alum and Foundation Board Member

Photography Brings the Story to Life

Photography by Jason Jones

Now we have a cohesive and clear brand framework that allows us to communicate consistently with all of our university stakeholders.

Vanya Quinones, President

Ethos Video

At Cal State Monterey Bay, there are truly no limits to what can be accomplished through a united campus community and a common spirit for learning and life.

The Strength of Community

The campus community was continuously involved in the branding process through focus groups, surveys, and open sessions. They shared their opinions regarding brand positioning, logo design and creative concepts.

The result is an award-winning brand campaign and record-breaking enrollment growth.

Brand Empowerment Tools

Fostering a Culture of Brand Stewardship

Recognizing the need for consistent and on-brand communications across a diverse campus, we developed an innovative suite of customizable templates in Canva, Word, and PowerPoint. These tools were designed to empower faculty, staff, and student communicators to create professional-quality marketing materials with ease and confidence, ensuring every piece of communication—whether it was a banner, poster, brochure, postcard, or social media post—was visually compelling and aligned with the university's new brand guidelines. This empowered approach not only strengthened the brand internally but also enhanced the university’s external image, contributing to a unified and powerful representation of the Cal State Monterey Bay story.

Easy-to-Use TEMPLATES

These templates didn’t just simplify the creation process; they revolutionized it. With easy-to-use tools, we've enabled the campus community to take ownership of their communications and fostered a culture of brand stewardship where everyone is now an ambassador of our university's identity.

Aaron Byant PhD, Associate VP, Marketing and Communications

A Cascade of POSITIVE Impact

The Power of Education to Transform Lives

Building on the success of our branding campaign, Red Cactus is partnering with CSUMB to support its "Ripple Effect" fundraising campaign. We’re creating a range of impactful materials, including a cultivation viewbook, brochures, PowerPoint templates, and fact sheets. At the heart of "Ripple Effect" is a powerful message: every contribution sparks a wave of positive change that uplifts students, families, and communities. It’s an invitation for donors to join a legacy of transformative impact. Our Case Statement for this campaign won Platinum at the 2024 MARCOM Awards.