UNC Charlotte

We Are All Niners

Higher Education

Deepening the connection between a school and its city. By embracing the qualities they share.

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The Challenge

We were tasked with helping to establish UNC Charlotte as integral to the growth and expansion of the city of Charlotte. In doing so, the desired outcome would be for Charlotte to embrace the school as THE University in the region. Or as we now like to say, the school would become “Charlotte’s University.”

The Insight

UNC Charlotte and Charlotte are intrinsically linked and work together toward the common goal of success in the region. The city and the school share the same lifeblood and having that insight drove us toward the rallying cry, “We are All Niners.”

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The Solution

We wanted to portray Charlotte as a thriving city filled with youth, energy and vigor BECAUSE of UNC Charlotte. The University generates an employee base for the city to attract major industries, research and innovation development. And everything that makes Charlotte a desirable place to live; its progressive, enterprising, dynamic and welcoming nature, also describes the school. A real and true partnership based on shared values needed to be communicated. With our tagline of “We are All Niners” a success story was in the making.

We are all Niners Rich Media on smartphone preview

The Results

Over 38 million impressions were generated. “We are All Niners” became the theme of the year for the entire University. Even ESPN announcers mentioned it when reporting on the University’s first bowl-eligible season. For the next enrollment cycle, UNC Charlotte surpassed 30,000 students making the institution the second largest in the UNC system.