TCU’s Sesquicentennial Year – Lead On: A Campaign

TCU Murals Across the Nation

TCU made a splash in New York City in late 2022, celebrating the launch of TCU’s national Lead On marketing campaign and ringing the iconic New York Stock Exchange bell to build broad excitement and awareness for TCU’s Sesquicentennial. I had the honor of being part of TCU’s 150th, highlighting notable Horned Frog leaders who found their inspiration at TCU with a series of murals, hand-painted in cities across America. The larger-than-life artistic portraits appeared in select U.S. cities to recognize outstanding individuals who represent the power of TCU’s alumni leading on in extraordinary ways in their chosen fields.

What Did Social Do?

-Collaborated one-on-one with each mural subject to foster a genuine connection.
-Produced alumni spotlight videos, sharing their TCU journey and career paths.
-Created captivating mural timelapse videos to showcase the artistic process.
-Facilitated Instagram and Facebook story takeovers for a personal introduction before the mural launch.
-Covered live events on social media, extending the celebration to the TCU community and mural subjects’ fanbase.
-Created a TikTok/Reel summary for each location and incorporated it with a trending sound.

Celebrations and $1 Billion Goal Surpassed

TCU’s 150th year was packed with a series of spirited celebrations. From a decked-out campus in the vibrant hues of TCU’s 150th branding to the opening and closing weekends, the festivities extended both on and off campus. We maximized this opportunity to engage our audience by flooding our social channels with content, spotlighting every event, facilitating takeovers, and posting Throwback Thursday’s every week throughout the entire year. To tie it all together, we used the hashtag #TCU150 in all our posts, creating a cohesive online narrative that mirrored the historic significance of this milestone year. As the grand finale during the closing week, we welcomed Kelsea Ballerini for our homecoming performance, inviting our students, families, and alumni. In addition, TCU exceeded its philanthropic goal set forth through Lead On: A Campaign for TCU. With over $1 billion committed, this campaign is ensuring a bright future for the next 150 years.

Scroll below to see the celebrations come to life!
All content was posted across all of TCU’s main social channels – Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Threads, and TikTok.

---

New York, New York

Lead On, Joyfully – The first mural in the series was unveiled in New York City and had spotlight alumnus John Devereaux ’12, who was touring with Hamilton at the time.

---

Los Angeles, California

Lead On, Courageously – The second mural in the series was unveiled in Los Angeles and featured Katherine Beattie ’08, producer/writer for “NCIS” and wheelchair athlete.

---

Nashville, Tennessee

Lead On, Confidently – The third mural in the series was unveiled in Nashville and featured Desmond Bane ’20, NBA player for the Memphis Grizzlies and a youth advocate.

---

Chicago, Illinois

Lead On, Confidently – The third mural in the series was unveiled in Nashville and featured Desmond Bane ’20, NBA player for the Memphis Grizzlies and a youth advocate.

---

Bringing it home in Fort Worth, Texas

Dream Big, Be Bold, Lead On – The final murals made its way back home in two locations – one on campus and the other in downtown Fort Worth. Both murals were designed by TCU student and a TCU alumni. Additionally, the murals across the nation were placed on billboards around Fort Worth.

---

Opening weekend

---

TCU Popup Shop

---

150 Finale Week: A Bright Future