Case Study: UCLA's CNSI achieves media breakthroughs and measurable ROI with Meltwater

How the California NanoSystems Institute Uses Meltwater to Break Through the Noise

The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) at UCLA—home to nearly 400 faculty working on advanced research and startups—needed a way to cut through crowded science and innovation coverage to reach relevant audiences across California and beyond. The communications team faced challenges identifying niche topics and influencers, securing high-impact coverage, and proving the program’s value to university leadership.

Using Meltwater, CNSI targeted reporters with Meltwater Media Relations—resulting in a strategic partnership with Voice of America—and used social and media intelligence to uncover emerging topics, audiences, and influencers it hadn’t known about, leading to coverage in top outlets. Shared dashboards and easy reporting gave the team a single source of truth to demonstrate ROI, improve cross-functional collaboration, and build trust with executives.

UCLA

Nicole Wilkins

Director of Strategic Communications