ASUCLA takes home gold, bronze in 2026 American Business Awards
ASUCLA Social Media Supervisor Elyse Morneau holding the Gold American Business Award.
In the 2026 American Business Awards, ASUCLA won gold for Achievement in Viral Marketing and bronze in the categories of Customer Retention Program and Reuse and Recycle.
Los Angeles, Calif., April 30, 2026 – For the third year, Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA) was honored with another gold award from the American Business Awards (ABA); the 2026 honor was presented in the category Achievement in Viral Marketing for a student-driven social media campaign, along with two additional bronze placements.
“These awards are a testament to the hard work, dedication and passion that ASUCLA brings to serving the UCLA community and highlight collaborative efforts across ASUCLA departments,” said Ari Baron, ASUCLA director of Marketing, Sales and Promotions. “We are proud of these achievements and excited to continue raising the bar in customer service, sustainability and student-centric marketing.”
The gold award was earned for the ASUCLA x Lynn Painter social media campaign initiated by ASUCLA Social Media Student Supervisor Elyse Morneau’s @uclastore Instagram Reel about New York Times best-selling author Lynn Painter’s novel “Nothing Like the Movies,” which is set on UCLA’s campus. The initial post generated more than 100,000 views and 7,000 likes, leading to a larger campaign that brought Painter to the UCLA Store for a book signing in October 2025, which garnered over 250 attendees and generated $20,000 in retail sales.
The UCLA Store’s customer loyalty program, Bruin Rewards, won bronze in the Customer Retention Program of the Year category. Bruin Rewards allows shoppers to earn one point for every dollar spent at the UCLA Store that can be redeemed on future purchases. As of April 2026, over 36,000 members have signed up for Bruin Rewards, redeeming over 4.7 million points — over $235,000 in savings.
The bronze award in the Reuse and Recycle category was earned by the Reusables program at ASUCLA Restaurants, which is transitioning select food service operations away from single-use foodware through the implementation of a scalable, closed-loop reusable system in which reusable food ware is collected, sanitized and redistributed. In the first six months of the program, there were 2,130 foodware reuses, diverting 243 pounds of disposable waste and saving 860 pounds of carbon emissions and 469 gallons of water.
The ABAs are the United States’ premier business awards program and a subcomponent of the Stevie Awards. Organizations of all types and sizes operating in the U.S. are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs for the opportunity to be honored for outstanding performance in the workplace.
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About ASUCLA:
Founded in 1919, Associated Students UCLA (ASUCLA) is a nonprofit association that drives vitally essential student services and activities throughout the UCLA campus. ASUCLA boasts the largest college store in the U.S., an extensive food program, UCLA® brand licensing programming through UCLA Trademarks & Licensing, and other services and programs that include student government and student media, which significantly enhances the quality of UCLA’s campus life. For more information and to stay connected, follow @asucla on Instagram or visit asucla.ucla.edu.