Jump Start Your School Spirit #1 “The Nickname”
Posted by Jim Berigan on 11 Feb 2008 in: School Spirit Ideas
Top School Fundraisers
Common sense tells us that a school’s ability to raise funds can be impacted by the level of school spirit that exists within the community. The more intense the school spirit, the more likely there will be people ready to donate. Low school spirit signals apathy, and that can definitely sink fundraising efforts.
I am going to start a series of blog posts on how to increase school spirit in some potentially radical ways. When I say “radical” I certainly don’t mean anything illegal. Rather, I’m referring to a method that will challenge the status quo within your school. These suggestions may not be for everyone, but I’m fairly certain that each one of the upcoming topics will get folks talking. It will be up to you to decide if they will be talking in a favorable manner or not.
What’s Your Logo?
Today I want to talk about your school’s mascot and logo. Already, I can hear people screaming in protest. I, myself, attended Eastern Michigan University when we changed our school teams’ name from “The Hurons” to “The Eagles”. The school administration claimed our nickname was insensitive to Native Americans. I’m not about to wade into that argument, but I did witness first hand how polarizing such a move can be. In fact, I think you can still buy bootleg Hurons t-shirts, just off campus. So, I can definitely understand how this might be a “taboo” subject for some.
However, there are many schools in America that have been sitting on the same old mascot and logo for decades. While some may be honoring a proud tradition of excellence, others might just not be thinking about it at all. If your school is in the latter situation, I would suggest that you begin a process of talking to people about making a significant change.
There have been amazing leaps in graphic design in the past few years, and with programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and advanced hardware like laser printers, it is possible to create some very appealing, exciting, and original concepts.
I would also suggest that there has been a creative explosion of (non-offensive) team names in recent years. Right in my own back yard, I have “The Fighting Ferrets” of North Central Michigan College. Not too far away are the Lansing “Lug Nuts” (minor league baseball). There is a minor league basketball team in Fort Wayne, Indiana, called “The Mad Antz”. The nickname of The University of California at Santa Cruz is “The Banana Slugs”, and I once lived in Bar Harbor, Maine, home of the College of the Atlantic “Black Flies”. Honest. These names kind of make “The Eagles” or “The Jets” or “The Tigers” seem a little out-dated.
For some preliminary ideas on what the latest trends in logos are, I would urge you to do a Google search for “Logo Trends 2008”. This will yield a number of sites with examples of what’s hot in the design world.
So, how could a new nickname and logo impact your school spirit? Well, first of all, you could hold a contest opening up the naming process to suggestions from the school body or even the entire community at large. This could be for both the name and the logo. Such a contest would generate much local attention and really get the people at your school excited for something new.
Once you have settled on a new nickname and logo, you can launch an entire line of school merchandise. From clothing and caps to items like school folders, pencils, water bottles, and backpacks, you can slap that new look on everything. You could even develop a whole new look for your school’s website.
It is hard to disagree that America has become a very market-savvy society. We love our favorite brands, and we spend lots of money to identify ourselves with these brands. Schools are no different. I believe that a hot new logo, nickname, and school color scheme will result in a student body that is more engaged and excited about its overall identity. Once you have everyone revved up like this, your job of fundraising could be a lot easier.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has gone through a school nickname change. Please share your thoughts and insights into this controversial topic.
I will continue this series “Jump Start Your School Spirit” later this week.
One Response to “Jump Start Your School Spirit #1 “The Nickname””
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Those are some pretty unusual college mascots! One of my favorite fun mascots is the “Fighting Artichokes” from Scottsdale Arizona. There are two colleges around where I live that went through the mandated mascot change and it can be a tough to get everyone on board. It can be costly too as all the schools signage, marketing materials, etc. have to be redone as well as a good PR and marketing campaign to get the positive spin. For elementary or secondary schools it may not be as problematic.
I definitely agree with the idea of updating the logo and look. If this hasn’t been done in 10 years or more then a school should definitely consider it. SportsLogos.net is a great website where you can look at hundreds of school logos. They are all college and pro level sports, but would be great help get ideas for schools too.