Building an Athletic Brand:The University of South Carolina Beaufort Crafts a New Image
Case Questions
Besides athletic department personnel, what other on-campus and off-campus stakeholders are actively involved in key athletic department decisions?
Why is an athletic department logo important? What value does it add to an athletic program? How does it impact potential marketing activities?
What were the most important criteria USCB utilized in its mascot decision? What other criteria might have been included?
What were the advantages of utilizing market research and, in particular, an online survey to solicit information from a variety of stakeholders before proceeding with the mascot decision?
Among the final choices for the USCB mascot, what are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
What would have been your top three choices for USCB’s mascot? Why?
Was there clearly a “top choice” or could USCB have selected any of its final choices?
How would you introduce the logo to the athletes, to the university and to the community at large?
What “giveaways” would you initially purchase and distribute to insure the logo will be quickly adopted by students, faculty and staff?
USCB chose to work with a small design firm that truly became a partner in the entire mascot selection process from research through the announcement event. What other sorts of design partners are available for projects like these and what criteria might you use to select one?
What level of awareness–and ability to identify the logo–would you expect amongst students after two years? How would you measure this?
How do you feel USCB’s mascot and logo compare to the other mascots and logos of USC system institutions? Why do you think there is a wide disparity in the “quality” and appearance of many of the logos?
After selecting the mascot and colors and image, how does an organization protect its logo legally?
Why would USCB’s marketing lead invest so much time in an athletics branding decision? How would the new image and the extensive press it would receive in the sports pages affect the university’s visibility and reputation?
What sort of on-going investment is required to build the athletic identity over 3-5 years?
