FB: Southern Athletic Association

[awadelewis]

Does anyone know if any of these schools (Trinity, Maryville, Sewanee) used consulting firms when going through their rebranding process?

Sewanee used a marketing consulting firm out of Chicago who had absolutely no clue about the institution and its history.    That was the first sign the Vice-Chancellor (our President) at the time had started to lose the confidence of the big name donors.

[Etchglow]

Does anyone know if any of these schools (Trinity, Maryville, Sewanee) used consulting firms when going through their rebranding process?

Trinity used not one but two, according to local media:  Massachusetts-based Mackey Strategies and Maryland-based E&A Collaborative.

are we sure they didn't just have chatgpt do it?  I'm not an alum and even I think that new re-branding is way off base.

[Ron Boerger]

ChatGPT might have done a better job.

Is this any worse than what they came up with?  OK, it probably is, but I spent five minutes on this having never used the tool and it cost $0.00.  And the fact that this is so lackluster that it prodded me into using AI tools, which I detest, is annoying. 

There was a preview of the rebrand for stakeholders but it was like the week I had knee replacement and I was in no shape to attend.  Maybe I should have attended, under the influence of serious narcotics it could have been quite educational. 

[tigerguy]

ChatGPT might have done a better job.

Is this any worse than what they came up with?  OK, it probably is, but I spent five minutes on this having never used the tool and it cost $0.00.  And the fact that this is so lackluster that it prodded me into using AI tools, which I detest, is annoying. 

There was a preview of the rebrand for stakeholders but it was like the week I had knee replacement and I was in no shape to attend.  Maybe I should have attended, under the influence of serious narcotics it could have been quite educational. 

Way to go, Ron. I now lay the blame for this entirely at your feet.

[Ron Boerger]

Way to go, Ron. I now lay the blame for this entirely at your feet.

LOL, I only wish I had that kind of power.  I can't even manage to get them do do anything about some of the very out-of-date parts of the athletic website.  How about that 2022 football Media Guide?

This supposedly was in an email from Tom Evelyn, the newish (hired last year) VP of "Strategic Communications and Marketing" at Trinity, sent in response to a complainant (probably now being sent to anyone writing him):

"The passion that Trinity alumni have for their university is remarkable - and a big part of what makes Trinity special.  We are indeed listening and taking all of the feedback to heart as we consider potential next steps.  And we will keep the community informed as we move forward."

A Trinity board member posted a virtually identical text on the TU Alumni Facebook group, to which an alumna posted a screenshot of the email containing the response above. 

In case anyone is wondering, Evelyn came to Trinity from Furman, where he spent eight years.  Prior to that, two years at the U of Florida, three at St. Lawrence, four at Bucknell, the better part of five at UCF.  Nothing in that background screams "hey, this is the guy I want leading a rebrand because he understands what a small private university in Texas needs and how to communicate why we are doing it".

Nearly every social media post from the University is being dogged by complaints about the rebrand.  It's not a good look, but then, neither is the logo. 

[MCScots2013]

Don't worry—most schools find an away to tick off alums and spend a lot of money doing it. A decade ago Maryville spent over $10,000 on an architect's "Master Plan" that to my knowledge only resulted in the track. They planned moving the baseball field down to the softball and soccer area, building a natatorium and turning Honaker Field (football) 90 degrees. Come to find out, Scotland Yard (baseball, beside Honaker) has been the home of Reckless Base Ball Club/Highlander/Fighting Scots/Scots baseball forever and they just celebrated the 150th year. Quite possibly one of the oldest baseball fields in use.  Would have been terrible if they relocated baseball.


Another thing the ticked a lot of guys off. Dropping "Fighting" from Fighting Scots. Tragic.