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CHARLIE WILES HELPS SOUTHEAST LAUNCH REDHAWK COUNTRY
What do McDonald's golden arches, the Nike
swoosh and the MGM roaring lion have in common?
Sounds like a crazy kid's joke, but it isn't. The answer: a
company logo recognized the world over.
The first step in mastering product marketing is having a
positive, well-recognized logo, experts say. And the same goes
for university athletic teams. Southeast Missouri State
University in Cape Girardeau unveiled its new Redhawk mascot at
a basketball game in January.
The mascot name change from Indians to Redhawks created some
controversy during the last year and was a challenge for
marketing.
"Every major university in the nation has a
mascot," explained Dr. Charles Wiles, Director of Athletic
Marketing for Southeast Missouri State University. "Now we have
one, too."
Even Wiles admits there will probably be
some die-hards who will resist the change from Indians to
Redhawks. But, he adds, even those die-hards will have a tough
time resisting the looks on children's faces the first time they
give the new Redhawk mascot a big hug.
"I was at a St. Louis Cardinals game where
there were 50,000 fans. When Fred Bird was on the field, all of
those eyes were on him," said Wiles.
The university's mascot was officially
unveiled during pre-game activities on Jan. 22 when Southeast
faced Austin Peay at the Show Me Center. About 1,500 new
T-shirts featuring the Redhawk were given away at the pre-game
ceremony.
With every appearance by the new mascot,
Wiles think public affection will grow. He said the mascot will
be appearing at more than 100 athletic events each season.
Marketing for a new mascot is "really is
all common sense," Wiles said. I think the college students, the
children, and the public in general will enjoy having a mascot
that can be the center of attention and stir up a lot of crowd
excitement. It will just make a huge difference to have a mascot
that is touchable and huggable. Eventually, I think even the
die-hards will see this as a positive thing."
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