On Wednesday, Aug. 15, NSU unveiled their new brand in the university’s Shark Store in the Don Taft University Center. The new look features slick NSU lettering containing a hidden shark in the “N”, a new CGI animated mako shark as well as new headlines such as “be a force of nature”, “we put the edge in education” and “the NSU Edge.” The new campaign also retires the old sun logo that has been a part of the brand for years, and the university will be slowly phasing it out around campus and on products.
The NSU Edge, which is at the heart of this campaign, clearly states on their website to promise to give students the competitive edge they need when they graduate and head out into the workforce.
“We feel like it’s the promise we should lead with when we talk with new audiences to introduce ourselves. There’s lots of wonderful things you can say about NSU— we have a great multicultural diversity here, we have different disciplines here, we have a great location,” explained Kyle Fisher, vice president for public relations and marketing communications for NSU. “We tested all of these promises, but this NSU Edge promise, the competitive advantage, that is the one that was authentic and true for the people that are here. It also resonated in the most powerful way in the outside world.”
Much of the overall aesthetic of the new brand focuses on the usage of the mako shark, including a CGI animated rendering that can be seen in videos and images across the campaign. According to the university’s website, the mako shark represents the NSU community because “we’re fast moving, we have a desire to succeed, we swim forward,” among other “mako mantras.” In addition, the image is easily recognizable and strongly associated with the university’s current identity.
Another addition to the brand is placing Florida at the forefront, including in the new Instagram and Twitter handles, @NSUFlorida. Fisher explained this choice was to promote the sunny campus location, which can be a draw for prospective out-of-state students. In addition, the site of the campuses are prime for many areas of research and education, such as in the fields of environmental science, public health, urban development issues, cultural studies and much more.
Students do generally seem to agree that the location is an enticing pull to potential students. “I think [including Florida] is smart, because most of the people I talk to say one of the main reasons they came here is for the location. If I wasn’t from Florida, I think I would have wanted to move here anyway,” said Rachel Sheppard, sophomore psychology major. “Also, all the other universities in Florida have the name Florida in it- for example The University of Florida, or FSU. I feel like it draws out-of-state people.”
While the campaign brings a new look to NSU, rebranding an entire university can be potentially costly. Fisher assured students that the new campaign will not be taking away from other funding. “We’re not going to spend money on [replacing the old images], we’re not going to take money from more important things. What we plan to do is, when we do something new or we’re improving something… that’s when we would make the more expensive logo changes. We’re not going to just spend money to change a logo. We have more important things— students— to invest in” said Fisher. When the new logo is being displayed, the university plans to use more cost effective ways, such as decals, to promote it. As for the current branding that is seen around campus, some of the advertising dollars that would otherwise be allocated to promote the school in general are promoting the university and the campaign at the same time.
The university’s renovated website includes a video of “NSU Edge Testimonials,” among other explanations as to how the NSU community embodies these new promises. Students are also encouraged to share stories of what The Edge means to them using the hashtag #MyNSUEdge. For more information on the campaign, or to see the new brand, visit nova.edu/sharks.
