Low school spirit has a negative impact on your student motivation, attendance rates, community support and athletic program performance. According to the Varsity Brands white paper, “[Students] perform better academically, are more socially and civically engaged, and are happier in general than their less-spirited peers.” If a student’s surroundings are void of school branding and encouragement- such as mascots logo, school colors or values- it will affect their attitude and motivation towards school activities and programs.

Many schools use professional team or university logos for their own school branding and do not realize they are using a trademarked logo that could potentially have legal ramifications. By using these logos, schools could find themselves in a situation that could result in thousands of dollars in fines and merchandise replacement. Logo infringement can be embarrassing and costly – now is the time to be proactive and turn a negative situation into a positive.

Some mascots have sparked conversations within the country of whether or not their branding is insensitive, disrespectful or derogatory. A negative or disrespectful brand affects your school as well as other’s perception outside your school. If you find yourself in this situation, it is important to implement a branding solution.

If your school uses multiple variations of your mascot, it is nearly impossible to establish a unique identity for your school. An age old issue that plagues schools nationwide is the lack of brand consistency. For example, the football coach uses one logo, the band director uses another and student government uses yet another.