Recently my Cadettes started the MEdia Journey. Much like the Netiquette Badge this Journey is right up their alley and really appeals to the teen crowd. They love talking about all things techy and I have found I have learned a lot from the girls' savvy knowledge. In our discussion of how social media can impact your life, you can't escape the fact that social media is a great avenue for advertising and marketing. There are so many ways to advertise today and one of the most effective ways is an easily recognizable logo. I asked the girls to give a definition of a Logo? LOGO - is considered the "face" of a company. It is a symbol that is immediately recognizable. And it sums up a simple visual on what the company stands for. Then I asked the girls what they thought they should consider when making an "effective" logo. Today, there are many considerations when developing a logo. The logo must be easily displayed across multiple mediums including print for magazines, neon signs, to internet uses. So we spent an entire day talking about logos. We talked about what makes a logo easily identifiable with a brand. To help the girls understand how important logos can be, I developed several puzzles and games to test their logo knowledge. Many of the girls were surprised to find that they know far more logos than they thought from the most common logo like the McDonald's arches to recognizing the "e" in Google. E Logo Quiz - CLICK HERE ABC Logo Game - CLICK HERE Store Logo Game - CLICK HERE Which Car? CLICK HERE Another fun activity would be to play the Logo Game which you can purchase from Wal-Mart for under $20. Next, we discussed the 6 most common persuasion techniques and read the job description of an "Advertising Copywriter" in the GS MEdia Journey. We also read about the term "Advergaming" in the Journey. I asked the girls to give examples of companies that use games to market their products. One girl suggested Webkinz which is a perfect example of using games to help advertise and attract customers, but there are many examples today. Finally, we recognized that media often overlaps, and it is advantageous to advertise across multiple media platforms. Often times these platforms reach out and connect or draw people in from different backgrounds and experience. For instance, the older generation might not use Facebook, but they probably use Goggle where people can advertise. Or not every person visits Etsy, but they may find a product or recognize a logo on Pinterest. If people see a logo across many social media tools then it only widens their awareness. I had a marketing representative from our school district come and talk to the girls about our "Dragon" logo. Here in the Southlake Carroll school district the Dragon is a great source of pride and is trademarked. This is possible and cost effective because we have only one high school, therefore every school within the school district shares the Dragon mascot logo. That means, if you buy a Dragon t-shirt in elementary, it can be worn for many years and to various functions from a varsity football game to an elementary field trip. The school district decided to trademark or patent the Dragon logo to "brand" our school district and create revenue for the schools. We learned quite a bit about the logo, it's history, when the logo can be used and who can use it. We also learned that similar logos have been created that have infringed on other logos and this can create problems for businesses and schools. One school in Florida tried to use the Dodge Ram as their logo and Dodge sent the school a letter of infringement and asked them not to use the logo to protect their own Dodge brand. Typically 2 out of 3 characteristics must be different in order to use a logo. Take the USC logo for example: Southlake Carroll attempted to use a similar logo and USC sent a letter of infringement. The school district thought simply changing the colors would prevent infringement. However, in order to adhere to the 2 out of 3 characteristics stipulation, we must change the color and the font or the place the letters connect in order to use the logo. Basically our school district decided it was not worth the controversy so they stopped producing products with the interlocking "SC". Today we only use the Dragon logo. At the end of our meeting the girls developed their "own" logo. They could market themselves as is the case of singers or bands or they could market a product with their name like perfume. I showed them my examples and they went to town creating fun , unique and eye catching logos using all the knowledge and tips they learned from our meeting. Feel free to use my notes to help start your discussions: CLICK HERE If you are unable to access Dropbox, simply e-mail me and I will send you all this information in pdf format: [email protected]
