The Oakland Post

OU’s logo overload

By editors
Posted: Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 at 9:31 pm | Last Updated: Tuesday, February 8th, 2011 at 9:31 pm Comments Print This Email This Tweet This Delicious

If you attend Oakland University, odds are you are a white, female resident of Oakland County between the ages of 17 and 22.

But a bunch of young, white girls with a five- to ten-minute drive to campus don’t define OU. So, what does?

If you know the answer to that question, OU President Gary Russi would like to hear about it.

At last month’s university update, Russi said the University of Michigan and Michigan State University have already sealed their fates and cannot change who they are, whereas Oakland is still young enough to rebrand itself.

Oakland cannot — nor should it — be U-M or MSU, but there is something OU could learn from the state’s two biggest schools.

When you think of each school, a block letter comes to mind. Perhaps the image of a Spartan or a maize and blue helmet do, too. All told, U-M and MSU have a combined 14 registered marks.

OU, conversely, has 17 official, regulated logos, according to its website. Granted, several have very specific uses — the “Little Grizz” logo is used only for youth merchandise and the side profile of Grizz is primarily for club sports — and some are slight variations of each other.

Still, having multiple identifiable logos gives OU an identity crisis.

Oakland, of course, started its collegiate career as the Pioneers, becoming the Golden Grizzlies in 1998 when it switched to Division I.

Sticking with one, solid logo should be the first step OU takes toward branding itself.

Once OU’s visual image is solidified, it should look to invoke a strong mental association of what it has to offer.

Oakland is known for being a cheaper, viable alternative to MSU, but doesn’t have the prestige of its green and white mother.

According to the Office of Institutional Research, only 1 percent of Oakland’s total student population is from out of state, indicating that the university is not nationally recognized — despite the popular myth that OU is in Oakland, Calif.

The men’s basketball team is changing that fast. The team will likely make its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and a rumored expansion of its O’rena would further legitimize the team.

The women’s basketball team isn’t far behind, and the swimming and diving teams are perennial powerhouses.

If OU improves its retention rates, Russi projects an enrollment of 24,420 in 2020 — a 28 percent growth from OU’s current enrollment of 19,053.

Growth, of course, would come with several logistical issues as on-campus housing has been above 100 percent occupancy for three years running and parking continues to be a real, albeit exaggerated, problem.

Once all the kinks are figured out, Oakland is in a terrific position to grow. But it needs to first identify its true identity.

Is it to become the hub of medical research? Is it a perfect medium between a community college and an elite university?

When kids grow up, they go through many phases, and try out many things. Ultimately, they settle on one thing they want to do.

For Oakland to finally hit maturity, it needs to do the same.