Oregon State Unveils New Logo and Uniforms

[BigDmo]

Would be nice to see little brother get a little update to something more modern, I hate that Beaver head logo. I'm a pretty big fan of the OS and the font to boot, kinda sad to see that go. Should be interesting to see what they come up with.

[gdu]

I'd think that the fact that the Beavers' rival is known for wearing a different uniform every week, they'd want to make their identity more timeless, which they have a good chance at doing with what they have right now. I'll reserve my final verdict until I see this trotted out, but right now it feels like change for the sake of change.

Yeah I don't think it'd be a smart move if the Beavers tried to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. Oregon's going to one-up them every time. Go with something timeless.

You do this stuff to help get recruits and excite the fanbase. Timeless doesn't work for that unless you are Alabama, Texas, USC and have the other stuff that comes with that (tradition, trophies, facilities, huge stadiums, etc...)

[CrazyAnna]

At first glance this looks cool... but then I just see the Nike Swoosh. What has been seen cannot be unseen.

Enough already. It's almost as bad as young college boys seeing a penis in anything.

[hawk36]

These should be their full time unis. Old school but cool and totally opposite of the Ducks.

[WSU151]

I'd think that the fact that the Beavers' rival is known for wearing a different uniform every week, they'd want to make their identity more timeless, which they have a good chance at doing with what they have right now. I'll reserve my final verdict until I see this trotted out, but right now it feels like change for the sake of change.

Yeah I don't think it'd be a smart move if the Beavers tried to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. Oregon's going to one-up them every time. Go with something timeless.

You do this stuff to help get recruits and excite the fanbase. Timeless doesn't work for that unless you are Alabama, Texas, USC and have the other stuff that comes with that (tradition, trophies, facilities, huge stadiums, etc...)

Oregon State doesn't win many recruiting battles as it is. The marginal effect of doing something completely "sick" every three years will be minimal at best.

[IceCap]

I'd think that the fact that the Beavers' rival is known for wearing a different uniform every week, they'd want to make their identity more timeless, which they have a good chance at doing with what they have right now. I'll reserve my final verdict until I see this trotted out, but right now it feels like change for the sake of change.

Yeah I don't think it'd be a smart move if the Beavers tried to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. Oregon's going to one-up them every time. Go with something timeless.

You do this stuff to help get recruits and excite the fanbase. Timeless doesn't work for that unless you are Alabama, Texas, USC and have the other stuff that comes with that (tradition, trophies, facilities, huge stadiums, etc...)

Thing is, doing this kind of stuff (wacky uniforms) really only makes an impact if you win along with it. TCU and Oregon rolling out Nike's "cutting edge" uniform designs got a lot of eyes on them, as did Maryland's flag uniforms. The different was that TCU won the Rose Bowl and Oregon almost won the National Championship. Maryland was just Maryland. Success on-field is needed to keep the attention generated from stuff done "to excite the fanbase."

My point? Oregon State is never going to out-Nike Oregon. In so far as building a brand for the university's football team, it's not a sound strategy. They'll never get crazier uniforms, they'll never get more 17 and 18 year olds looking at them because of their "sick" new uniforms, they'll never get more recruits then Oregon does if they insist on playing Oregon's game.

Yet if they go with a timeless look and focus all of their resources on simply improving the program, and that translates to on-field success, then they'll get recruits anyway.

Now before the Nike hordes say "well you need these uniforms to get recruits to improve anyway" I instead submit to you the fact that programs were successfully building themselves up from nothing long before Nike came along with five different shades of grey.

[gdu]

I'd think that the fact that the Beavers' rival is known for wearing a different uniform every week, they'd want to make their identity more timeless, which they have a good chance at doing with what they have right now. I'll reserve my final verdict until I see this trotted out, but right now it feels like change for the sake of change.

Yeah I don't think it'd be a smart move if the Beavers tried to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. Oregon's going to one-up them every time. Go with something timeless.

You do this stuff to help get recruits and excite the fanbase. Timeless doesn't work for that unless you are Alabama, Texas, USC and have the other stuff that comes with that (tradition, trophies, facilities, huge stadiums, etc...)

Thing is, doing this kind of stuff (wacky uniforms) really only makes an impact if you win along with it. TCU and Oregon rolling out Nike's "cutting edge" uniform designs got a lot of eyes on them, as did Maryland's flag uniforms. The different was that TCU won the Rose Bowl and Oregon almost won the National Championship. Maryland was just Maryland. Success on-field is needed to keep the attention generated from stuff done "to excite the fanbase."

My point? Oregon State is never going to out-Nike Oregon. In so far as building a brand for the university's football team, it's not a sound strategy. They'll never get crazier uniforms, they'll never get more 17 and 18 year olds looking at them because of their "sick" new uniforms, they'll never get more recruits then Oregon does if they insist on playing Oregon's game.

Yet if they go with a timeless look and focus all of their resources on simply improving the program, and that translates to on-field success, then they'll get recruits anyway.

Now before the Nike hordes say "well you need these uniforms to get recruits to improve anyway" I instead submit to you the fact that programs were successfully building themselves up from nothing long before Nike came along five different shades of grey.

I don't disagree, but so does that mean they shouldn't try?

[IceCap]

Well the problem arises of what happens to the brand after they try to Oregon it up and it doesn't work? The whole "lets let our branding take a back seat to 'innovation'" thing could leave the brand a total wasteland by the time they realize it isn't working and want to return to something more traditional. Not to mention the monetary cost of going down a branding avenue that probably won't pay off.

Ultimately I think if you have an in-state rival that excels by employing a particular branding aspect you have a bit of room to succeed by making yourself the opposite of that.

Oregon has dismissed the very notion of team colours? Play up the fact that you're a black and orange team, and that when you play for OS those colours mean something special. Oregon wears uniform designs that look like they come from the future? Wear something classy and simple, yet striking. Oregon never wears the same helmet/jersey/pants combo twice in a season? Stick to a limited uniform set because at Oregon State you wear a uniform to play football, you don't wear outfits to play dress-up.

That's how I would try to brand OS football at any rate.

Though I do agree, their current logo is terrible.

[gdu]

Well the problem arises of what happens to the brand after they try to Oregon it up and it doesn't work? The whole "lets let our branding take a back seat to 'innovation'" thing could leave the brand a total wasteland by the time they realize it isn't working and want to return to something more traditional. Not to mention the monetary cost of going down a branding avenue that probably won't pay off.

Ultimately I think if you have an in-state rival that excels by employing a particular branding aspect you have a bit of room to succeed by making yourself the opposite of that.

Oregon has dismissed the very notion of team colours? Play up the fact that you're a black and orange team, and that when you play for OS those colours mean something special. Oregon wears uniform designs that look like they come from the future? Wear something classy and simple, yet striking. Oregon never wears the same helmet/jersey/pants combo twice in a season? Stick to a limited uniform set because at Oregon State you wear a uniform to play football, you don't wear outfits to play dress-up.

That's how I would try to brand OS football at any rate.

Though I do agree, their current logo is terrible.

Monetary cost? Nike pays for all this.

[Kevin W.]

Oregon has dismissed the very notion of team colours? Play up the fact that you're a black and orange team, and that when you play for OS those colours mean something special. Oregon wears uniform designs that look like they come from the future? Wear something classy and simple, yet striking. Oregon never wears the same helmet/jersey/pants combo twice in a season? Stick to a limited uniform set because at Oregon State you wear a uniform to play football, you don't wear outfits to play dress-up.

That's how I would try to brand OS football at any rate.

10/10.

[slapshot]

Part of the issue with the current identity is that it requires a separate version for the helmet. The beaver faces to the right, and the script is altered where it sits below the head.

[IceCap]

Well the problem arises of what happens to the brand after they try to Oregon it up and it doesn't work? The whole "lets let our branding take a back seat to 'innovation'" thing could leave the brand a total wasteland by the time they realize it isn't working and want to return to something more traditional. Not to mention the monetary cost of going down a branding avenue that probably won't pay off.

Ultimately I think if you have an in-state rival that excels by employing a particular branding aspect you have a bit of room to succeed by making yourself the opposite of that.

Oregon has dismissed the very notion of team colours? Play up the fact that you're a black and orange team, and that when you play for OS those colours mean something special. Oregon wears uniform designs that look like they come from the future? Wear something classy and simple, yet striking. Oregon never wears the same helmet/jersey/pants combo twice in a season? Stick to a limited uniform set because at Oregon State you wear a uniform to play football, you don't wear outfits to play dress-up.

That's how I would try to brand OS football at any rate.

Though I do agree, their current logo is terrible.

Monetary cost? Nike pays for all this.

Once the school commits to a brand Nike helps develop, though, they have to pay from everything from t-shirts to sell in the bookstore to to billboards to pamphlets they give to students to having to apply the new marks all over campus. Unless of course Nike is willingness to cover a school's entire re-branding initiative.

[whitedawg22]

I would be intruiged to see an updated to the logo to the right.

The logo on the right looks like one of those WWII propaganda posters that gave Japanese people exaggerated buck teeth.

[illwauk]

I'd think that the fact that the Beavers' rival is known for wearing a different uniform every week, they'd want to make their identity more timeless, which they have a good chance at doing with what they have right now. I'll reserve my final verdict until I see this trotted out, but right now it feels like change for the sake of change.

Yeah I don't think it'd be a smart move if the Beavers tried to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. Oregon's going to one-up them every time. Go with something timeless.

You do this stuff to help get recruits and excite the fanbase. Timeless doesn't work for that unless you are Alabama, Texas, USC and have the other stuff that comes with that (tradition, trophies, facilities, huge stadiums, etc...)

I think you're confusing "timeless" with "traditional." I'd also say that what the Beavers have right now is proof that the two aren't synonymous.

[ONUV]

These should be their full time unis. Old school but cool and totally opposite of the Ducks.

yes

[gdu]

I'd think that the fact that the Beavers' rival is known for wearing a different uniform every week, they'd want to make their identity more timeless, which they have a good chance at doing with what they have right now. I'll reserve my final verdict until I see this trotted out, but right now it feels like change for the sake of change.

Yeah I don't think it'd be a smart move if the Beavers tried to keep up with the Joneses, so to speak. Oregon's going to one-up them every time. Go with something timeless.

You do this stuff to help get recruits and excite the fanbase. Timeless doesn't work for that unless you are Alabama, Texas, USC and have the other stuff that comes with that (tradition, trophies, facilities, huge stadiums, etc...)

I think you're confusing "timeless" with "traditional." I'd also say that what the Beavers have right now is proof that the two aren't synonymous.

I used the word because the post I quoted did.

[mattwillcox]

Guess what just got leaked... http://instagram.com/p/VidlrcgMwp/

[DC in Da House w/o a Doubt]

Guess what just got leaked... http://instagram.com/p/VidlrcgMwp/

Interesting... I'd say better than their current mark. No one around here will accuse it of looking like clip art or an illustration.

[illwauk]

Guess what just got leaked... http://instagram.com/p/VidlrcgMwp/

The hell? That looks like a friggin' fish head!

[CS85]

Guess what just got leaked... http://instagram.com/p/VidlrcgMwp/

Love it. The Beaver can nibble on my log anytime.