The Importance of Athletic Branding “In athletics, there are plenty of wildcats out there at every level of sports,” Bosack explained.” In our work with NFA we wanted to create a wildcat brand identity that was connected and ‘own-able’ just to NFA. That involves quite a bit of research into existing identity to establish an understanding of what’s out there.” According to High School Nicknames, the wildcat is the fifth most common school sports nickname in the country. Of the 669 schools that lay claim to the mascot nationwide, nine are in Connecticut. Simple Google searches link seven of these schools to wildcats that have previously been associated with NFA. “NFA’s taking charge and taking the initiative with branding will provide consistent recognition and will validate the program, increasing notoriety within the CIAC/ECC and the Norwich community,” said new Athletic Director Eric Swallow, who previously unified Southington athletics with a blue S.
The New Athletics Brand The new NFA Athletics branding package is the result of a process of extensive discovery and development phases including a brand and asset audit; development of a creative brief and strategy; exploration and inspiration phases; and two focus group presentations. There were two revisions before final concept approval. NFA’s latest rebranding of the Wildcat pulls many Wildcat characteristics together for a more uniform look, combining a forward looking, more modern wildcat almost in motion with a traditional, private school shield –NFA’s long tradition linked with its bright present and promising future. Look very carefully at the markings on the wildcat to see an embedded W “on the move” as the Academy sustains the founders’ vision and mission long into the future. “I think it’s a professional and sophisticated way to unify the robust NFA athletics program,” said Head of School David Klein of the new branding. NFA’s approved red and white are the main color elements of all designs; some are accompanied by a tertiary grey to provide depth and contrast. The NFA Athletics branding package is accompanied by the Official Brand Identity Usage and Style Guide with instructions and guidelines for Norwich Free Academy programs and teams. It also presents standards for a variety of applications including facilities, print, and digital, as well as apparel and merchandise. Unfortunately for us, the answer of how the Wildcat was chosen as NFA’s mascot is not clear. We would love to hear your Wildcat recollections and stories; perhaps embedded in your memory is just one more clue to our Wildcat’s origin. Summer 2015
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