Discussion: Rebranding Project: Orienteering Ottawa
in: Orienteering; General
Jun 20, 2013 8:01 PM
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Orienteering Ottawa (formerly the Ottawa Orienteering Club recently underwent the start of a large rebranding project. The logo, name, and slogan were unveiled on Tuesday and an e-mail was sent to the club mailing list this morning.
I know there are many on AP that are interested in this sort of thing so here's the e-mail that went out the club:
Hi Orienteering Ottawa!
The final Summer Solstice event on Tuesday evening was particularly special for us this year as we unveiled our new club logo and branding during our post-race pizza party. I’d like to take a moment to introduce all our club members to the new face we’re showing off to the world:
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With a strong junior program, a large schedule of events and training (perhaps the largest in North America), hosting the North American Championships in next year, having 3 club athletes competing at the World Championships (out of a team of 7) and 2 at the Junior Worlds (the team leader and coach are also from Ottawa) there's lots of good stuff happening in our club.
It's an exciting time for orienteering here in Ottawa. We believe the new logo and branding reflect this excitement as we invite everyone to Explore, Discover, Excel! with us.
But the logo, new name, and slogan are just a first step in a larger branding process and we're excited to be working on some new feather banners, club shirts, racing uniforms, jackets, a completely new website, and more over the next 6 months. Stay tuned for updates on these developments and in the meantime tell us what you think about the new brand on our facebook page: facebook.com/OttawaOC, check out the new look at OttawaOC.ca, have a look at the attached image [edit: see facebook cover photo] of Tuesday's unveiling, and read the rest of this e-mail for the thoughts behind the makeover.
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Take a look at the logo (above) and think about what you see in it. The idea is that it is a simple graphic that has multiple elements of orienteering hidden it. Everyone will see something unique and that's the beauty of a good logo so we won't say anything more here (but if you want to share what you see in it - let us know on facebook!).
The red and black represent Ottawa (think Sens and traditional Ottawa team colours) while the forward leaning logo pointing up into the distance on the right suggest the kind of people and club that we are: active, forward looking and thinking, positive.
You'll also notice that the logo is paired with a new, more contemporary name: Orienteering Ottawa. From now on we will be presenting ourselves as Orienteering Ottawa rather than the older sounding Ottawa Orienteering Club. This move also brings us in line with what many sport organizations are calling themselves: Orienteering Canada, Volleyball Canada, Orienteering Ontario, the list goes on.
As a shorter name we will be sticking with Ottawa OC. It's a term people are familiar with and has been in use as our website address for a long time (OttawaOC.ca: check it out - there's a new look!). It makes sense when referring to the club outside of Ottawa at other events and sticks with the convention of OC for Orienteering Club. We ask that when registering for events please use "Ottawa OC" as your club name for the sake of consistency - we want to show a united front to the outside world!
Paired with the new name is the slogan Explore, Discover, Excel! or in full: Explore Nature, Discover Community, Excel in Sport. This slogan at once represents an athlete’s journey through the orienteering world and the many elements Orienteering Ottawa members get from the sport. Remember “excel” doesn't mean “make the national team”; it means something personal to each and every one of us.
At the same time the three words Explore, Discover, Excel! are exciting action words that draw people into what we do and will be used in a variety of ways with our marketing and promo such as the following:
Explore - Kids Running Free
Discover - Events for Everyone
Excel - Train with Us
Explore - Our Maps
Discover - Ottawa O-Fest
Excel - Race with Us
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more details.
Until then, Explore, Discover, Excel!
I know there are many on AP that are interested in this sort of thing so here's the e-mail that went out the club:
Hi Orienteering Ottawa!
The final Summer Solstice event on Tuesday evening was particularly special for us this year as we unveiled our new club logo and branding during our post-race pizza party. I’d like to take a moment to introduce all our club members to the new face we’re showing off to the world:
With a strong junior program, a large schedule of events and training (perhaps the largest in North America), hosting the North American Championships in next year, having 3 club athletes competing at the World Championships (out of a team of 7) and 2 at the Junior Worlds (the team leader and coach are also from Ottawa) there's lots of good stuff happening in our club.
It's an exciting time for orienteering here in Ottawa. We believe the new logo and branding reflect this excitement as we invite everyone to Explore, Discover, Excel! with us.
But the logo, new name, and slogan are just a first step in a larger branding process and we're excited to be working on some new feather banners, club shirts, racing uniforms, jackets, a completely new website, and more over the next 6 months. Stay tuned for updates on these developments and in the meantime tell us what you think about the new brand on our facebook page: facebook.com/OttawaOC, check out the new look at OttawaOC.ca, have a look at the attached image [edit: see facebook cover photo] of Tuesday's unveiling, and read the rest of this e-mail for the thoughts behind the makeover.
______________________________________________
Take a look at the logo (above) and think about what you see in it. The idea is that it is a simple graphic that has multiple elements of orienteering hidden it. Everyone will see something unique and that's the beauty of a good logo so we won't say anything more here (but if you want to share what you see in it - let us know on facebook!).
The red and black represent Ottawa (think Sens and traditional Ottawa team colours) while the forward leaning logo pointing up into the distance on the right suggest the kind of people and club that we are: active, forward looking and thinking, positive.
You'll also notice that the logo is paired with a new, more contemporary name: Orienteering Ottawa. From now on we will be presenting ourselves as Orienteering Ottawa rather than the older sounding Ottawa Orienteering Club. This move also brings us in line with what many sport organizations are calling themselves: Orienteering Canada, Volleyball Canada, Orienteering Ontario, the list goes on.
As a shorter name we will be sticking with Ottawa OC. It's a term people are familiar with and has been in use as our website address for a long time (OttawaOC.ca: check it out - there's a new look!). It makes sense when referring to the club outside of Ottawa at other events and sticks with the convention of OC for Orienteering Club. We ask that when registering for events please use "Ottawa OC" as your club name for the sake of consistency - we want to show a united front to the outside world!
Paired with the new name is the slogan Explore, Discover, Excel! or in full: Explore Nature, Discover Community, Excel in Sport. This slogan at once represents an athlete’s journey through the orienteering world and the many elements Orienteering Ottawa members get from the sport. Remember “excel” doesn't mean “make the national team”; it means something personal to each and every one of us.
At the same time the three words Explore, Discover, Excel! are exciting action words that draw people into what we do and will be used in a variety of ways with our marketing and promo such as the following:
Explore - Kids Running Free
Discover - Events for Everyone
Excel - Train with Us
Explore - Our Maps
Discover - Ottawa O-Fest
Excel - Race with Us
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more details.
Until then, Explore, Discover, Excel!
Jun 20, 2013 8:15 PM
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I really like the makeover. Going from a logo that was very blah to something effective yet doesn't have any of the 'go to' orientering symbols like a control or compass that are in too many O logos. Those symbols don't mean anything to outsiders but they are nicely incorporated well into the new logo anyway (at least how I see it). Ie square resembles a control and arrows coming off the O which could be the compass housing.
I can't not like the slogan given that it is pretty similar to our Adventure Running X slogan: "Xtreme, Xplore, Xcel" ;-). There are only so many words for our sport eh!
Great job Ottawa OC - now just update that Kids Running Free logo ;-)
I can't not like the slogan given that it is pretty similar to our Adventure Running X slogan: "Xtreme, Xplore, Xcel" ;-). There are only so many words for our sport eh!
Great job Ottawa OC - now just update that Kids Running Free logo ;-)
Jun 20, 2013 8:25 PM
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It was never intended to be more than a title for the Kids Running Free sub-website... Can you tell it was written by someone who's colour-blind?
This discussion thread is closed.