School board hears update on VHHS branding project
In a presentation to the Vestavia Hills Board of Education on April 27, the Knight Eady team recommended that Vestavia Hills High School remain the Rebels, without creating a new mascot at this time.
Knight Eady showed a video with a 1Rebel campaign theme that will be used moving forward, in a project to be completed no later than May 13. The 1Rebel mark is not the completion of the strategic branding project nor will it be the primary logo for the school.
The 1Rebel theme is derived from a quote from head football coach Buddy Anderson, who says, "When you play one Rebel, you play us all."
“Our team continuously places an emphasis on providing a professional approach for the development of new branding for Vestavia Hills High School,” said David Knight, CEO at Knight Eady, in a release. “Wednesday’s update to the Board of Education allowed us to share our findings from over 150 hours of research and release our campaign theme moving forward. We are now actively working in the design phase of the project, where we will develop new primary and secondary marks and a complete brand style guide for the school. We look forward to releasing the complete brand package in a few weeks.”
Knight Eady's research led the team to the conclusion that a new mascot would not be in the best interest of VHHS at this time. However, the team will work to create consistent branding among all logos, primary and secondary, in order to maintain continuity with design and colors.
Knight Eady's other findings included a strong connection to the "Rebel" name throughout the high school and community, and that the biggest divide concerned the mascot, both with the former Rebel Man and what would be used moving forward.
However, the team found several positive attributes associated with the "Rebel" name and will move forward in an effort to highlight those characteristics (commitment to excellence, highly involved, leadership, tradition, unity, pride, compassionate, etc.).
The full presentation can be found here.