Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

Hi Alyssa!

I live in OKC, and I'm quite familiar with Rose State College. Never attended, but I work with many of your grads and current students. Mostly Nursing folks. Rose State is a great school!

I spent a few years at UCO, but I'm an OSU grad (twice over), and an avid OU fan. Kinda weird, I know. It was a choice based on logistics and acedemic program ranking, not football. :)

Ok. So....a name for the Rose State Raiders' job placement program? Hmmmm....

First thing I noticed: Inconsistent naming. Is the university willing to align the website design and page naming a little better (for job placement that is). Here is what I see:

- I clicked a link called "Career Center" from the student services page.
- The actual page name url for the job placement page is "Career Services" ( www.rose.edu/careerservices)
- The page headline is "Career and Staffing Services"
- And there is a logo in the header/hero image that says "Professional Training Center - Rose State College".
- Below all of that is a blue ribbon with a subheading that reads "Job Placement".

Talk about confusing. It may be somewhat intuitive that I'm in the right place, but man what a mess!

(You can take this to the management and be a super star...well, maybe...it could actually backfire as a super nuisance! Write up a solution, then time your delivery and phrase it wisely.)

Back to naming...

You stated your target is the students. But the web copy targets "employers, students, community members, and faculty". I will assume you are trying to attract all of them.

Aren't you glad you came here? ;)


Name Ideas (finally):

- Recruit a Raider
- Recruit Raider
- Raider Recruit
- Raider Recruits - Oklahoma's Most Wanted
- Raider Recruitment - America's Most Wanted ( one of the NFL Oakland Raiders slogans)

- Raider Radar - Get Yourself Out There
- Raider Recruitment Radar - Get on the Map

- Raider Nation (another Oakland slogan)
- Raider Nation - Oklahoma's Most Wanted Grads

I hope all this info helps you. Good Luck and feel free to contact me via Twitter!

- Blaine Wilkerson


Side Tip: In an effort to avoid snarky remarks; in the future I would refrain from referring to tagline and business name generation as "branding". Not being snarky myself, just pointing out something that we all noticed, yet we bit our tongues. No worries, though!

Naming is a part of branding, but not the core element. Branding is about developing an identity and relationship with clients based on how you want them to feel about and perceive you.

Speaking of branding...

Here are some more thoughts, tips, and ideas that may help you.

Design:

- The big design trends right now are "flat", "grid layouts". "Vintage", "retro", and "hand-drawn" lettering, graphics, and photo filters.

- Flat design and grid layouts: See iOS7 and Windows 8 for popular iterations. Basically, "flat" means no 3d graphics or font, no shadows, no depth.

Pinterest and Windows 8 are good mainstream examples of a grid layout. Image heavy, short concise text, intuitive flow, clear calls to action. Even for a flyer.

The way to show you is to check out my Collections and Likes in my profile on www.CreativeMarket.com - https://creativemarket.com/bwilkerson/collections. I have some Retro Collections that are cool. Creative Market has some free hero images and vintage packs right now. Check it out and search around for inspiration.

Also look around at www.themeforest.net and www.graphicriver.net. All of these sites have amazing flyer templates you can use. And they are very inexpensive!

Before you buy anything, always check out the designer's portfolio to look for bundles. Many artists will bundle their packs together for a special price.

Also check out the free sections. Every week they post new free stuff.

Have fun!