Kick-Off!

  Can you say DEADLINES?!

  Deadlines are looming and not only for the Robot. Marketing teams have deadlines too. Our Marketing team deals with Chairman’s, Website duties and all things image related. That translates into bot graphics, t-shirts, drive team uniforms, new banners and anything new we want to launch for 2010.

  T-shirts need a lot of lead time and we are always struggling to get them to the printer on time. To help with the design aspect we have decided to make our blue team shirt to be good every year. By keeping the same blue shirt we don’t have to redesign a 5 screen shirt every year. One design and done. We have a new idea for our yearly shirt, a one color print job. That can make for quicker design work and that gives the marketing team a little more breathing room. I have high hopes for this one!

  When preparing art for your printer, ask the printer what programs he uses so that your art and his computer are happy together. Make certain that you convert all your type to outlines too. It can get very ugly if you don’t. And always be nice to your printer they can be a great ally to a budding young designer.

Kick-Off!!

  Here comes a new season and a new challenge -getting your team ready for Regionals and beyond. What can your marketing team bring to the competition that will feed your image? Start by taking a look around you, what did other teams do that you found fun, interesting or just darn cool.

  I am not saying steal ideas, I am saying look around, renovate and re-invent.

  Make your team shirt match your growing brand by splashing the new Logo on it. A good banner in the stands makes a great statement too. Think about your team swag, or as our Marketing Team likes to call it, “Gimmes”.

  Our team is known for our golden wing pins, we have been giving them out for a long time. In 2009 we added some great airplane pens with 1501 labled on the sides. I won’t tell you what is up our sleeve for 2010 you will have to check us out at BMR to find out.

  Important things to remember when making plans for your Gimmes: Remember your brand. Make it fun and make it on time and on budget.

It’s all about Branding.

Branding:

  Verb-   to label or mark with or as if with a brand.

              to give a brand name to: branded merchandise.

              to promote as a brand name.

  Branding happens when you find that magic mix of logo, theme, and message. A good brand can bring a fountain of marketing opportunities to your door step. The right brand provides for image continuity and is easily distinguishable by the public.

  Team 1501 started with great bones for branding: A heritage of aeronautics, a passion for WW2 planes and posters, and of course, Monocoque, a construction technique used in airplanes. Our Marketing team embraced this heritage with gusto and ran with it.

  Find out who your team is, where they come from and where they want go.

Beginnings

  This begins what I hope to be a nice little collection of tid bits and ideas to help FRC marketing teams get a great start, pump up an existing program or just to look in and see if I have found any fun links.