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That was an old logo.
You see the lines around the C and the S?
Eh! I am the KCTCS Brand Ninja.
Well, you know, not officially.
I mean, you know, it's not like anyone asked me to do this or anything ...
I know something really cool.
I mean mind-blowing cool.
Now to a Ninja it's like getting a brand new Hattori Hanzo sword or something like that.
Okay, you ready for this?
KCTCS Marketing has created brand guidelines for all external communications and marketing!
I know, I was like, jumping out of my chair when I heard, only Brand Ninjas don't have chairs.
We prefer beds of nails.
It's good for your posture.
You know, it's better than a Tempur-Pedic!
So, this brand guide is on kctcs.edu, just look in the faculty and staff page.
It shows some really cool stuff like color palettes, fonts, logos, stationery,
print advertisements, brochures, some Ninja stuff ...
like the 100 best practical jokes to play on a samurai.
Oh, wait, that's not on there.
That's not on there.
But trust a Brand Ninja, it's a lot of cool stuff.
People keep asking me: "Why a brand guide?"
Seriously people?
Now the brand guide leverages the messaging power of a unified system.
It helps the KCTCS employees produce external communications and marketing materials
that are consistent, professional
and immediately recognizable as part of the KCTCS family.
And because the Brand Ninja says so!
Look people, branding just makes sense.
People say, "Why do I have to make my stuff look like everyone else's?"
Okay, so we're not doing that.
Do I look exactly like my brother?
No. But I have the same nose, see?
Oh, right, you can't see because my nose is covered and all that.
But anyway, you get the idea!
Alright, for those of you who need to see to believe, check out what students
and parents said about one of our college admissions packets.
This feels kind of mismatched.
If I were to receive this in the mail, or, like pick it up,
at first I'd be, like, "Is this, uh..."
or "Did it get mixed up or something?"
Um, that's definitely something I would notice ...
um, that they haven't really paid attention to their layout.
It doesn't seem like it's all part of the same school.
If I got this, I wouldn't even read it.
Unless you're really careful, you would think it was two different places.
All three styles being put together, it does kind of seem like it's a mismatch of material.
It looks like it's all information but it looks like it's kind of designed to go
in an advertising stand and stand alone by itself.
I mean, I'd prefer it to be consistent than just, like,
have whatever style they feel like at the moment.
Then there's all the other stuff I don't like about it,
like the loose papers and the fading ink.
Because nobody wants to go to a school that you're like "Blah?"
You know, kind of doesn't look like they care as much.
Let's see.
I don't like this at all.
Why not? All this.
This is what I had.
This is what I had.
It was like just a whole stack of paper.
"Boom. Have a nice day.
There you go.
This is our school.
Fill it out.
The end." You know.
That's it.
That's the way I feel about that.
You know, there's nothing else about it.
You know, no pictures.
No, you know.
I mean that picture.
That's it.
You know. It's just so blah.
Ouch! Hurts a little, like that bed of nails I was talking about.
Okay, so what if we use a brand guide to help our stuff look more professional?
Bingo! We first tested the brand guidelines during the recent public advocacy campaign,
"Transforming Lives.
Transforming Kentucky."
Check this out.
See how everything looked like it came from the same place?
Unifying our message helped pass new transfer legislation and reduce cuts in state funding.
It was some serious Ninja Branding!
Now KCTCS needs YOU to be Defenders of the Brand!
What? You think I can do all this by myself?
I may have trained 20 hours a day since I was 2, but this battle requires an army of ninjas.
Anyway, there are three things you need to do to become ...
a Brand Ninja!
First, read the brand guidelines found on kctcs.edu,
created for external marketing and business communications.
Did you hear me?
I said external marketing!
Second, you must wrestle a bear blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back.
Just kidding.
But I do need you to use your Ninja powers to infiltrate offices
and classrooms to uncover any brand violations.
Third, use the guidelines to help with things like fonts
on letters, program brochure designs, logos.
Now if that's too much for your non-ja mind, then there are trained Brand Ninjas standing
by in the Marketing and Communications Office at your college, all personally trained by me.
One more thing, do you want to win some cool stuff?
We have like a lot of prizes, I mean A LOT of prizes.
Like, Ninja t-shirts, iPads ...
So we have, like, two prizes you can win.
Here's how to play the contest.
First, you must bring me a single Eucalyptus leaf
from the Heng Shan Mountain in China - by tomorrow.
And if you can't do that, then find the Brand Ninja hidden somewhere inside the online brand
guide at kctcs.edu.
Click on him and you can enter to win!
It's so simple that even a non-ja could do it.
Alright, enough talking!
Protect the brand!