Enhancing recognition, reach, and resonance

This message is shared on behalf of Brett Eaton, vice president for Communications and chief communications officer.

“I love walking through an airport or a city in another part of the world and hearing ‘Go Deacs!’ It means so much more than ‘I hope our football team wins.’ It means, ‘I see you, and we share a bond. We know what Pro Humanitate means and why it matters. It is the WF logo that prompts that recognition.”

This anecdote from a member of Wake Forest’s Alumni Council illustrates the power of a logo and the meaning we attach to it.

The data of recognition

A survey of adults in Charlotte found that 70% of respondents correctly identified the “WF” logo as representing Wake Forest University. Conversely, only 5.6% of respondents correctly identified the University’s shield logo, which was created 20 years ago. In fact, nearly as many respondents (4.4%) mistook Wake Forest’s shield for a Volkswagen symbol.

Familiarity creates trust, and trust improves outcomes. The WF outperformed the shield logo by 66% in an A/B test conducted by the School of Law with digital ads promoting a new master’s program.

Recent brand extensions through television commercials created by University partners Allegacy Financial and Advocate Health prominently featured the WF logo. 

An informal focus group with the Wake Forest Alumni Council suggests that the WF logo carries significant emotional resonance, an idea supported by the number of requests from campus organizations to use the WF logo on clothing and promotional materials.

The WF logo travels the globe through televised sports and merchandise sales, but the meaning behind this University asset was created by faculty. Long before the WF ever appeared on a football helmet, it was woven into our academic fabric. You can still find the WF embedded in the floor of the central building on Wake Forest’s original campus. It has adorned the wrought-iron railings on the Reynolda Campus since its construction in the 1950s.

By using this mark to represent academic inquiry, mentorship and research, we are giving Wake Forest’s commitment to academic excellence the best opportunity to be recognized by prospective students, faculty and staff, by grant funding organizations and by future institutional partners.

University Marketing and Communications aims to be better stewards of Wake Forest University’s brand by broadening how we use the logo with the greatest recognition, reach and emotional resonance.

Our path forward

• Expanded Use: University Marketing and Communications will continue expanding the use of the WF logo to represent the institution as a whole, particularly with external audiences. Websites managed in the Wake Forest WordPress system will be updated to feature the WF logo in the header over the summer.
  
• Explicit Permission: Deans and VPs have the authority to use the WF or the shield logo when promoting programs, events and activities.
  
• Support: University Marketing and Communications is providing the tools, training, and guidance necessary to update materials. Schools, departments and units have WF logos available at brand.wfu.edu. Please contact for assistance.