The Hokie Way
The Hokie Way is a nonprofit organization that leverages the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) of Virginia Tech student athletes with charitable organizations as a way to give back to the community and encourage a new generation of VT athletes. This organization partners with a number of select charities who can benefit from local student-athletes and team promotions surrounding their charitable work and events. Joba Studio had the pleasure of partnering with The Hokie Way upon inception, allowing us the opportunity to curate their brand identity, followed by a website design and digital marketing strategy.
Brand Design
When determining direction for The Hokie Way branding, we wanted to take inspiration from the Virginia Tech landscape itself. As a result, the logo marks arrangement was inspired by their iconic VT campus pylons. Through the design and development process, the logo mark was created by connecting the H and W into one symbol, which supports the “connectedness” between Virginia Tech and its student-athletes. When choosing a color palette, we wanted to move in a direction that supported Virginia Tech athletics, resulting in colors of orange, maroon and red. To ensure the logo could be used in a variety of applications, we presented a set of logo lockups in each of these colors, resulting in a streamlined design across any use case.
Web Design
It was important that The Hokie Way website was a clear reflection of their overall mission and brand. To do this, we designed a website that accented their unique color palette, showcased their community involvement and offered insight into getting involved as a donor.
Marketing
Following the development of their brand identity and website, we transitioned into a strategic digital marketing strategy which included social media management and Google Ads. The goal when creating a social media strategy was to establish their message across all platforms, grow their community and encourage donors to get involved via periodic campaigns. In their latest campaign, donors were encouraged to participate in a matching challenge, where Virginia Tech Alumni matched each donation, dollar for dollar, resulting in a $600K win for the organization. Following our social media efforts, we supplemented The Hokie Way’s local reach through Google Ads, supporting greater community awareness around the brand.
