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A BJA Facet
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The Branding and Promotion of Bob Jones Academy
Part II - Years 50 to 100
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Branding and Promotion of BJU Pre-College Education
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Bob Jones Academy, grades 9-12, was founded with Bob Jones College in 1927, The 7th and 8th grades were added in 1952. These young people were considered Academy students. By 1965 these grades were large enough to warrant their own principal (technically, an Academy Assistant Principal), their own literary societies and separate activities. The name Bob Jones Junior High School started to be used.
In 1970 the Bob Jones Elementary School was founded. These young people were not considered Academy students. Each of the three pre-college schools had their own facilities, administration, faculty, rules, admission policies, and financial procedures. Families with children enrolled in different schools often found the various procedures confusing. |
A Primer on Branding of Bob Jones Pre-High-School Schools
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Bob Jones Junior High School
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1976
Originally the Junior High used the same font the University and Academy were using. Orange, a color the Junior High principal could see clearly, became the school's color.
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1996
During a branding refresh the JH logo was adopted and used with the University's font.
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1998
Maroon and white were adopted, in part, because students were using Clemson gear for school spirit days.
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Bob Jones Elementary School
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c. 1973
The ES logo and the University's font in green and white were used by the Elementary School for official materials.
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2000
In a branding refresh the Elementary School borrowed the flame from the University Crest and adopted the colors purple and white,
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Tag Line
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Starting in the 1980s the Elementary and the Junior High School used:
A Community-Oriented Educational Outreach of Bob Jones University
A Community-Oriented Educational Outreach of Bob Jones University
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For the last two decades of the 20th century very little was officially done regarding the promotion of pre-college schools. Word-of-mouth and the reputation of a quality education seemed to be adequate to fill the classrooms. Many of the Elementary School grades often reached their capacity. Additional sections were added when demand and facilities permitted, but elementary school students were often turned away for lack of space. However, there was a significant drop in enrollment as elementary students entered the junior high, and another drop as students entered the high school.
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Promotion of Bob Jones Precollege Education
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In the early 2000s a move to consolidate the Bob Jones pre-college schools began. The three schools remained separate but were marketed as parts of the same educational experience. Times were set aside for students and parents to visit the next grade and the next level of the school. The number of dropouts between levels decreased.
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In 2010 the principals of the Bob Jones Elementary School, the Junior High School and the Academy were placed under a single administrator. Many of the school's procedures where integrated and transitions between them were streamlined. A few activities in which all the pre-college schools participated helped students to become aware of the scope of their school.
An outside consultant was hired to develop a promotional campaign for the precollege schools. It was time for a branding refresh. To make the Academy's monogram easier to read, the letters were separated. The separated monogram became a registered trademark. It appeared with the ®, which some people felt, gave it more gravitas For the first time "Bob Jones Academy" officially appeared in a font unlike the University's branding. The font was chosen, in part, because it "appeared academic." A set of colors (blue, white, maroon and "distressed gold") were chosen to be used with the always-blue (occasionally white) monogram. The font was to be used in all promotional materials. The tagline was also updated. All of the schools used: “Dedicated. Focused. Proven." The schools were "dedicated to being faithful to the Word of God, focused on academic excellence, and proven through academic and personal achievements." 
The Academy hosted multiple, day-long open houses. They were held on days when local schools were not in session so both parents and students could attend. Invitations were sent to local pastors, youth leaders, University contacts known to have school-aged children, and many others. Originally radio ads and bill boards in various locations around Greenville invited interested parents and students to come see what a BJ pre-college education was like.
The day-long open houses featured student performances, the opportunity to talk with administrators and teachers, tours of the school’s facilities while activities were going on, the opportunity to observe classes, and refreshments prepared by home economics classes. Potential students and their families, were encouraged to take-home information about the school, branded swag, and BJA buttons. |
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Promotional materials available at the open houses focused on illustrating the tagline.
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Multiple date, day long open houses were held.
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BJA's School Profile -
A school's profile is designed to inform college admission departments about a graduate's high school. It is usually included with the transcript to help admission departments understand the rigor of the school's curriculum, the availability of advanced courses, and the context of a student's grades. It generally includes information about available extracurriculars. Much of this information could be found in BJA's Bulletins, but the School Profile condensed and made it easily available. BJA recognized the importance of this information to prospective parents and began including copies with its promotional materials. |
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These elaborate open houses originally increased awareness of BJA in the community and encouraged some parents to enroll their children in Bob Jones pre-college schools. After several years, declining community participation and the expense and difficulty of staging the events caused them to be dropped.
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Accreditation Was Coming
As a part of BJU, BJA had always relied on the University's statements regarding its values and educational mission. In the early 2000s BJU was seeking accreditation, and the Academy was considering accreditation by a non-government, educational association. The Academy would need need its own mission statement and codification of its core values. Once decided upon, cards were printed using the new logo, font and colors, They were widely distributed as part of BJA's "Dedicated. Focused. Proven." promotional materials. |
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Unification, A Mascot, & The BJA Crest
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In 2011 the BJ Elementary School, BJ Junior High (soon to be the BJ Middle School) and BJ Academy as well as the Primary Department (K3-K5) and the Child Development Center (infant-age 3) were unified into one school. Collectively the school was called Bob Jones Academy. To introduce the expanded BJA, pennants, buttons, magnets, and other logoed items were distributed to members of the Academy family, from toddlers to retired faculty.
Concurrently the BJA athletic department began interscholastic competitions, and needed a mascot. The year before the mascot was to be introduced, students were polled for mascot suggestions. Parameters were set. It should be distinct from nearby schools, something K5 through 12th grade students could relate to, and it must be an effective tool to share BJA’s vision. From the suggestions BJA and BJU administrations chose the lion. After 85 mascot-less years, the Academy lion was introduced at the opening 2011-12 Academy Student Body Meeting and even local TV media picked up on the event.
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Liam illustrations were created by the BJU Creative Services. While the “smooth mane” and the “windblown mane” were often used interchangeably, the flowing mane was designed for athletics and the tame mane was for other purposes.
A different font was chosen for the word “LIONS." By decree, Liam always faced right.
The BJA Crest & Shield
As the University introduced interscholastic sports, the BJU crest was refreshed to include a rampant bruin. Both Brody (BJU's bruin mascot) and Liam agreed that using the BJU crest for BJA was no longer appropriate. The BJA crest (right) was introduced in 2013 and was included on all official documents, further establishing BJA’s separate identity. The crest's circle contains the school’s name and the year of its founding. In its center was the BJA shield.
As accreditation loomed, the tagline for all of the pre-college schools was changed to "Education with a Biblical Worldview." It did not require the explaining needed by the previous tagline.
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Liam welcoming elementary aged students on the first day of school.
Folder of BJA information for prospective families.
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The 2023 Branding Refresh
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In 2021 the Academy sought to evaluate its effectiveness in ministering to 21st century Christian young people and their families. No longer was BJA ministering primarily to students residing on a college campus. Under God, the student's first allegiance was to their parents, next their church, and then to their school. This made for a number of changes, and it was felt that a branding refresh would help to communicate this to students, their families, and the public. In 2023 the Academy's branding refresh was revealed.
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The official colors of BJA's logo are dark navy, a medium blue, and white. Tan is a secondary color.
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BJA'S ACADEMIC LOGO – The official logo includes a shield with a strong, regal lion striding across the top of it. Each part of the logo has a specific significance.
New Tagline - “Eternity Matters More” seeks to remind students that this world, with its pleasures and sorrows, will pass away and that Christians should invest in eternal treasures.
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The lowercase BJA monogram was replaced by an uppercase monogram based on the font being used in BJA's other branding elements. The modified serifs of the new monogram were designed to make it distinctive. The modified letters are also used in the school's name when it appears as part of the schools branding. When combined with Liam, the monogram and the modified lettering of the school's name make a strong statement.
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The 2023 BJA monogram
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The new branding was installed on the front of Main in 2024.
Strips featuring parts of the BJA logo with a dominant piece of the logo overlaid, were affixed to various BJA buildings. This was to visually aid in bonding them as parts of the Academy.
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BJA'S ATHLETIC LOGO – Liam received a facelift to become a more professional sports logo. To express movement, his mane is more flowing and is behind him. This places the focus on Liam’s face and profile rather than his mane. His expression has been changed from what had been called angry, haughty, and savage to stern, regal, and intense.
Liam transformed from "angry" to "intense."
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The athletic branding uses a unique topography which can stand alone.
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Liam's face has been designed so it can stand alone or fit with other logo elements.
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