Willie the Wildcat

The Daemen Mascot

Throughout its history, Daemen University has been home to several mascots, each signifying important markers in our history. A dynamic cast of characters have cheered on the school as it became coeducational, changed its name from Rosary Hill, andd further defined its identity — all leading to our current mascot, Willie the Wildcat.

Willie is now a fixture of the university's social media accounts, including starring in various promotional videos, photoshoots, and a collection of animated GIFs. What follows is a set of guidelines to ensure Willie always looks his best.

The a timeline of the Daemen mascots

Each version of Willie works best in specific areas of Daemen's marketing and communications strategies. The chart below illustrates these strengths and how the character should be deployed.

Willie the Wildcat version usage, illustrated

Willie on Camera

A physical version of Willie the Wildcat exists in two forms — a traditional college mascot costume and a Henson-style hand puppet. Both of these physical manifestations represent the same singular character, therefore neither should appear in the same place at the same time.

In both live and filmed appearances, he should be treated and addressed as a living character capable of existing in our human world. It is important that the character never be depicted as a costume or inanimate object. No photos or videos should be taked of the Willie suit performers, without the costume completely on, or with skin or street clothes visible.

A similar approach needs to be taken when sharing images of the Willie puppet. The audience should never see the puppeteer, mounting stand, or armature wires in official materials (with the exception of behind the scenes documenting).

It is preferred that the Willie puppet's arm rods be digitally removed in post-production, however it is not mandatory to do so.

Two costume versions of the mascot have existed since 2003, with the original suit being replaced in the early 2010's. Unless used in a throwback post, the original custume should not be used in official communications. It is preferred, but not mandatory, that Willie wear his #47 jersey in official pieces.

Eye focus is key! Never replace photos of his eyes obscured by objects or making imperfect eye contact with the lens.

The audience should never see the hardware used to make Willie stand and pose on his own. This should always be digitally removed.

Willie's puppeteer should never be in view in official communications. It it acceptable for us to see arm rods if they are not overly distracting. Willie is best depicted as a fully real character, unencumbered by external intervention.

Willie as a Cartoon

Our cartoon version of Willie is a digital and print continuation of the physical mascot. These hand-drawn depictions of the Wildcat can and should be used to present the character in ways that can not be as effectively accomplished by his real-life counterparts.

Some of our favorite images

This version of Willie can dress up and morph into just about anything — fully representing the characteristics and passions of Daemen community members. We want to convey school spirit, trends within pop culture (past and present), and contemporary dates of holidays to entice non-Daemen viewers.

These graphics are uploaded to GIPHY where they are pushed out to GIF keybopards on all major social media platforms. Take care and effort into properly tagging these illustrations to ensure the widest reach.

Willie turnaround for reference

GIPHY Search Tags

#Williemoji #Daemen #Daemen University #College #Mascot #Willie #Willie the Wildcat #Wildcats #Buffalo #Buffalo NY #Amherst + Additional tags to describe the illustration

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