The rivalry between Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster is as old as it is intense ó and nothing brings out school spirit like a rivalry game.† An idea from the Wittenberg Office of Communication and Alumni Relations, quickly supported by Woosterís Alumni Office, seeks to take the spirit and energy from the stands and put it on the Internet, employing YouTube, Facebook and even Twitter.
The Mascot Faceoff (www.mascotfaceoff.com) is a Web site where Wooster and Wittenberg students, staff, alumni, parents and friends can vote, once per day, for either the Wooster Fighting Scot or the Wittenberg Tiger.
The centerpiece of the Web site is an embedded YouTube video which features the two mascots getting out of bed, working out at their respective schools, and heading to Wittenbergís Edwards-Maurer Field for the big showdown.† The voting will conclude Nov. 14, just in time for the Wooster-Wittenberg football game, hosted at Wittenberg.† The results of the voting will be announced during halftime.
ìThe whole idea is to see how the viral video does,” said Development Assistant Carolyn Ciriego í08, the main Wooster contact for the project, ìto reach out to as many alumni, parents, family, et cetera as possible.”
ìItís a fun idea,” said John Hopkins, associate vice president for college relations & marketing, ìanother angle on the long-running rivalry between the two schools.”
The companions to the Web site are the Mascot Faceoff Facebook group, which had 1,870 fans from the two schools at press time, and Twitter accounts for the two mascots.
In addition, the Wittenberg Web design team that manages the Web site is uploading short videos of Wooster and Wittenberg people encouraging their school to vote.† Videos featuring Brandon Jacobs í11 and Wittenbergís Erin Slattery, as well as Dean of Students Kurt Holmes and his Wittenberg counterpart Sarah Kelly have already been uploaded, and three more sets of videos are forthcoming, featuring alumni personnel, the football coaches and finally the College presidents.
According to Ciriego, ìPresident Cornwell did a nice job. His is really funny.”
If all goes well, the alumni offices of the two schools are entertaining the possibility of repeating the promotion for basketball season, or producing a sequel to the video in a future football season. In the meantime, who will win the faceoff, and the associated bragging rights, is still very much up in the air.
ìWooster jumped out to a really early lead,” said Hopkins. ìWe were strong at the gate, but theyíve been chipping away [at the lead].”
Hopkinsí and Ciriegoís advice? Vote early, vote often.
ìVote every day on any computer you go to,” said Ciriego.
Hopkins agreed. ìRepeated voting is going to be key in the home stretch.”