By: John Gutierrez
Artwork by: Bielle Baral
“#BeARam.” Obviously, this is a hashtag that’s circulating the campus, but did it ever occur to you that there is an origin story behind it? Well, it came from the minds of different people who are sitting on their armchairs. There is a certain genius behind the desk. You may think of this certain genius as a guy who wears a neat shirt, chino pants, and some fancy shoes. The people sitting on armchairs are those who wear things that you swore to wear during Mondays through Thursdays. Okay, enough about what they look like every week, let’s talk about the story.
Now it all started with an informal survey/interview about the school’s brand and marketing. Of course, like all surveys, the respondents’ answers must be kept confidential. I could tell you this. The answers made a bunch of other brilliant folks say, “Wow, really?!!” As a result, the genius behind the desk was given a signal to try and change the school’s brand image.
Here comes the part where the “armchaired” people had a contribution in the rebranding campaign. The genius behind the desk asked them to make a role-play about what they think of the school. They were then disseminated to different groups. When they were asked to present the role-play, they came up with something different. Rather than a role-play, the groups had an ideological breakthrough! One group made an interview video about a couple’s relationship. The guy’s name was taken from a certain animal which the school is somehow familiar with, and the girl represented a soul-searching student. The video ended with that circulating hashtag: #BeARam. Another group presented it in a musical. The song was in the tune of the school’s hymn. The musical was about a girl finding a school, while three guys were students from different schools as they tried to win the girl’s heart. One of the guys was from a school where “armchaired” people are studying. Of course, they had to explain it to the genius behind the desk.
Now, you might be wondering where the headstrong Ram symbol was taken. Well, it was actually the result of certain research which generally explains that symbols are effective and helpful in campaigning. The genius behind the desk and armchaired people conceptualized the headstrong Ram. The idea was refined and polished by another group of creative thinkers.
So that’s the story of how the hashtag, #BeARam, was made. We can say that it was a collaboration of different people who think outside the box. Sometimes, you may find them just walking around. Maybe you’re even friends with them. All I know is that I’m just a spectator… or am I?
