The new shark mascot will bring a fresh look to campus with new merchandise in the 49er Shops within the next year, according to President Jane Close Conoley.
Long Beach State has been working with a branding and marketing firm to create the personality, design and costume for the new shark mascot since it was announced in May 2019.
“The university is in the midst of a multi-month process to research and create illustrations for the shark,” said Jeff Cook, chief communications officer for CSULB. “We anticipate that the mascot will be revealed late spring 2020, but planning is still underway.”
In the meantime, the 49er Shops Bookstore is going through the same process of logo approval. The first step is getting the logo trademarked, according to Cook.
Once the logo is secured, the general merchandise team will be able to assess sale trends and seasonal needs for their first release of products.
The campus will not be spending any money to bring in all the new merchandise in the University Bookstore, University Art store, Beach on Second Street or other 49er Shops
“The 49er Shops are a separate non-profit organization that does not use campus funds,” said Jared Ceja, director of the bookstore division. “The business costs for the new merchandise will be the same, we are just using a different logo now.”
The new shark look will bring a fresh feel to CSULB’s campus, a look that the campus is hoping students can get behind.
According to Ceja, the Prospector Pete merchandise was never a top seller in the stores. Products with just “Beach” or the CSULB seal are far more popular with students.
The campus will continue to sell any legacy merchandise to the best of its abilities. The shops will even continue to occasionally sell throwback gear in the old CSULB brown and gold.
But Jane said that “we are not sharks”.