February 4, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
The United Negro College Fund changed its name to UNCF last month as part of a “rebranding” that included an updated logo.
The 64-year-old charity, which raises money to help students attend college, felt the old name sounded a little dowdy in the 21st century and didn’t reflect the groups expanded focus beyond African-Americans students to include other minorities as well.
Tom Belford, a veteran fund-raising consultant, says he understands that, but he still gives the group’s new name a C+.
“Acronym names are totally useless unless backed by years of mega-marketing and advertising budgets,” he writes on The Agitator, a blog he helped to found.
“Even then, no one but the employees ever recognizes them.”
Where Mr. Belford feels the charity made a smart move was in hanging on to its longtime tag line: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The line is part of new logo, along with a more colorful image of a burning torch.
This seasoned slogan, Mr. Bradford feels, “says everything about the organization that needs to be said … and, in fact, that’s where the organization’s true brand equity lies.”
The charity’s new four-letter name UNCF, however, leaves him cold—failing, he feels, to be “evocative of the organization’s history and mission, and suggestive of its future.”
What grade would you give the name change? Has your organization changed its name or logo? Let us know your experiences.
