The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is a wonderful organization that provides financial support for black college students as well as funding for 9 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Even though it saves thousands of lives every year, the people behind this group have difficulty reaching out to the so-called “hip-hop generation”.

That is why UNCF initiated a branding makeover representing its heritage and progressive support of Blacks in higher education. At the end of the day, UNCF hopes all these efforts will help attract more donors and make this philanthropic group more relevant to the community.

The new logo design captures the essence of this re-branding campaign. One of the glaring changes is the use of different colors including blue for the text and orange and yellow for the torch. Moreover, it uses the acronym UNCF instead of the actual name because many African-Americans today do not see themselves as Negros anymore.

Another alteration you can see here is how the torch is drawn. UNCF president and CEO Dr. Michael Lomax said they opted for a bent torch over the old static version to indicate the organization is moving forward amid resistance.

Because the tag line “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” is even more relevant today, UNCF has decided to communicate this same message to the community.

This year UNCF will grant scholarships amounting to $80 million and financial support to its member institution worth $40 million.

Via Diverse

University of Tennessee’s costumed dog mascot named Smokey has earned his 3rd national mascot championship in the recently concluded Universal Cheerleading Association National held at Disney World’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

A spirited competitor, Smokey has won the back-to-back national title in 2000-2001 and is a consistent runner up in this contest for elite mascots.

Despite his impressive track record, the competition was not a walk in the park for Smokey had to fight against other top performing mascots including University of Wisconsin–Madison’s “Bucky the Badger” and Auburn University’s “Aubie the Tiger”.

Smokey is not the lone mascot of UT’s sports team better known as “The Volunteers” or “Vols”. The original mascot is a live Bluetick coonhound dog, a native breed of Tennessee. Based on the demand of the students, the first Smokey reigned from 1953 to 1954. The latest live hound dog mascot is Smokey XI, which started in 2004. His main task is to lead the Vols out of the giant “T” before the start of each home game.

Via Tricities Sports

In the latest study sponsored by Unilever, the front-of-pack logo is found more effective in aiding consumers find healthy foods in the supermarket, compared to the standard guideline daily amounts (GDA) system usually listed at the back of the packaging.

Obviously, a simple logo stamped on the front of the product has an edge over detailed information at the back because most shoppers do not spend much time reading information about a product. Moreover, its purpose is quite similar with the controversial “Alaska Grown” logo for it helps enhance your brand’s reputation and boost sales as a result.

Given this advantage, food companies led by Unilever have launched the Choices logo to help consumers find healthy choices quickly in accordance with the international dietary guidelines. The logo features a blue circle with a rising golden sun over the big blue check mark. It is also open to all food manufacturers and retailers in more than 20 countries worldwide.

Choices front-of-pack logo is the answer to the big problem in food industry – lack of straightforward information. Even though most people like to eat healthy foods, the information provided on products is oftentimes too technical for the average consumers. Now, the Choice stamp makes it clear, simple and very effective. Its website Choices International Foundation provides additional information for those consumers craving for more information.

The drawback of using a real life animal as your official mascot is finding its successor when the time comes for it to retire. Still, traditions keep them from switching to synthetic yet adorable mascot.

The Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge is such an example of this long-standing tradition. Since 1936, this university uses real life tigers as their official mascot. Using the moniker Mike the Tiger, Mike I served the school loyally from 1936 to 1956. Mike V, the most recent mascot, died in May 2007 after 17 long years. More than 100,000 people visit these tigers every year.

Now, the 2-year old feline Roscoe the Tiger is hailed Mike VI. Weighing more than 400 pounds, this very playful Bengal/Siberian mix was donated by the Great Cats of Indiana, a nonprofit animal rescue center in Idaville.

Roscoe is not like the many cute mascots actively entertaining the crowd with their signature moves and slapsticks. For one, he does not stay during the game. Moreover, he is treated like a royalty. Roscoe arrives 2 hours before the game in a caged trailer pulled by a truck and surrounded by more than 20 police officers. He is then greeted by the wild LSU crowd of more than 200,000 people chanting ‘Mike … Mike … Mike … Mike.

Indeed, Mark VI is one of the luckiest mascots in the world today.

Via Journal & Courier

Here’s another great reason why you need a mascot for your business – create future customers!

According to Forbes.com, the role of a mascot has evolved from a mere gimmick to being an important tool in grabbing new fans at early ages and establishing a friendly image to the community.

In a research conducted by The Marketing Arm to find out the leading sports mascots, they used the Davie-Brown Index – a measure commonly used to know how a celebrity can influence brand identity based on different attributes such as awareness, appeal, influence, endorsement and trust.

Phillie Phanatic, the 300-pound bright green mascot of Major League Baseball team Philadelphia Phillies, emerged the most popular. Here are the the top 10 sports mascots:

1. Phillie Phanatic
2. San Diego Chicken (San Diego Padres)
3. Mr. Met (New York Mets)
4. Racing Sausages (Milwaukee Brewers)
5. Benny the Bull (Chicago Bulls)
6. Rally Monkey (Los Angeles Angels)
7. Sourdough Sam (San Francisco 49ers)
8. Rowdy (Dallas Cowboys)
9. Rally (Atlanta Braves)
10. Miles (Denver Broncos)

And what type of mascot design do you exactly need? It is all about being cute, warm and fuzzy these days. Fierce-looking characters and heavily painted Indians carrying tomahawks are no longer in.

If it is appealing to youngsters then you’re on the right track. These children do not care about these games and players. Bring in a lovable mascot and you will immediately grab their fickle attention.