New Logo

The CAS has apparently had a new logo created for the organization:

Here's an article about the re-branding: http://www.casact.org/press/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&articleID=2254


I'm generally not a fan of re-branding efforts, and so far this is no exception. I don't think the new logo is even intelligible to someone who doesn't already expect to see the letters "C.A.S." Why a vague yellow dot instead of a clear white line? Are we planning on joining the NCAA and need to have a third color for our team jerseys? Is it some sort of "Web 2.0" attempt to evoke the ubiquitous "dot-com" concept?

We also have a new tagline, "100 Years of Expertise, Insight & Solutions," which utterly fails to illuminate anything regarding the purpose of our organization as it makes no reference to risk, analysis, applied mathematics, or anything else remotely actuarial (although I do appreciate the ageist jab at the SOA.) It's also sure to infuriate fans of the Oxford comma. Is this a subtle statement by the CAS that we are committed to remaining a U.S.-focused organization? That we've had it with waiting around for Solvency II to sort itself out and are retreating within our own borders? I wonder how Canada feels about this.

All in all, it seems like a brand strategy designed to appeal to members of the organization rather than its customers, which doesn't surprise me since the SOA "general insurance" track no longer guarantees us the custom of every aspiring PC actuary. This is an advertisement directed at the profession rather than the industry in which our profession operates. It's bound to be short-lived, however, since the "100 years" figure will soon be out of date, so perhaps this is intended to be a temporary strategy.

I'm curious how others are reacting to the logo. Are we happy to have something a little more modern and colorful? Is the new tagline seen as effective? To be honest, I can't remember our old tagline, so perhaps that's an automatic improvement.