US public broadcaster PBS has unveiled an ambitious new multi-platform rebrand package, which includes over 600 elements inviting viewers to “Be More”. In development since last year, the campaign expresses the vibrancy of today’s PBS, whose content is delivered through a growing number of platforms.
From television to video streaming and beyond, PBS “gives people opportunities they may not otherwise have to explore the worlds of science, nature, history, drama, performance, how-to and more – making this public service media enterprise even more relevant and captivating than ever.”
“The new package expresses what people love best about PBS – that our shows invite everyone, from every walk of life, to explore new ideas, discover new worlds and to broaden their horizons, in other words, to be more.” explains Lesli Rotenberg, SVP, PBS Brand Management and Promotion.
John Ruppenthal, Senior Creative Director for PBS adds “It was a challenge to find a way to embody and bring to life what makes PBS unique, yet this new package does just that.” The strategic direction for the new package was developed by PBS’ Brand Management team, the creative was executed by New York based Eyeball.
Happy Thanksgiving Eve everyone. As some of you know, I went to UCLA (oh those long years ago) to pursue a career in clinical psychology, and got my first job out of university doing social work for the state of California. (I’ll save the how I got into branding/advertising industry for another day.)
Times (and the economy) were very different. Fast forward to today; we have some really talented students finishing up their degrees and looking for a place to spread their creative wings.
I receive a lot of emails from students and those that have recently graduated. “What is the best way to get an internship?”, “How do I get my portfolio seen & noticed?”, “How do I find the right agency to work for?” Until now, I’ve not really had many ways to redirect talent.
After some advice and discussion with a few trusted colleagues, I’ve decided to host a student portfolio gallery as a regular feature to the blog. The goal is provide young creative talent an opportunity to get noticed by decision makers in our industry, which include our regular readership of creative executives from top design agencies and television networks.
UK: Virgin Media Television is renaming its LIVING2 channel offering alongside a comprehensive visual rebrand of its entire LIVING portfolio. On November 30, LIVING2 is being relaunched as LIVINGit, a new channel proposition based on the premise that “life’s worth watching”.
Here’s a glimpse at the new identity- will try to get a montage of the new package once it launches later in the week.
The creative concept for LIVINGit is about it “being part of your world, a prized object that participates in all aspects of life and this is reflected in the breadth of scenarios in which the logo appears as part of life.”
With the aim of giving the brand stand-out presence, the refresh of the LIVING portfolio centers on a stylish venue space – where the LIVING logo is central as an exhibit. Shot on 35mm film in a real environment the ‘LIVING Exhibit’ is where “everything about the brand takes place, creating an atmosphere, presence and turning it into a desirable destination.”
Jeff Dodds, Virgin Media Television’s Brand and Marketing Director explains, “With the launch of LIVINGit we are sending a clear message that the channel has a distinct personality in its own right. LIVING’s new on air look not only has huge on screen impact but gives us endless creative possibilities”
“In the TV environment it’s essential to have a strong brand. We also have a duty of care to our advertisers to keep viewers watching and engaged during a programme break with our branding creative.”
The rebrands were developed by Red Bee Media in partnership with Virgin Media Television’s in-house creative team.
FlashForward is a breakout fan favorite this season. While ABC has done a stellar job promoting the new series stateside, there has been some buzz in the UK around Five’s specially designed FlashForward idents.
One of the benefits of my regular travel between London and LA is being able to sample (and share with you) promotional differences between creative teams in the US and Europe.
The show has been a solid hit for Five. It skews much younger than most of Five’s other major American shows, and has done a great job lifting Five’s brand equity among lighter viewers of the channel.
The UK launch was only days after the US launch, meaning footage and copy was restricted. “The Eye” / “What did you see” graphic was built as the main branding device for all UK marketing, and the ident delivers a sense of scale, sophistication and suspense to a show that is billed as the new Lost.
Extra thanks to the creative team (Nol, Russell, & Kate) at Five for the kind words on the blog and their contribution to the site.
Hannah Montana, Jason Voorhees, and JLS in 3D? Oh yeah. Channel 4 tonight kicks off 3D week, with a special three-dimensional programming lineup and a suite of specially developed 3D promos and idents. Offering up some interesting opportunities to design in eye-catching trajectories, C4 adds that programs are “best viewed in a dark room and watched from a central position at least 1.5m away from the screen.” Glasses are available for free from select branches of Sainsbury’s.
Australia’s Seven Network yesterday launched it’s eagerly anticipated new broad entertainment channel 7Two. The new 24-hour channel, buoyed by heavy US and UK programming titles promises “more drama, more lifestyle, more reality, more comedy, more movies.”, includes nabbing favorites Ugly Betty, Heroes, 24, and Lost.
Already the channel has enjoyed promotions on Seven ahead of its launch on Sunday with its politically-inspired “It’s Time” campaign song. Seven’s production & programming chief Tim Worner tips us in on a few secrets including a few red herrings, such as faked channel names 7PLUS, PLUS7, and Channel Mate, all of which included specially designed logos for the false channel monikers.
“When we sat down to work out the name of the channel 12 months ago, we were considering all these names. Red, Ruby, Bill, Dave, Tom, Dick, Harry,” he teases. “In the end we kept coming back to the power of that big, red 7 and the trust that’s been built in that brand over the last five years.”
The rest of the channel’s programming will include the “very best of British television”, themed nights including Action & Adventure, Lifestyle and Movies, and cooking programs from the likes of Jamie Oliver, as well as primetime episodes of The Jay Leno Show, five nights a week.
First Look: Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe tonight released an eye-catching :60 promo (which I had been hearing bits about for the last few weeks) featuring NIN frontman Trent Reznor. Reznor lends his song “Zero Sum” with specially recorded dialogue for the spot.
After being asked by series EP Jeff Pinkner, co-creator JJ Abrams sent a single email to Reznor and got him on board for the unique collaboration.
For those folks who might’ve missed it, here’s the promo, which has already lit up chatter on the Twittersphere. Also- I’m told Reznor embedded one of the show’s signature glyphs (much like those hidden in the Fringe fall TV poster) into the track’s sound waves. Apparently, if you watch the audio waves on a computer, you might see something very interesting.
It has been a very busy October. I’d like to give a bit of thanks to clients old and new who have given a bit of their personal & professional time to me this past month. This economic climate makes it even more important to reach out, spend valuable face to face time, and have focused, purposeful dialogue about our clients’ real world challenges.
With that, here’s some work that caught your eye last month. In no particular order, (in case you missed it) five of the most viewed posts in September.
Latest stats- 45% of Art & Business of Motion’s readers are in the United States, followed by closeby by the United Kingdom at 20%. Top 3 cities that you are reading from? London, Los Angeles, and New York.
Top Viewed Posts / September 2009
Art & Business of Motion
Hidden glyph in audio of new :60 Fringe / Trent Reznor Fox Promo? http://bit.ly/3lAGzy Watch audio waves on a computer, look/listen and RT. 1 month ago
First look: JUST released otherworldly Fringe :60 promo spot feat. NIN / Trent Reznor on FOX during Game 5 of the ALCS http://bit.ly/3lAGzy1 month ago
