Exclusive First Look: Nine Network’s GEM Luminous on Launch Day

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It is really wickedly cold this Sunday morning in London. Yet somehow, I managed to get myself out of bed early (with the help of 2 massive cups of coffee) to get you this exclusive first look at Australia’s newest channel. Following the very successful launch of youth oriented channel GO! (highest rated digital multi-channel), Nine Network debuts it’s brand new channel GEM, which launches today.

GEM Launch Day Sept 26, 2010

GEM, which stands for General Entertainment Movies, brings a mix of new content, classic comedies and drama series, movies and HD sport. The channel is aimed at the 35+ demo. The branding package was given an incredibly tight turnaround of about four weeks, which includes logo, ident, and promo toolkit. The plush violet hues against the sheer and fluid moving lines gives the identity quite a sophisticated look. The brand launch was developed by creative studio zspace (which also designed GO!).

Nine CEO David Gyngell explains, “GEM is what its title suggests – a general entertainment and movie channel, carefully crafted and targeted like GO! before it, to appeal to a wide audience cross-section and complement Nine’s existing successful brands.

Channel Nine Refreshes On-Air With “Welcome Home”

Breaking News: Australia’s Channel Nine unveiled its much anticipated new on-air identity last night at 6pm with a new campaign dubbed “Welcome Home”. The new presentation system is rolled out as Nine buffs up with a fresh programming slate and renewed confidence internally.

A look at the new launch promo:

In related news, the rumors that we were hearing were confirmed today with the announcement that rival Seven is launching its new (free to air digital) channel on November 22 to go head to head with Nine’s digital channel offering  Go, which launched on August 9, targeting 14 to 39-year-olds. Whether or not it cannibalizes the primary channel from Pay TV or it will grow overall numbers remains to be seen.

Nine Network Looks to Rebrand

Sydney: As insiders speculated, it looks like Australia’s Nine Network is proceeding with a complete on-air rebrand, and will reposition the channel as “the home of TV”. The blue livery and iconic nine logo are expected to remain, but the broader brand platform looks to emphasize the network’s on-air promotions, news, and current affairs programming.

Nine, which during its years as Australia’s top rated network with the tagline “Still The One” had a particular strong ratings week with a 27.3% share in all demographics, to Seven’s 27.8 % and Ten’s 21.8%. The new branding campaign follows “We love TV”, “Smile”, and “Heart” campaigns launched in 2008.

The new branding campaign will most likely de-emphasize (costlier) program specific promotions, focusing more on generic program idents. The hero channel’s rebrand comes only weeks after the introduction of the GO! brand caused a few technical blips at the network.

Pulled a few Nine Network idents (from recent years) for readers who might not be familiar with the brand history. I am a big fan of the Aus/Asia market and will certainly be keeping a close eye on this one.

Click keep reading for a couple more reference videos.