BRANDING
TELEVISION CHANNELS
by Sabrina Beram
In his book Brand Identity for
Television, British graphic designer Martin Lambie asserted that “[t]hese
days, a TV channel is just another product on an increasingly overcrowded TV
supermarket shelf. It is a brand” (Hwang). With around 300 channels competing
for a maximum of 60 million viewers, it has become essential for television
channels to add other dimensions in order to differentiate their product from
other products designed to satisfy the same need (Hwang). According to the American Marketing
Association, this is the purpose of branding.
If channels associate themselves with a memorable, clear message that
speaks to their target audience, viewers will continue to return, building a reliable consumer base which is essential for drawing in
advertisers. But how does a channel
project a strong image that appeals to a specific audience? I conducted a study in which I watched
approximately four hours of four different television channels (ESPN, Lifetime,
MTV, and Nickelodeon) catering to distinct target audiences (men, women,
teenagers, and kids) in order to determine the key elements which contributed
to those channel’s brands. I identified
five components (content, visual design, sound design, commercials, and
multimedia promotion beyond the channel) common to all four channels, but which
where executed in strategically different ways resulting in my tendency to
associate each channel with its intended group of viewers. In this essay, I have included psychological
research to justify the importance of the five elements and have used my own
experiences as a viewer to exemplify the real-world use of those five elements
in current television channel branding.
1. CONTENT
The first component of channel
branding is content. If a viewer sees
himself/herself or an image of who they would like to be reflected in shows
through the ideas communicated or the participating actors, then viewer will
sense a familiarity in the channel and regard it as an extension of
himself/herself (Hwang). Every channel examined in my study repetitively emphasized specific values and featured
situations which were relevant to their respective target audiences.
ESPN focused on competitiveness and
legacy. Competitiveness is a trait
commonly seen in male sociological interactions, and it is a value associated
with the male gender. A research study
cited in the Melpomene Journal article “Attitudes
towards competition: do differences exist between boys and girls?” recognized
that “[m]any studies focusing on the interaction between males
and females in small groups find that women are, indeed, less competitive and
are “less interested in dominance striving” than are men,” and then set out to
determine the legitimacy of that allegation.
Results showed that “Yes, there are indeed differences between them;
and, yes, the differences are those that many would suspect: boys place more of
an emphasis on winning – both for its intrinsic value and for what it means to
them personally” (Jonas). [Sports in
particular appeal to men according to Sex Roles: A Journal of Research because “organized sport is clearly
a potentially powerful cultural arena for…the ideology of men’s superiority and
dominance…There are two fundamental dimensions along which sport provides support
for hegemonic masculinity. First, sport
links maleness with highly valued and visible skills, and second, it links
maleness with the positively sanctioned use of aggression/force/violence. On
the other hand, the social organization of gender in society, because it
defines the appropriate spheres of social activity and social roles for men,
influences men’s participation in sport.
(Koka).]
Additionally, adult
males aspire to leaving a legacy since, as they get older, they feel pressured
to leave something behind which they will be remembered for in order to justify
their existence and prolong their impact on the world after they are gone. The significance of legacy is familiar to men
due to the social convention which dictates that procreation ensures that their
name will live on, since children commonly take the last name of their
father. The programs I saw on ESPN
reflected these two values. The Heisman
Trophy Award Ceremony was a competition in and of itself, and it celebrated
competitiveness by awarding the best football player with a trophy symbolizing
his ability to beat opponents by using athletic skill. This television special incorporated the
concept of legacy in more ways than one as it paid tribute to past Heisman
Trophy winners and placed Reggie Bush the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner’s picture
on a sort of historical wall of fame alongside the best football players of the
past, implying that all of those winners will live on in spirit and through
annual recognition from the living.
This
ceremony was followed up by an ESPN original movie called Code Breakers
which was about a football team at a military school during the war. After each commercial break, the film
reopened with black and white newsreel footage transitioning back into the
historical period in which the film was set.
This acknowledgement of the past and the fact that the characters were
based on real people from a true story relates to the concept of legacy, as it
emphasizes the impact that men can have on future generations. Also, it ensured that older male viewers of
the channel would relate to the younger main characters by portraying them as a
representation of the older viewers during their years of youth. The narrative centered around the various
ways in which characters competed in the historical society; militarily,
academically/professionally, and athletically.
The men were in the midst of a war and constantly received information
of which country was winning or losing battles, they were pressured in the
school setting to get good grades and some of them resorted to cheating to
uphold the image that they dominated in that realm of their lives, and, of
course, they were enrolled in sports and competed to beat other athletic
opponents.
Finally, I watched the ESPN
signature show Sports Center in which the hosts debated which athletes
were performing better or worse by discussing who held the “longest margin of
victory,” interviewed the Hiesman Trophy Winner, reflected on which team had
won certain games recently, and speculated about who would dominate in
tournaments and go down in sports history.
In stark contrast, Lifetime focused on romance,
feminism, and motherhood. Romance is
valued by adult women due to social conditioning through which they have been
taught to seek the fairytale story ending in which they will presumably find
Prince Charming and fall in love. Not
surprisingly, an article in Catalog Age titled "Gender Vendors -- differences and similarities in marketing to men and women" found that for the action series Highlander, the
addition of “[r]omance…did build the female base to where the 700,000-name
customer list [was] skewed just over 50-50 in favor of women. As the female
part of the base rose, so did the median age, from 30 to 45” (Boorstein). Since the ideal love story does not always
hold up in reality, Lifetime supplements this notion with the message that
women can be strong and independent on their own, a comment on modern women’s’
values of empowerment. Family is valued
by women since they usually take on the role of care giver as they nurture
children, easing familial tensions and offering emotional support to those
about whom they care. An article in the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science
stated that “[a]lthough gender roles have been changing, traditional perceptions
of responsibility within the work and family spheres are still being
maintained…Women continue to take a more active role as caregivers than men,
regardless of familial responsibilities being more balanced between men and
women… Although men and women have similar family demands, women are still
feeling as though they are primarily responsible for their family”
(McElwain).
The two Lifetime channel
original films I watched were deeply rooted representing women’s values,
interactions, and situations. The first
movie Fifteen and Pregnant dealt with issues of motherhood both from the
mother and daughter’s perspective. The
mother struggled with helping her daughter through a difficult time in her life
and coping with her non-pregnant daughter’s jealousy of all the attention the
mother paid to her pregnant sister.
Also, the mother exhibits feminist strength as she holds down a job and
raises her children alone (since she is separated), and demonstrates how to
deal with her mother-in-law’s nosy attempts to influence her decisions. The daughter, on the other hand, is pregnant
and must decide whether or not to keep the baby or put it up for adoption, and
she learns about the physical changes that are happening to her body. Romance is woven through the film as the
mother rekindles her romance with her ex-husband, and the pregnant daughter,
who had intercourse with her boyfriend as a symbol of her love for him, tries to
understand why he doesn’t love her anymore after she gets pregnant.
The second film, Hush, involved a
woman who can’t get pregnant but wants a child badly, so she receives artificial insemination of her husband’s
sperm. She and her husband move out of
the city to the more suburban town where he grew up, because they feel it is a
more appropriate area to raise a child.
When they get there, the wife makes friends with a waitress who,
unbeknownst to the wife, is an ex-girlfriend of the husband. It turns out that the husband got the
waitress pregnant when they were teenagers, and, since he practices medicine,
he performed an abortion so they could keep it a secret. The waitress is still in love with him and in
order to get him back she secretly dresses up as the wife, goes to the lab in
L.A., gets an artificial insemination of his sperm, and becomes pregnant so
that she can give the husband the only thing his wife cannot and he will love
her again. Although the plot is
improbable, women can still relate to the characters and issues in this film. The waitress is coping with the sadness of
her past abortion, the fact that her own mother rejected her when she was
young, and -after she is pregnant- she deals with the struggle of finding
another job so she can make more money to support her baby. Meanwhile, the wife is handling the
disappointment of failed pregnancy attempts with new technology and is trying
to keep her husband satisfied while he is being pursued and tempted sexually by
another woman. In the end of the film, in an ultimate act of motherly
protection, the wife sacrifices her own life in order to save the life of the
baby.
Shifting into a youth culture focus, MTV focused on physical
attractiveness and materialism. During
adolescence, peoples bodies evolve and male and female characteristics become
more developed and evident. An article
on social comparison and body image in Sex Roles: A Journal of Research states that “[g]iven the physical
changes associated with puberty and the importance of appearance for
self-esteem, knowledge about the development of appearance social comparison
for both boys and girls may be particularly helpful in understanding the
dynamics associated with the changes and expectations surrounding body image... Peers are a vital part of the lives of adolescents and play an increasingly
prominent role in defining social expectations, establishing identity, and
evaluating self. Feeling accepted and
supported by friends and classmates is indeed one of the central concerns of
adolescents…Furthermore, studies have indicated that students at a young age
are cognizant of the linkage between conforming to appearance expectations and
are pressured by peers to conform to appearance expectations…Given that
appearance is one of the potential routes to acceptance and popularity, social
comparison becomes a relevant mechanism for learning about the
appearance-related social expectations among peers and for evaluating the self
in terms of those standards” (Jones).
Thus, good physical appearance is highly valued among teens.
Since material products may be used to
increase attractiveness, either by enhancing physical appearance or by creating
an image of success or confidence, materialism surfaces as another value of
teens who seek acceptance within their peer groups. This may have contributed to the statistic
mentioned in the article “Decoding hip-hop’s cultural impact: scholars are
poised to take a close look at the influence of hip-hop on the social identity,
values of today’s youth” that “since the early 1990s, the biggest selling
hip-hop artists have been the ones most associated with “gangsta” rap; the
“bling-bling” rap that celebrates materialism.” (Roach). MTV recognizes and, since it is such a
powerful media entity, probably contributes to the association of these values
with the teenage demographic. The shows
and videos on the channel showcase situations in which characters assess one
other’s attractiveness and/or define what products are cool. The fact that these interactions are often
projected through reality television shows (like Laguna Beach, Cribs,
and Pimp My Ride) guarantees that viewers will see themselves reflected
in the channel and will perceive that physical attractiveness and materialism
should be important to them as well.
The
first show I watched during the four hours was Next, a teen blind-date
reality show in which the main character either rejects people from the
opposite sex after hanging out with them for a brief time period in the hopes
that the next person will be someone they will feel more compatible with, or,
if they find someone they like, the main character offers them a choice of
money or another date. I observed that
most selections were made based on the person’s physical looks as opposed to
their personality. It was not uncommon
for the dater to reject their dates upon seeing them, with the explanation:
“You’re just not my type.” One girl even
based her decision on how far a guy would go to change his appearance (ie.
haircut, clothing, piercing) to match what she found to be attractive.
Another show I saw was called Direct
Effect and appeared to be a strictly hip-hop alternative to TRL. Nearly all of the videos shown focused on
attractiveness and materialism, showing girls in booty shorts and
cleavage-inducing bikini tops and guys driving hot sport cars with large gold
chains around their necks. One song,
titled “Grillz,” exemplified MTV’s emphasis of these values, as Nelly rapped
about a sexy girl finding him attractive because he has diamond teeth caps. The banter between which comprised the chorus
consisted of Nelly asking, “Girl whatchu looking at?” to which she seductively
replies, “I want to see your Grill.”
Nickelodeon, targeting children's tastes, focused on education and
fantasy. Education is relevant to
children, since they are constantly discovering new things about the
world. Nickelodeon’s program Jimmy
Neutron; Boy Genius stresses the message that knowledge is power. At one point in the show, when Jimmy needed
to find a solution to a problem, the camera zoomed in through his ear to show
the electrons shooting and neurons pumping away in his brain, after which Jimmy
logically figured out a way to save the day.
The show is set up in such a way that Jimmy functions as a teacher
explaining new concepts to his less experienced friends who ask him questions
that the children viewers of Nickelodeon might be wondering. Through this method, Jimmy exposes his
friends (and simultaneously the viewers) to a multitude of new words and
concepts relating to literature, technology, entertainment, geography, and
science among others.
This appeals to
the young audience who socially interacts in a learning-teaching manner with
teachers, parents, coaches, and friends, and who are learning similar things in
school and extracurricular activities which they can recognize in the show. For example, the few episodes I saw
referenced a wide range of typically kid-themed subjects and hobbies including
Macbeth, downloading computer programs, science fair experiments, Chinese
culture, Star Wars, the chemistry of breaking hydrocarbons into energy at
breakfast, kung fu, marine life etc. The
value of fantasy relates to young viewers of Nickelodeon who are at a stage in
life when creativity and using one’s imagination is encouraged in forms of
entertainment, like playing make-believe and storytelling, and adults try to
instill in children a sense of wonderment with the world and the notion that
anything is possible. Both Jimmy
Neutron and Spongebob Squarepants reinforce this concept as their
characters dream up fanciful ideas and defy the laws of gravity, space, matter,
and time. In these shows, the main
characters and their friends flew through the air or breathed underwater,
impossibly contorted their physical features or swapped bodies entirely,
communicated with animals and objects, and time traveled into the past and
future.
All
of the programs I watched reflected the core values of their target audience,
had main characters with personalities and physical attributes and
communication skills which either were desired by or closely mirrored those
found in viewers, and featured situations to which the viewers could relate
since they either in the past or were currently dealing with similar
issues. Since it is a channel’s most
significant attribute, the content in channel branding lays the groundwork for
the other components of the channel brand.
2. VISUAL
DESIGN
Visual Design is the second
component key to the development of a channel’s image. The visuals are often what attract a viewer
to a channel, so they must represent the channel’s mood and be created with the
motivations and desires of the demographic audience in mind. In Jia Hwang’s essay titled “Study of
Branding Strategy in New Media and Brand Identity Development for Short Film
Channel,” she writes that “Graphic elements [are] the entrance of brand
awareness…Successful visual representation of the channel will support it…The
visual elements such as font, tone, and color determine the style of the
channel and the viewers actually differentiate the channel from others because
of its looks…If one television company can create [an] image that
differentiates it from other channels, the television viewer will remember that
channel and have an expectation of it.
The channel must attract and tell the viewer often what the channel is
for and designing…will be the first attraction for the channel” (Hwang). Three important aspects of visual design are
logo, color, and presentation of information.
The
logo is important because it alerts the viewer to what they are watching so
that they know where to come back for the same kind of programming. It must stand out and be memorable. Additionally, Hwang contends that “existence
of a strong brand name in the entertainment industry is valuable because of
strong feelings of emotions that names engender as a result of pleasurable past
experiences…If one channel can be positioned with a one-word brand identity, it
immediately becomes a specialized channel” (Hwang).
The four channels I studied all have names
which relate to the content on the channel they represent. This makes the channels more memorable in the
minds of the viewers since the logo or name easily conjures up feelings
associated with the viewing experience.
Also, this helps the channels to attract potential viewers since the
logo featuring the name of the channel gives an indication of what may be found
there, and the potential viewers can determine whether or not this might be a
good fit for them. For example, when I
hear the word Lifetime, I expect to see stories relating to people dealing with
common struggles which are an inherent part of living life. I can also infer from the feminine, flowy,
delicate nature of the slender font used in the logo that the channel is
catered to women.
One cannot tell as
easily from ESPN’s logo what the content of the channel is due to the fact that
it is an abbreviation. However, after I
have been exposed to the channel’s shows, I can infer that the “E” relates to
entertainment, the “SP” represents sports, and the “N” stands for news. For people who are familiar with sports, the
abbreviation seems appropriate since most widely known athletic associations
and leagues are commonly referred to in the abbreviated format, such as the NBA
or NFL. The visual appearance of the
ESPN logo is suggestive of masculinity and sports. The font is thick, blocky, and squared like a
stereotypical male athletic physique; it looks strong and bold, like a force to
be reckoned with. The logo is also
suggestive of speed. It tilts slightly
to the right, at an angle commonly seen in the stance of a runner in profile,
and the line through the letters is symbolic of wind flying past.
The MTV name is another abbreviation,
however, logo clearly implies that the “TV” stands for television, since these letters
appear much smaller and in a completely different font from the “M.” The M is square-like 3D and flat-surfaced,
like a wall, while the “T” and “V” are wobbly and appear to be sprayed on like
spray paint in freehand, which suggests the laid back, rebellious, cool,
adolescent style of the channel.
The
name Nickelodeon tickles the tongue to say, producing a silly sort of
experience which reflects the childlike nature of the channel. Chances are that most people don’t know that
the word itself describes early theaters that used to charge five cents for
admission, but the “nickel” half can be perceived as representative of the number five which refers
to the young age of the viewers. In the
logo, the channel name is usually inside of a paint splatter which symbolizes
the playful, creative nature of children who appreciate tactile experiences and
have most probably spilled a few paint buckets in their day.
Colors are important since they have
specific emotional connotations and can instantly communicate a message about a
channel. The essay “Colour as a Tool for
E-Branding,” explains how color affects viewers physiologically by effecting
muscles in the human eye, psychologically through powerful subliminal
persuasion, and aesthetically by creating “pleasant visual harmony or …a
cluttered, chaotic experience.”
Consequently, “the wrong colors can be an irreversible mistake and may
keep the consumer from exploring the site [or channel] long before they even
consider purchasing a product [or consuming the program content]. (Lee)” The colors associated with each channel’s
logo, promotional pieces, and lineups or programming schedules that appear
throughout the viewer’s experience symbolically imply the general mood of the
channels.
ESPN uses bright red which
“symbolizes strong emotions, or things of strong emotions rather than
intellectual ideas. For example, red can symbolize excitement, energy,
speed, strength, danger, passion, and aggression” (“Symbolism”). “Colour as a Tool for E-Branding” states that
“bright vivid colors, such as pure red and blue, are energizing and
outward-focused.” Lifetime uses light
muted blue which “is the color of the Virgin Mary, and is associated with girls
who have similar pure qualities. … In
addition, it is the color of water and the sea, with all the symbolic
references already discussed for that element – that is, blue usually indicates
femininity, life, purity, etc., just as water does. Blue can also symbolize peace, calm,
stability, security, loyalty” (“Symbolism”)
“Colour as a Tool for E-Branding” adds that “complex colors- muted
colors- appeal to higher socioeconomic groups…Muted, grey-based colors, such as
taupe and blue-grey, are sophisticated and reserved…Light shades of most
colors, such as pink and light blue, are delicate and ethereal.” MTV’s colors are constantly changing, which
is in alignment with the hip-to-the-times attitude of the channel. However, its colors are always bright. According to “Color Matters,” “[b]right
colors appeal to youth…Extremely bright, electrifying colors, such as lime
green and fuchsia, are festive, “hip,” and dynamic.” Nickelodeon’s signature color is orange which
“can represent energy, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, flamboyant, and demanding
of attention” (“Symbolism”). All of the
four channels are associated with appropriate colors for their target groups
and channel content.
Finally,
the presentation of information is important, because different people process
information differently according to their gender, age, and the structural
layouts with which they have become accustomed.
ESPN’s information is commonly organized into geometrically shaped
charts and numerical statistics. This is
appropriate for the target audience since males tend to have better numerical
and spatial relationship skills when interpreting information (Marano). Also, information was often quickly scrolled
across the bottom of the screen. This
fast-paced technique of information presentation may be due to the fact that
men can absorb information more quickly than women. Charted material, statistical numbers, and
scrolling are all forms of information display with which men are familiar
since they are commonly found in male dominated work places. For example, in the business world
information for the stock market is scrolled and employs the use of
abbreviations and numbers. Women,
alternatively, are much more verbal with a talent for interpreting language
(14). In alignment with many male gender
communication studies, ESPN “restricted emotional expression (e.g., no crying),
and limit[ed]… verbal expression and communication” (Davis). Conversely, Lifetime usually presented
information textually and used a woman’s voiceover to comment on upcoming shows
with descriptive adjectives. MTV
presented information within edgy digital frames. For example, interviews were conducted
through telecommunication, using television screens or monitors. Additionally, references were continually
made to the internet and other forms of technology with which this generation
has become accustomed. Nickelodeon rarely
used text, since not all young children have developed reading skills. The channel opted instead to communicate
through universally understood images, adopting the same technique for
communication as picture books use.
3. SOUND DESIGN
Sound
affects the body and mind. For example,
low tones are proven to directly stir “sexual, digestive, and deep seated
emotional centers,” while other sounds can impact “body temperature, blood
circulation, pulse rate, breathing, and sweating” (Sonnenschein, 70-71). Since communicating through the sense of
sound renders listeners impressionable, sound design can be instrumental in
projecting the mood of a channel and stimulating emotional and physical
responses in viewers; responses they may come to associate with the
channel. The most important element of
sound design relative to channel differentiation is music. Music, much like color, can stimulate
emotional responses, change the energy of listeners, and encourage the viewer’s
connection with the image. ESPN mostly
played rock and roll music in the background as game scores were announced and
replays were assessed. In the book Sound Design, David Sonnenschein
states that rock induces “aggressive movement [and] the building and releasing
of energy” while the emotion of daringness is expressed with a “defiant,
rushing melody” (108-109) Since athletics by nature require physical exertion
to play and vicariously arouse excitement in fans, the fast rumbling beats of
rock and roll were an appropriate accomplice to the content (108-109). Conversely, Lifetime mostly played slow,
Romantic music which Sonnenchein characterizes as stimulating “emotion, warmth,
pride, [and] romance,” feelings which were surely exhibited by the characters,
and probably shared by the sympathetic female viewers (109). Emotions such as sorrow were expressed with
“slow, languid melody,” fear was expressed with “tumbling downward
progressions, mainly in the lower register,” and compassion was accompanied by
“soft, smooth, lamenting melody, slow movement, [and] repeated figures in the
bass” (Sonnenschein, 108). Mostly music
in the Lifetime movies was used to emphasize moments of transition or to
sweeten dramatic moments. MTV mostly
played rap and hip hop, which Sonnenshein writes impacts the listeners by
“animating the nervous system [and inducing] rebellious behavior,” which are
both feelings to which energetic, angst-ridden teens relate and are apt to
experience (109). Music used as background in reality shows generally related
to the extreme emotions of love, expressed with “constant harmony [and] soft,
flattering melody in broad movements,” wrath, communicated with “running notes,
frequent sudden changes in the bass, and sharp, violent movements,” and
hopefulness, tied to “a proud, exultant melody” (Sonnenschein, 108). These emotions definitely relate to the
topics of betrayal, rejection, and lust.
Nickelodeon’s theme songs could best be characterized as catchy pop, a
genre of music characterized as “centered [, sending a] feeling of goodness”
and reggae or jazz which are genres determined to have a “joyous,
heartfelt…playful” impact on listeners (Sonnenschein, 109). This works for the children’s demographic
since Nickelodeon is a channel about having fun and feeling good. There were a surprising number of sound
effects throughout the animated television shows in order to supplement the
range of emotions expressed by the characters, like the highly emotive Spongebob
Squarepants, and to direct the emotions of the children watching, so they
would better understand the narrative.
4. COMMERCIALS
Commercials are essential in
defining a channel’s image since they comprise all of the breaks between
programming. It is important that
commercials are stimulating to a channel’s target audience in order to ensure
that viewers currently watching do not flip to a different station and that
potential viewers who are zapping in search of something attractive stop and
link on to the channel. For this reason,
the commercials on each channel should consider the motivations of the viewers
and align with their desires. Sometimes,
this means that two commercials for the same product must sell from different
angles and take on alternative formats or feature different actors or
voices. Three examples of this during my
viewing period were the commercials for KFC’s build your own Variety Buckets,
the new feature film Yours, Mine and Ours, and for Cingular mobile
telephones. When the KFC Variety Bucket
aired on ESPN, it consisted of footage of the variety bucket shifting around so
you could see it from different angles supplemented with a numerical
representation of the price with a male narrator explaining in a robust and
powerful voice about how the product offered consumer’s the ability to
personalize their chicken and get more than one type at a time. The music in the background was the
adrenaline-pumping rock music characteristic of other ESPN programming and the
colors and images were red and hot, encouraging an impulse buy. After watching it, I remember envisioning
three male friends sitting around a television watching a game with each
munching on their favorite type of KFC chicken as they shared the Variety
Bucket. When I saw the advertisement on
Lifetime, the setting was a pristine, white kitchen and the first person seen
on screen to represent the product was a middle-aged mother. She explained to her family that she had
picked up dinner and since KFC let her build her own Variety Bucket, she had
gotten everyone’s favorite type of chicken so they would each be
satisfied. Directly after this
narrative, the camera cut to her son, daughter, and husband who slowly rose to
their feet in unison and started to clap their hands, applauding the
mother/wife as an expression of their appreciation. This new version of the commercial played to
the motherly values of the Lifetime audience and to their
genetically-predisposed process of interpreting information as the price was
stated verbally. The commercial for Yours, Mine, and Ours aired on Lifetime
with footage from the film of Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo romantically
dancing together on a cruise and, after they get married, of the couple rolling
around on a bed in a public mall since it is the only place they can be alone
and relax without their eighteen kids.
This is perfect for the Lifetime audience since it references romance
and parenting. When the commercial
appeared on Nickelodeon, the clips from the movie included the kids getting
into trouble and making an absolute mess of the house or animals running around
indoors covered in paint and attacking the adults while the kids laughed in the
foreground. This was much more effective
for the younger demographic since children were shown on screen to represent
the film and because their actions exhibited playfulness and mischief. Another prime difference was that on
Nickelodeon the main stars were no longer introduced by the narrator. This element of the commercial was essential
on Lifetime, since a big draw to the movie for adult women were the same-aged
celebrities; women find Dennis Quaid attractive and Rene Russo endearing and
want to have another opportunity to watch them.
Small children, however, probably have no idea who these celebrities
are, so their names would have just been meaningless information taking up time
in the brief slot where a funny sound effect could have been inserted
instead. The commercials for Cingular
that I saw on Lifetime emphasized “family plans” and featured kids addressing
their parents, explaining how with Cingular phones they can stay in touch and
the parents won’t have to worry. This of
course played to the value of motherhood.
Meanwhile, the Cingular phone commercials on MTV accentuated the value
of appearances and materialism, indicating that the phone was sleek and sexy,
and owning the phone would make the teenage viewers more attractive and cool as
well. The music in the commercial was
like runway electronic music with a pulsating beat and the phone moved like a
model with agility, turning around so viewers could admire it from every angle
as the style was materialistically identified with the name “Black Razor” by
the announcer. The adaptation of these
commercials to their new channel environments implies the significance of
commercials in maintaining a channel’s cohesive identity and brand.
5. OPPORTUNITES FOR INTERACTION BEYOND THE CHANNEL
The final, but equally if not more
important, element of channel branding is interactive media and events
associated with a channel. It is
imperative that channels remain visible in the lives of the viewers and that
the channel creates both tangible products and experiences with which viewers
can interact so as to remain present in the viewer’s mind and to ensure that
the viewer incorporates the channel brand into their identity through a sense
of participation and belonging.
Nickelodeon produces and promotes its own print magazine with cut out
pranks and the channel features promos called “Ask the Creators” with kids out
on the street holding a microphone and asking questions to the creative minds
behind the shows. Through these methods,
the intangible channel reaches out into the lives of viewers in a tangible
manner and manifests itself as a community in which the viewer’s voices are
heard and answered. MTV sponsors
concerts and events, providing a physical location at which MTV viewers can
meet each other and start relationships based on their common appreciation
MTV. This strengthens viewers bond to
the channel as they incorporate it into their identity as a means by which they
can belong to a social group and relate to their peers. Also, MTV transcends channel content and
takes an active role in foreign viewers’ lives by researching target audience
culture engaging in activities that address their culture-specific
concerns. In Bombay, a near third-world
country, the channel created “MTV Dirt Busters,” an anti-pollution drive which sent
MTV trucks to clean up the city and rewarded contest winners with trips to
pollution-free destinations. Lifetime
engages in similar activities to spread awareness of and support programs for people who suffer from
diabetes, breast cancer, and teenage pregnancy.
Social campaigns such as this contribute to the channel’s brand by
adding value to the company attached to the channel. ESPN has become more present in the lives of
its viewers by multiplexing with channels such as ESPN2, ESPN News, and ESPN
Classic in order to enter into more areas of fan’s lives. Also, ESPN created ESPN ZONE, an
establishment for families and event gatherings which offers food, attractions,
games, merchandise, and of course 150 monitors screening the channel. This is meant to be a place where memories
associated with ESPN can be created. New
technologies are becoming a key route through which television channels can
penetrate the personal lives of their viewers.
Both ESPN and MTV have deals with cell phone companies to provide
services or create their own brand of phone.
This is one more way they can ensure that consumers will come into
contact with the brands everyday.
Additionally, all four of the channels I reviewed have websites which
afford viewers the chance to keep track of what’s new on the channel, play
interactive games, develop a sense of efficacy by voting and shaping channel
content, chat with other viewers, participate in contests, buy tickets to
events, watch reruns, interact with celebrities, read news relating to company
developments, shop for merchandise, exercise creativity, or even project
themselves onto the channel by designing a computer-generated character of
themselves. By interacting in this
manner, viewers will increasingly incorporate the channels into their
identity.
CONCLUSION
Branding is essential to getting a
target audience to identify with a channel and keep that channel on their
television set. Channels that have a
clearly identifiable image are more memorable and relatable for viewers. The various ways in which channels can create
that clear identity and work into the lives of a demographic group is to ensure
that the viewers see themselves reflected in the channel’s content, find the
visual attributes of the channel appealing and understandable, emotionally
respond to the sound design, regard commercials as stimulating and relevant to
their lives, and interact with the channel beyond the realm of television. If a channel can succeed in achieving these
goals, viewers will want to become a part of the channel. This is beneficial since it will provide the
channel with a steady flow of consumers with obvious material needs which in
turn will attract advertisers willing to pay the channel a large sum of money
for advertising spots.
Branding is especially significant
in the highly competitive era of cable television, pay-per-view, satellite tv,
and video-on-demand. since viewers have been endowed with the power of
choice. In order to stand out and remain
visible, a channel must exude character and connect with a certain demographic. The Big Three networks are struggling to
regain the market dominance they once had since their technique of appealing to
the masses has become ineffective in this age of narrowcasting (Hwang).
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