MUMBAI: With new channels launching in the country almost every month, gone are the days when only Doordarshan had a stronghold in the country. While the industry has grown significantly over the years, there has been an increasing need felt by the TV channels to maintain a separate identity that is unique and clutter free.
Keeping that in mind, FICCI Frames, which will be held from 4 - 6 April this year will focus on Television Branding at a time when channels need to create a distinct identity in this cluttered environment.
Originally the main criteria for a television identity was to look good, big and glossy and expensive, an emblem or a logo or a series of colours and numbers that glistened on TV screens.
But more offering in the form of channels has also resulted in viewers becoming more discerning, which means that channels have to be more adventurous to gain and hold an audience.
As TV's evolution rolls into a new era, "branding" is what defines the modern challenge. FICCI Frames will address the issues revolving around Television Branding. The session will be addressed by Philip Kitcher from Bruce Dunlop Associates, a firm that advises TV companies and others the world over on branding and positioning of TV channels, ads, etc. The session
will delve into the specific of how to go about branding TV channels?
The things to take into consideration where branding is concerned is that one must understand what is being sought to be achieved and comprehend the competition's game plan to chose a line of action. It is also imperative to make sure that everyone, for example, in a TV station understands that branding means the following things:
1. the light that guides the channel, which clearly shows the path ahead,
2. the glue that holds a channel together - focused and united,
3. the flag that flies proudly, so that everyone who sees it understands what it means and respects it for what it is
4. the attitude and tone of voice with which you speak to your viewers
5. the ideas and concepts you bring to the screen
6. a team effort. It can't be anything else.
7. If these pointers are put across to the programming heads of
channels, programme producers, especially news teams, along with the on-air promotion and design teams, executives can be rest assured that their "rebrand" will be successful.
For television branding, every piece of communication should fit into one's strategy; whether it is the way a promotion script is written or an announcer chooses his words. These are important for the brand.
Great branding begins at the bottom, infiltrates everything, and works it's way to the front of everyone's mind. There is no comfort in doing what everyone else is doing, so new tricks have to be learnt. All this and more will be talked about at FICCI Frames.
