MUMBAI: Come 16 January and the UK network ITV is dumping its blue-and-yellow logo as part of a ?3 million ‘new look initiative’. In a major revamp, each of the four channels in the stable – ITV1 and its digital cohorts ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 – will get their own distinct look, designed to underline their different “personalities”.
ITV said the on- and off-air looks moved away from a generic brand for all the networks towards a “clearly defined personality for each channel, based on viewer insight. It has unveiled its latest on-air look to emphasise the range of its channel portfolio and staunch the number of viewers defecting to rival, digital channels.
The re-branding of on-screen “idents”, the TV term for the short promotional clips that run between programmes, will be supported by a ?7 million marketing budget over three months.
The rebranding, the first in more than three years, would seek to improve consumers’ understanding of ITV by raising awareness of its digital offering. The network decided that if ITV1 could be embodied by a celebrity it would be Robbie Williams; youth channel ITV2 would be defined by Cameron Diaz; drama channel ITV3 by Sheila Hancock and men’s channel ITV4 by Daniel Craig.
The core ITV1 channel new look will have an orange identity. It intends to convey that the flagship network “brings you all these emotions in its programming.” It will be represented by a white-and-gold logo and clips include a man admiring his physique in the mirror, a couple hugging a tree, children rolling down a hill, pigs wallowing in manure and a man alone in a cinema. 
ITV2 focuses on “fun, excess, and general over-the-topness.” Branded lime green in the relaunch, and described as “must-have TV”. Its TV trails will involve roller-skating blondes, cartoon racetracks and futuristic landscapes. 
ITV3’s idents “are very filmic and intimate in nature and aim to give you a taster of a possible story unfolding.” It carries a number of drama shows and has opted for a red logo.
ITV4 is turquoise and “is based around “the collision of opposites” with the aim of the channel to alter the opinion of male viewers about ITV. ITV4 will be marketed along the theme that “appearances can be deceptive”.
The redesign has been overseen by Clare Salmon, ITV’s director of marketing and strategy, and David Pemsel, director of marketing. The idents were created by Red Bee Media, formerly BBC Broadcast.
Clare Salmon, ITV’s director of marketing and commercial strategy, noted, “The new branding is the first tangible evidence of the way in which we are now putting viewer insight at the heart of our thinking. We aim to move perception of ITV from terrestrial broadcaster to content brand, making it fully fit for a multichannel, multi-platform world.”