GECs
UK Network ITV gets a face lift
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.”
GECs
ZEEL overhauls sales structure to chase growth across TV and digital platforms
New structure sharpens digital push as viewing habits fragment fast
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. is reshuffling its sales playbook as it looks to keep pace with a fast-changing media landscape, where audiences are scattered, screens are multiplying and advertisers are following the data.
According to media reports, the rejig is anchored in the company’s push to build a more integrated, data-led monetisation engine, one that can straddle both traditional television and fast-growing digital platforms with equal ease.
At the heart of the move is a reworked sales architecture designed to deliver cross-platform solutions. With connected TV gaining ground and digital consumption surging, ZEEL is aligning its teams to move quicker, think broader and sell smarter.
The restructuring is being led by chief operating officer, advertisement revenue, Sandeep Mehrotra, at a time when the company says it is seeing tremendous growth. The idea is simple: match the right talent to the right opportunity in a market that is anything but static.
As part of the overhaul, several long-serving executives have been elevated to chief sales officer roles across regions and content clusters. Sanjoy Chatterjee will head the east market, while Gunjarav Nayak takes charge of the west along with high-margin verticals such as hmg, brand works, intellectual properties and digital sales. Rajnish Gupta will oversee bengaluru and chennai markets alongside the kannada and tamil clusters.
In other key moves, Divjyot Dhanda will lead hyderabad and kochi markets and manage zee tv, zee keralam and the telugu cluster. Roshan Vasu Kotian will supervise a diverse portfolio including Zee Marathi, &tv, Zee Punjabi, Zee Anmol, Big Magic and Zee Biskope.
The company is also strengthening its bench, appointing national sales heads across retail, regional clusters, digital and brand solutions. Ankur Kapila’s appointment to lead digital sales signals a sharper push into a segment that continues to outpace traditional formats.
Behind the scenes, dedicated strategy and operations roles have been carved out for both linear and digital businesses. Nitin Shetty, Rajkiran Shrivastav and Priya Nambiar will take on key responsibilities to ensure the new structure runs with precision.
The broader aim is clear. ZEEL wants a bigger slice of advertising budgets that are steadily drifting towards digital and connected TV ecosystems. By integrating its offerings, the company hopes to deepen client relationships while unlocking new revenue streams.
The new structure takes effect immediately, with Mehrotra continuing to report to chief executive officer Punit Goenka and steer the company’s advertising revenue strategy. Senior executive Laxmi Shetty will support the transition, with her revised role expected to be announced soon.
In a market where content is everywhere but attention is scarce, ZEEL’s latest move is less about rearranging the org chart and more about staying in the game.
