HONG KONG: Star has kicked off the second phase of its rebranding drive,
revamping the visual identities of eight of its 29 channels.
Bill Browning, Star's vice-president for network creative services, said
the redesign proved to be a delicate task as the channels wanted to
maintain and build their separate identities without diluting the new
corporate brand.
"India and Taiwan are multi-channel environments so we're using the
channel identity rebranding exercise to help the audience recognise us
immediately," he said.
According to Browning, the redesigned format provides the channels with
enough flexibility to maintain their separate identities without taking
away from the new corporate brand.
For instance, in a 15-second on-air promotion, the first five seconds
are devoted to the corporate brand, while the remainder of the spot is
left to the channel. "It's up to the channels to build up their
personalities in the remaining 10 seconds," said Browning.
The rebranding covers channels such as Star Sports, Star Movies, Star
Mandarin, Star India and the Middle East, "all of which have very
separate identities".
"This is not simply an on-air rebranding; it's more an on-screen
rebranding, as the new identities have to work on more than just
television screens but on computer and interactive screens as well," he
said, pointing to the group's new ventures beyond television.
The News Corporation-owned subsidiary unveiled a new corporate identity
in February when it cropped its name to Star.
