Elevation gives Antenna TV its first rebrand
Ten years after it debuted, the classic television channel unveiled a new look crafted by the fully-virtual creative company.
6/23/22 - Atlanta, GA: After 10 years of broadcasting reruns of timeless TV shows like Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Three’s Company, and Three’s a Crowd, classic television network Antenna TV debuted its first rebrand. After a successful collaboration on the launch of Rewind TV, Nexstar Media turned to Elevation once again to give Antenna TV a refreshed visual identity.
“We believe it’s best to evaluate a brand’s identity at least every four to five years,” said Stephen Cocks, Elevation’s Executive Creative Director. “No brand refresh should be considered solely due to age, but ignoring changes in the cultural and design worlds can cause a disconnect with audiences.”
With the network’s focus on decades, the teams at Nexstar and Elevation felt that Antenna TV’s 10th anniversary was ideal timing to give the network an updated look.
Elevation’s team started by conducting a thorough audit of the classic television market. The artists broke down the branding of nine competitors in total, analyzing industry trends and finding opportunities to stand out.
“It was crucial to not abandon Antenna TV’s personality or leave behind any of their current fans,” said Brett Rakestraw, Elevation’s Director of Strategy. “Our goal was to evolve the brand to strengthen its presence, attract younger viewers, and plant a stake in the classic television market.”
Elevation’s artists embraced bright colors to give the brand a “young, welcoming vibe.” The logo also received a refreshed look. Antenna TV’s original icon, a TV with an antenna on top, received an updated shape to fit an overall design direction that revolved around the silhouette of the logo. On-air elements like transitions and end cards use the new logo shape as a window to highlight content.
One challenge the branding faced was the need to cater to many different eras. “We wanted to evoke those different eras of television without pinning the look to one specific time period,” said Dianne Frisbee, Elevation’s Artistic Director.
The solution was to create a flexible design that utilized different patterns in the background, each corresponding to a specific decade. “Ultimately, we wanted to give the team at Antenna TV as much flexibility as possible, to mix and match these patterns and colors to create unique combinations for their various programming,” said Dianne.
The flexibility also extends to another advantage of rebranding: advancements in technology. “There have been huge advancements in After Effects toolkitting since Antenna TV’s branding was created,” said Stephanie Carson, Elevation’s Executive Producer. “We were able to create the network package in a way that creates more efficiencies and allows departments to collaborate better. In the long run, this saves Antenna TV’s internal team time and money as they implement the new look.”
Elevation delivered a full network design package, including a logo facelift and on-air graphics elements from bugs to promo materials. Every design element was created to also be used on social and digital channels.
Antenna TV unveiled their new branding on June 13, 2022.
About Elevation: Elevation is the fully-virtual creative company known for crafting beautifully designed solutions and stories for their clients. Specializing in branding, animation, and design, Elevation has been part of the entertainment industry for over 25 years. https://thisiselevation.com