Tuesday 15 July 2014
The UK's leading Pay TV comedy channel, Gold, is to unveil an updated on air identity and logo, which reflects the channel's brand benefit of a guaranteed laugh. The change will be reflected on and off air from tomorrow, 16th July 2014.
Steve North, UKTV's General Manager for Gold said,
This is a great step change for Gold, which has had a stellar year so far, growing by 5%*. The updated brand identity epitomises the programme schedule and reflects Gold's remit to appeal to a broad audience who love the best British comedy shows ever made as well as new originations such as Porridge: Inside Out, and the highly anticipated broadcast of the last ever Monty Python Show live from the 02.
The brand refresh will see a significant change to the on-screen offering including a new logo and vibrant idents which reflect the fresh dramatisation of the popular entertainment channel and how watching Gold makes the viewer feel.
Led by Gold's Senior Brand Manager, Sarah Yeoman, brand agency DixonBaxi was brought on board to develop the brand's visual identity, designed to encourage those who come to the channel for special occasions to sit down and enjoy a guaranteed laugh on a more regular basis. Yeoman's brief asked for the creative to tap into the emotional benefits attached to watching comedy and draw on viewers connection to content on the channel.
DixonBaxi has created a fun, infectious look that challenges over-seriousness and aims to brighten up a person's day. The new 'pulley logo' and overall colour palette have been designed to reflect the 'brighter side of life', while the tone of voice is full of friendly, familiar language.
The live action idents consist of a visually rich mix of shots that feature instantly recognisable metaphors that are fun and uplifting. There are eight idents and 18 sets of menus, all of which change on a daily basis.
DixonBaxi Co-founder and Executive Creative Director, Aporva Baxi said,
Our mission was to create a visual identity for Gold that invokes the way 'funny' makes you feel. It's infectious and mood changing, so we thought about how great it would be to spend more time feeling like this. We're proud to work with UKTV to create a vibrant and unapologetically feel-good brand within their network.
UKTV Marketing Director, Simon Michaelides added,
The bold new look and updated identity cements Gold's popular content and the channel's on and off air communications around an already strong brand. It will enhance its entertainment proposition and widen the audience it reaches.
Gold is dedicated to celebrating Britain's best-loved comedy, airing much-loved series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Outnumbered, as well as successful commissions including Yes, Prime Minister, The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go To Rehab and Bring Me Morecambe and Wise.
The channel has experienced a strong year so far, with share of viewing up 5%. The premiere run of its original documentary series, Porridge: Inside Out, which celebrates 40 years of the hit British sitcom, performed 124% above slot average, reaching two million individuals.
Award-winning broadcaster UKTV announced in June that Gold will broadcast the final ever performance of the Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down Five to Go stage show directly from The O2 on Sunday 20th July 2014.
ENDS
*Adults and individuals, January ? May 2014 (consolidated BARB data)
One of the new Gold idents
EDITORS NOTES
For further information please contact:
Lara Feinstein, Corporate Communications Coordinator
Emily Jones, Publicist, Factual
About Gold
Sky 110, Virgin 126, TalkTalk 408, Top-Up TV 20
Dedicated to celebrating the best of British comedy, Gold is the nation's favourite comedy channel. Much-loved comedy series such as Only Fools and Horses, The Vicar of Dibley and Outnumbered sit alongside successful commissions including Porridge: Inside Out, Yes, Prime Minister, The Comic Strip Presents: Five Go To Rehab (starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders) and Bring Me Morecambe and Wise. The perfect tonic to make you laugh whatever the time of day, Gold shows universally funny content that everyone can enjoy.
http://gold.uktv.co.uk@goldtvchannel
About UKTV
UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers per month.
UKTV's ten imaginative channel brands - Watch, Dave, Gold, Alibi, Eden, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home and Good Food - include the most watched non-PSB channel, the most watched channel in the Factual genre and the most watched channels in the Lifestyle genre (Pay and Free). The company's most recent financial results showed a record-breaking year-end revenue of £262m, and operating profit at £71m.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC and Channel 4 content, and embracing technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT TV, TalkTalk, YouView, plus direct On Demand digital services. The network distributes its highly valued programmes to 200 territories around the world and supplies Sky with more hours of HD content than anyone else.
Now celebrating its 21st year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.