Media brand names are not equal across the different media services. When it comes to brand names for media channels Free TV channels seem to be well behind.
Why?
Let’s look at ….
Print – The Age, The Herald, The Australian… all strong brand names that can build a strong market position that stands for a clear set of brand values. We read these because we know what we will get.
Radio – Triple M, Triple J, Sea FM… again, all stand for clear distinct market positions
Web – News.com.au, You Tube, Realestate.com.au, mycareer.com.au … all strong brands that represent the position they hold in the market place
TV – Channel 7, 10, 9…. what the? I get what ABC stands for, even SBS, but to me Channel 7, 10 and 9 are rapidly losing a brand position – if one ever existed.
These brand names are relics of a dial that used to sit on the face of a TV.
Why do we watch these channels? Is it because I connect with channel brand? Or is it the program that is secured to the channel? I think it’s the later. The ratings system prove it is the later.
Let’s compare this with Discovery Channel, History Channel or CNN. All clear brand propositions in the TV market place. I know what I get when I watch Discovery, History or CNN. They’re clear, they’re simple. I can build a ‘relationship’ with the channel and choose to watch the channel first and the program second.
I say commercial TV will die in it’s current format. If not die, at least move into retirement.
Not just because of the rapid rise of the Internet and pay per view downloading, but because Free TV commercial channels are failing to build meaningful, tangible brands.
We watch TV channels for the program that is promoted. That’s like choosing a newspaper for the article that sits on page 19. Crazy logic.
If a TV channel is to survive in the modern digital age it must create a clear brand proposition. Failure to do so will only result in the mediocre.
Mediocrity is the highway to insignificance. For a TV channel that equals death.
Is your brand stuck in the middle ground of mediocrity? Neither one thing or the other…?
What can you do to find a clear position in the market place for your brand?
