The next verse in Discovery Channel’s anthem celebrating the world.

Breakdown of FX rebrand, idents
Virgin Media to relaunch Living2 as “Living It”
Stations rebrand by adding and dumping slogans
Lord Burns confirmed as new C4 Chairman
Car maker Renault to launch own TV Channel

Australia’s Seven Network yesterday launched it’s eagerly anticipated new broad entertainment channel 7Two. The new 24-hour channel, buoyed by heavy US and UK programming titles promises “more drama, more lifestyle, more reality, more comedy, more movies.”, includes nabbing favorites Ugly Betty, Heroes, 24, and Lost.

Already the channel has enjoyed promotions on Seven ahead of its launch on Sunday with its politically-inspired “It’s Time” campaign song. Seven’s production & programming chief Tim Worner tips us in on a few secrets including a few red herrings, such as faked channel names 7PLUS, PLUS7, and Channel Mate, all of which included specially designed logos for the false channel monikers.

“When we sat down to work out the name of the channel 12 months ago, we were considering all these names. Red, Ruby, Bill, Dave, Tom, Dick, Harry,” he teases. “In the end we kept coming back to the power of that big, red 7 and the trust that’s been built in that brand over the last five years.”

The rest of the channel’s programming will include the “very best of British television”, themed nights including Action & Adventure, Lifestyle and Movies, and cooking programs from the likes of Jamie Oliver, as well as primetime episodes of The Jay Leno Show, five nights a week.

First Look: Fox’s sci-fi drama Fringe tonight released an eye-catching :60 promo (which I had been hearing bits about for the last few weeks) featuring NIN frontman Trent Reznor.  Reznor lends his song “Zero Sum” with specially recorded dialogue for the spot.

After being asked by series EP Jeff Pinkner, co-creator JJ Abrams sent a single email to Reznor and got him on board for the unique collaboration.

For those folks who might’ve missed it, here’s the promo, which has already lit up chatter on the Twittersphere. Also- I’m told Reznor embedded one of the show’s signature glyphs (much like those hidden in the Fringe fall TV poster) into the track’s sound waves. Apparently, if you watch the audio waves on a computer, you might see something very interesting.

Dare to investigate?

It has been a very busy October. I’d like to give a bit of thanks to clients old and new who have given a bit of their personal & professional time to me this past month. This economic climate makes it even more important to reach out, spend valuable face to face time, and have focused, purposeful dialogue about our clients’ real world challenges.

With that, here’s some work that caught your eye last month. In no particular order, (in case you missed it) five of the most viewed posts in September.

Latest stats- 45% of Art & Business of Motion’s readers are in the United States, followed by closeby by the United Kingdom at 20%. Top 3 cities that you are reading from? London, Los Angeles, and New York.

Top Viewed Posts / September 2009
Art & Business of Motion

If you missed it, the best of Fall 2009 TV posters, including fan faves Dexter, Fringe, and House

… first glimpse of NBC’s 2009 colorful rebrand

… Rhianna on toast, Taylor Swift scrambled courtesy of MTV’s On-Air Design team

… FX (UK) brings us a set of new idents, including this one titled “Swimming Pool”

… and finally, a 2nd entry from MTV, this time from MTV International which introduces us to the lovable Mister Furry

Last week, the 11th logo in the 46 year history of the iconic show was finally revealed. For those unfamiliar with the show, Doctor Who is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest science fiction television show in the world, and the “most successful” sci fi series of all time (based on overall broadcast ratings, dvd sales, book sales, and online downloads).

Doctor Who’s army of faithful (and vocal) fans have shared their impressions of the new look online and throughout the blogosphere. The feedback thus far been largely positive, which can only help build anticipation for the show’s 5th series premiere in Spring 2010.

The creative concept developed (in partnership between BBC One and Red Bee Media) for the identity aims to align the British science fiction television programme with blockbuster sci-fi film emblems, such as Superman, Star Trek and Batman, which have achieved universal public recognition. Part of the identity, the insignia, features the Doctor’s initials, ‘DW’, simply moulded into the shape of the iconic TARDIS, where all The Doctor’s journeys begin.

Sharing properties with the 1950’s police box, the insignia design uses the same base colour and explores light and dimension to depict the adventure and mystery that is synonymous with the alien time-travelling Doctor.

For those interested, short video history of the Dr. Who logo that, after the jump

I had meant to get this newest :60 spot (titled “Ink”) up last week when it was breaking news, but a busy schedule (and travel) has kept me from my proper blog curation duties. Thanks to the folks at CCTV for contacting me and sending it my way. Fortunately, several years of Mandarin lessons and regular Chinese practice with family members meant I could almost speak without a noticable accent. Okay, well maybe not.

You might find it surprising the amount of interest (based on searches) there is in the Asia/Australia channel branding market. Just a few years ago, chinese broadcast designers looked to the west/europe for trends and inspiration. Now we’re seeing a much healthier balance of creative exchange between continents.

The latest spot creating a bit of a stir from agency MMIA Beijing (which has a multiyear partnership with CCTV for advertising rights/creative output) is explained, “From invisible to visible, from boundaries to no boundaries. CCTV — Believe in the power of the brand”. The :60 spot brings together traditional elements fused with modern Chinese culture, including brushstroke calligraphy, images of dragons, fish, and bird, fluidic Tai Chi movement and the iconic Great Wall of China.

I will be keeping a close eye on how this campaign develops through the next several months, and of course- sharing it with all of you.

You can also always click here to subscribe to updates by email.

Sources have confirmed that the massive rebranding effort (which began over a year ago) to reposition Sky as “warmer” are proceeding smoothly even though Group Marketing Director Andy Brent (prior Burger King Intl CMO, who was responsible for an Sky annual budget in excess of £100M) left rather unexpectedly 2 weeks ago.

The Sky logo will be retouched with a “well rounded S” and will debut via a new advertising campaign that will be unveiled leading up to Christmas. The planned refresh comes as the broadcaster gears up to launch its subscription digital music service, Sky Songs. A spokesman explains, “We’re making some evolutionary changes to help us keep reaching out to more customers over time”. The rebrand is targeted in the £1M range.

As you might recall, Sky’s efforts to change perceptions of its brand have included a high-profile 2004 ad campaign by HHCL/Red Cell intended to paint it more as an entertainment than a technology company. Much of Sky’s prior marketing effort was being poured into specific channel and content marketing, with a big push to support its HD offer. Sky’s most recent brand positioning, uses the strapline “believe in better”.

For an industry that has weathered (what is arguably) one of the toughest economic climates in recent memory, 2009 has proven to be a pretty busy year. Our clients are presented with increasingly high brand delivery expectations. They work longer hours and more is expected of them. Sure there are fewer briefs and (depending on your home market) tighter budgets.

But there’s a positive angle to Q4 09. Clients are getting better and better at resourcing and selecting great creative talent. Do more with half as much might sound like corporate speak, but who hasn’t tried to stretch their own dollar at the grocery in the last year? Doing more with less simply means that creative agencies need to cement their foothold on current rostered clients, all the while evangelizing REAL tangible benefit propositions to prospective clients. Ask yourself these simple questions:

• Without referring to the show reel, what sets us apart from our competitors?
• How does our unique category experience benefit a client’s bottom line?
• Apart from creative excellence, what do past/current clients say about our service, promptness, attention to detail… our ability to “get it right”.
• Clients do not pay for products, they pay for your brand experience. Are we communicating our creative process/production efficiencies or just talking random client names and just finished assignments?
• Do we invite conversation (early storyboards, motion tests, brainstorm scribbles on napkins) about how we got from point A to point B, or do we just like to show point B in marketing along with a bunch of other logos in a montage?
• How effectively does our marketing and business development communicate the agency’s brand spirit, personality, and voice?

If you’re not effectively communicating these essentials in marketing, it’s no wonder why the new business phone is so quiet.

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What do you think?

If you are a client, how well do you think creative agencies have adjusted to the new economy? How prepared are they at delivering on your longer term strategic goals?

As an agency, what tactics and adjustments in marketing communication have been successful in standing out from the pack and winning new client business?

I’d love to hear from you. Email me your thoughts, opinions, agreements (and disagreements!) at denny at dennytu . com

Breaking News: Australia’s Channel Nine unveiled its much anticipated new on-air identity last night at 6pm with a new campaign dubbed “Welcome Home”. The new presentation system is rolled out as Nine buffs up with a fresh programming slate and renewed confidence internally.

A look at the new launch promo:

In related news, the rumors that we were hearing were confirmed today with the announcement that rival Seven is launching its new (free to air digital) channel on November 22 to go head to head with Nine’s digital channel offering  Go, which launched on August 9, targeting 14 to 39-year-olds. Whether or not it cannibalizes the primary channel from Pay TV or it will grow overall numbers remains to be seen.

Looks like a lot of people have been searching for info on the new look NBC has just unveiled on-air. I’m still in the UK but have been able to get some shots of the new package which infuses bursts of stunning color onto the iconic brand. Not surprisingly, we’ve come to find out that NBC is working with LA-based Capacity (who were also awarded and developed the 2006 NBC rebrand) to deliver the much applauded new rebrand. Just a few shots for now, but I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of the on-air campaign roll out over the next few weeks.