Not just another rebrand… The success story of Comedy Central
Chris Hancox VP marketing and creative services at Comedy Central, discusses the recent rebrand of Paramount Comedy to Comedy Central…
Paramount Comedy has been the UK’s only dedicated comedy channel since 1996, but we recently took the decision to rebrand the channel to Comedy Central; after careful strategic planning, a great deal of consideration and some very thorough research it became clear that that the Comedy Central brand was a better proposition for our programming and was a brand that our viewers could get passionate about. We launched the new channel in the UK on 6th April 2009.
The primary aim of the rebrand was to remind our audience that we are the only dedicated modern, comedy TV brand in the UK. The economic climate meant that the timing was perfect to launch the new channel, with more and more people staying at home to save their hard earned cash during these tough times. Some channels have recently made the move to completely rebrand their whole offering, which runs the risk of confusing and potentially alienating existing audiences, whereas we have ensured that our proposition is clear and unmistakable. We have not just given the channel a gimmicky name – the programming we offer fits perfectly with the brand values already associated with the new name, so viewers understand exactly what we stand for as a channel.
Since the re-brand to Comedy Central, total channel viewing is up by 59% and is continuing to climb with the four campaign shows (The Sarah Silverman Program, The Office, Two and a Half Men and South Park) all beating their previous ratings records.
The new Comedy Central brand is a little mischievous and metropolitan and is aimed at men and women aged 16 – 34. The idents we created aim to bring the theme of the overarching campaign – ‘Big On Comedy’ – to life, so we used huge images of comedy superstars stars like Steve Carell and Kenny from our biggest shows interacting with famous UK landmarks in a striking outdoor creative designed by Karmarama. The choice of a vibrant red for our logo and on-air creative represents the bold and exciting new channel that is far removed from the library channel reputation and brand experience that Paramount Comedy offered.
The channel showcases some of the biggest rated comedies from the US in addition to some exclusive UK stand-up shows with big name British stars including Lee Evans, Dara O’Briain, Russell Howard and Alan Carr. In terms of new commissions, we have also produced our first commission Grouchy Young Men with Liberty Bell, an exclusive hour-long special from the people that brought us Grumpy Old Men and Grumpy Old Women. The show is narrated by Peep Show‘s Robert Webb and features contributions from some of the grouchiest social commentators and celebrities around like Jim Jeffries and Jack P Shepherd. The channel offers something for everyone – whether your taste is satirical and sharp, or warm-hearted and witty, we are the sole destination for quality comedy and are on course to become the UK’s ‘capital of comedy’.
Complementing the channel rebrand, Comedy Central has also launched a new website. Comedycentral.co.uk offers a completely new-look with a wide variety of exciting content from the channel including a video section with new comedy sketches and clips from the channel’s high profile programmes. As well as programming content there are a variety of new interactive features, such as new games, an iTunes module, and quizzes that test the knowledge of favourite Comedy Central programmes. An expanded ‘Daily Fix’ section features a variety of ‘greatest ever’ content as chosen by the channel.
Having been one of the fastest growing channels over the past three years under the Paramount Comedy brand our move to Comedy Central is set to continue this trend and fulfil our ambition to be bigger, better, bolder and badder than ever before.