UK-based UKTV has rebranded its free streaming service UKTV Play, including the digital versions of UKTV’s sub-brands: male-oriented Dave, self-explanatory Drama, nostalgia-focused Yesterday and female-focused W.
Kate Rossiter, head of marketing for UKTV Play, oversaw the brief, while in-house agency UKTV Creative and UKTV’s digital products team designed, developed and delivered more than 200 assets for the rebrand over six months. UKTV has been owned by BBC Studios, formerly BBC Worldwide, since 2019.
“It’s been brilliant to create a consumer-centric positioning for UKTV Play and provide the creative team with a clear springboard to work from. The redesign is being supported by UKTV Play’s biggest marketing campaign to date, with significant on and off-air media plans,” said Rossiter in a statement.
The first step was to create a new logo that allowed key imagery to interact with the branding and unite all of the distinct UKTV channel brands.
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UKTV Creative also built a suite of creative elements designed to draw users into the brand world of UKTV Play. This includes a new typeface and color palette as well as a collection of iconography, animations and sounds intended to capture the brand’s warm tone and playful spirit.
“Our task as UKTV creative was to refresh the UKTV Play brand by creating a distinctive design language that feels modern, compelling and digital-first. By bringing the brand promise to life and drawing users into the UKTV Play ecosystem, we are now able to make viewers feel at home as they enjoy the brilliant mix of TV available on the service,” said UKTV’s Head of Design Peter Allinson, also in a statement.
The rebrand comes ahead of the introduction of HD content to UKTV Play, allowing viewers to view their favorite programs such as Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, Bangers and Cash, MasterChef Australia and Big Zuu’s Big Eats in full HD for the first time. Starting in November, new content added to the service will be available in HD (720p and 1080p) delivered via adaptive bitrate streaming. Back catalog content, for which a HD master exists, will be re-encoded in phases from mid-November onwards.
In October, viewers in London will be able to visit a three-day exhibition showcasing UKTV’s commissioned photography and exclusive props from UKTV’s channels Dave, W, Yesterday and Drama. The UKTV Play Photography Exhibition will be open to the public from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m., Friday, October 7 through Sunday, October 9 near Seven Dials Market, London.
Tags: bbc studios uktv uktv play