Since October, ABC Family has been making waves with its New Year’s resolution to change its name to Freeform (a rebranding buoyed by its fan-favorite 25 Days of Christmas event).

The name change will take place January 12 to coincide with Pretty Little Liars’ season premiere and the launch of Shadowhunters, based on Cassandra Clare’s best-selling The Mortal Instruments book series. It’s an interesting time to make a switch for the network, given its standing as the No. 1 cable network for women 18-34.

ABC Family president Tom Ascheim spoke with Adweek about the name and what it means for the network.

“Like any business, we’re supposed to grow, and part of how you grow is get new customers,” said Ascheim.

According to network surveys, “we only overindex on two variables with nonviewers: ‘family-friendly’ and ‘wholesome,’” said Ascheim to Adweek. “We needed to make it feel like there’s less cognitive dissonance between what you’re seeing and what we’re called.”

To do so, ABC Family hired Lexicon, a brand-name consulting firm that created a pool of 3,000 names to choose from. The 12 finalists were tested on a group of more than 1,000 before “Freeform” emerged as the winner.

Most press outlets haven’t looked favorably upon the name, but Ascheim assured Adweek that they aren’t worried.

“Naming entities is a bit liking naming a baby. You have to grow into a name. We were not worried—nor surprised, frankly—by the reaction.”

His optimism surely stems from the fact that it hasn’t bothered advertisers, because ABC Family’s content has already evolved away from its “Family” moniker.

“We’re looking at finding a certain audience, and if the audience continues to watch and the network continues to deliver on its promises in terms of creating content and having a lot more original series than ever before, for us, the name doesn’t really have an impact,” said Darcy Bowe, vp, media director at Starcom, to Adweek.

Name-changing isn’t new for ABC Family. It used to be called The Family Channel, then Fox Family, before becoming ABC Family once Disney bought the channel in 2001. Freeform is the next step to attract their new target demographic: 14-34, an age group they call the “Becomers.”

Simon Wardle, chief strategy officer at entertainment and sports marketing firm Octagon, approves of the change.

“It’s a radical repositioning, from something that is as traditional as you can get, with ABC Family, to something that is grounded in the values and lexicon of millennials,” Wardle said to Adweek. “It makes all the sense in the world to be literally talking their language.”

Come January 12, we’ll see if millennials “become” a fan of the newest F-word on the market.

Brief Take: If ABC Family’s core audience stays loyal to Freeform, this name change can only expand its audience pool.

Read more: Adweek

[Cube image courtesy of ABC Family]

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