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When it came time to rebrand Nexstar’s classic TV network Antenna TV, Elevation turned to a bright, warm palette and refreshed the original logo – an old-school TV with rabbit ears on top.
“We believe it’s best to evaluate a brand’s identity at least every four to five years,” said Stephen Cocks, Elevation’s executive creative director, in a statement. “No brand refresh should be considered solely due to age, but ignoring changes in the cultural and design worlds can cause a disconnect with audiences.”
The network, which is carried on TV stations’ secondary digital channels and on cable networks, airs such nostalgic shows as Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Three’s Company and Three’s a Crowd. The teams at Nexstar and Elevation felt that Antenna TV’s 10th anniversary was ideal timing to give the network an updated look. Elevation’s team started by conducting a thorough audit of the classic television market. The artists broke down the branding of nine competitors in total, analyzing industry trends and finding opportunities for Antenna TV to stand out.
“It was crucial to not abandon Antenna TV’s personality or leave behind any of their current fans,” said Brett Rakestraw, Elevation’s director of strategy, also in a statement. “Our goal was to evolve the brand to strengthen its presence, attract younger viewers, and plant a stake in the classic television market.”
Elevation’s artists embraced a warm palette of teal, slate blue, mustard yellow, sherbet orange with complementary shades to brighten up the brand and give it a “young, welcoming vibe.”
The Elevation team also refreshed the logo, giving it an updated shape revolving around the silhouette.
On-air elements, such as transitions and end cards, use the new logo shape as a window to highlight content.
One challenge the branding faced was the need to cater to many different eras.
“We wanted to evoke those different eras of television without pinning the look to one specific time period,” said Dianne Frisbee, Elevation’s artistic director.
The solution was to create a flexible design that incorporated different patterns into the background, each corresponding to a specific decade.
“Ultimately, we wanted to give the team at Antenna TV as much flexibility as possible, to mix and match these patterns and colors to create unique combinations for their various programming,” said Frisbee.
The flexibility also extends to another advantage of rebranding: advancements in technology.
“There have been huge advancements in After Effects tool-kitting since Antenna TV’s branding was created,” said Stephanie Carson, Elevation’s executive producer. “We were able to create the network package in a way that creates more efficiencies and allows departments to collaborate better. In the long run, this saves Antenna TV’s internal team time and money as they implement the new look.”
Elevation delivered a full network design package, including the logo facelift and on-air graphics elements from bugs to promo materials. Every design element was created to also be used on social and digital channels.
Antenna TV unveiled its new branding on June 13.