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Hallmark Channel, which has become known for dominating ratings with original movies each holiday season, has refreshed its romantic brand in collaboration with Buenos Aires, Argentina-based branding and creative studio Superestudio.
Together, Hallmark Channel and Superestudio worked to create an inviting yet premium look across Hallmark’s platforms, using Hallmark Channel’s new tagline “Where Love Happens” as inspiration.
The refresh – the channel’s first since 2018 – provides the channel with a new, modern aesthetic, including an updated color palette, as well as new fonts and imagery.
“Over one hundred years ago, Hallmark was created with the intention of putting love into the world. Hallmark Channel has been building off that brand promise by creating entertainment that spreads joy, positivity, and love. The ‘Where Love Happens’ refresh has helped solidify our brand purpose,” said Lara Richardson, chief marketing officer, Hallmark Media. Richardson is also a former member of Promax’s board of directors.
Superestudio grounded its brand design in Hallmark Channel’s established positioning as the home of love and romance.
“Hallmark Channel is an iconic brand, so we wanted to give it the design love it deserved,” said Ezequiel Rormoser, executive creative director, Superestudio. “Having a clear vision of who the Hallmark audience is allowed us to create a very targeted design style and branding look. Ultimately, I think this is what creates brands that connect to people on a deep level.”
Superestudio started by bringing a cornerstone of Hallmark’s brand identity – the Hallmark crown – to life in a new way across the brand refresh, making it swoop, dance, tick by and peek out.
“We view the crown as an important and active element within the new package, using it as a key movement motivator in our designs,” said Superestudio. “From spinning to swiping and expanding its movement, the crown became the catalyst for introducing tune-in and disseminating seasonal and brand information across the design package.”
While the crown might be moving in a different way, the logo lockup itself stayed largely the same.
Another major part of the brand refresh included updating the color palette. The color plum has always been part of Hallmark’s brand legacy. However, as Hallmark Channel continues to grow and evolve, more hues of this plum have been included to appeal to an expanding audience. Gold also was reintroduced as a nod to the brand’s premium quality.
A secondary palette includes related but seasonal colors, such as a spicy pumpkin named “Fall in Love” or a “Kiss Me Pink” for “Loveuary.” The complementary set of colors helps Hallmark forge a more inclusive visual identity, with each color representing each of the channel’s seasonal franchises.
To support Hallmark throughout each season, Superestudio shot a series of seasonal promos over four days in Los Angeles, using the special palette for each of them.
A separate and glossy black, gold and white palette was created to indicate Hallmark’s Hall of Fame branded programming.
Superestudio also updated the channel’s typography, using Simphony Cinta Script and sans serif font Albra Grotesk for their simplicity, contrast and clean lines. The combination of the two gives the brand identity both a friendly and a modern feel.
Updated brand imagery and footage are other key components of the brand refresh, including images such as includes hands making the shape of hearts, found hearts or authentic expressions of love between partners, friends, families and pets.
Superestudio combined all of the changes to create a custom multi-platform approach for Hallmark Channel to use across its linear, digital, social, print, product and activations. The agency also built a full promotional toolkit for day-to-day, year-round programming, including seasonal franchises and Hallmark Hall of Fame packages.
Tags: brand refresh hallmark channel hallmark media superestudio