​Like many youth-oriented broadcasters around the world, Ireland’s RTÉ Two found itself targeting an audience that is incredibly program-loyal, but not particularly channel-loyal.

The network has now embarked on its first rebrand in five years in the hopes that a new name, refreshed on-screen look, and updated programming can establish a clearer connection with the advertiser-coveted 18-35 year-old set.

The most noticeable difference for viewers is the name, which ditches the word “Two” that has been used for the past ten years, and reverts back the original RTÉ2 branding that existed from 1978-88.

Red Bee Media was brought on board to develop a new brand proposition—“tells it like is is"—that they feel helps establish the channel as a home for “frank, funny, and fascinating” content.

“We first approached Red Bee to help with some strategic work for RTÉ2 because of their broadcast industry knowledge and experience,” said Donna Byrne, creative director at RTÉ. “We were all very impressed with the high calibre of their work and were very excited by the new strategic expression of our brand.

Among the new programs unveiled by RTÉ2 Controller Bill Malone: Connected, an unscripted reality soap opera that follows six Irish women from different backgrounds as they film their day-to-day lives, and Drunk, a two-part “social experiment” that finds out what happens when you give a bunch of young adults lots of booze.

U.S. imports Homeland, Revenge, and Grey’s Anatomy also populate the edgy lineup.

Red Bee sent teams out to capture the lives of everyday Irish youth and gather footage for a new series of idents [shown in the video above] and to create mashed video, photos, comments, and gifs to populate a “real world dashboard” for the network. The new idents feature tag lines like “keep one finger on escape,” “this is mine,” and “top my week up,” over a driving drum beat, with montages of animated 2’s and scenes from urban Ireland.

Red Bee also worked with RTÉ2 on a “we go there” launch spot to introduce the new look and programming lineup.

The rebrand comes as Malone, RTÉ2’s controller, has admitted in interviews that the network has suffered from a “lack of clarity of identity” in recent years.

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