A TV channel by any other name...

[lisek16]

It's days like today I wish I was in marketing or in business school ( so I could write a thesis paper or essay) - because I'm way too interested in the fact that in these turbulent times sci-fi has re-branded itself syfy. For those not familiar sci-fi was a channel devoted to airing science fiction/fantasy TV and movies and has been around since 1992. For the last several months executives have been working towards this re-brand - not just a name change but a focus on being cool - hence the new tag line "imagine greater".

Though I'm not a big sci-fi reader/watcher I do flip on the channel on occasion - especially for re-runs of "dark angel", "dead like me", "lost". More recently I've watched the channel for "Eureka" which returns on Friday. But these last few weeks on various stations I've been seeing promos for something called "Warehouse 13" ( cross between "Eureka" and "Fringe") and with nothing else really on TV tonight thought I'd watch it. When I turned on sci-fi a few hours ago I noticed this really long advertisement with a lot of special effects and a new sleek logo in the right hand corner reading "syfy". I realized this commercial was for "syfy" which I assumed was scifi's new name. I was immediately curious how long the name change had been in effect and once upon a google I found it started today. Interesting - because I hadn't heard anything about that.

You might wonder why anyone should/would care. After all nothing has really changed - same shows, same station... new tagline, right? Re-positioning a brand/product with a new tagline is a cheap fix for a company - but re-branding with a new name is much more complicated as it results in:

• Brand Identity: syfy can/will be trademarked vs. sci-fi which could not. Syfy can lend itself to move then just science fiction offerings even though it's pronounced the same. This means syfy is a distinct entity, not just a tv station that shares it's name witha  genre - which means more emphasis on promoting both the change and what this new thing "syfy" stands for. This makes a lot of sense and offers a lot more flexibility moving forward, even if the name is prounced the same.
• 3rd party notification: Think of where information around a tv station might be listed or promoted - for an effective campaign all of that would need to change... today. This means companies/sites that provide tv listings, media outlets (TV, radio, internet, movie promos, etc...) that sci-fi advertises in, and any other major 3rd parties they work with.  These 3rd party resources needed to be contacted and a plan needed to be in the place to synchronously make the change from the old name/logo to the new one.This sounds simple, but it involves a lot of coordination. This doesn't include the  marketing folks creating the new materials or project managers who ensure the transition went smoothly.
• URL cutover: After weeks of testing today a redirect was put into place so that whenever anyone typed in "http://www.scifi.com", (or a shorter variation) the web browser will now automatically redirect to "http://www.syfy.com". Don't believe me? Test it out for yourself. I bet the folks at sci-fi/syfy (or rather NBC/GE) have and also are using marketing analytics to see where web traffic is coming from and if users are aware of the new url and reaching it directly. There are lots of other statistics one can get from a marketing anaytics tool - such as WebTrends, Google Analytics or Omniture that would be helpful in monitoring web traffic and effectiveness of campaigns or wesite launches.
• A new website: Aside from a new url - all website content had to be updated to reflect the new name and logo but also a new look/feel to match the new strategy. No easy task either.
• Consumer Confusion: With a new name, new logo, new look & feel, etc.. it's easy for consumers to misinterpret what syfy is trying to do. Especially if the goal is shake off their "geeky image" and you were one of the self-proclaimed geeks. Some fans may be confused by the change and believe sci-fi is gone and stop watching. Though the goal of rebranding is to keep your existing clintele or core demographic and add to it - if not done right this can backfire. This may be why sci-fi isn't heavily promoting the change or rather the reason behind the change. Assuming Sci-fi is smart they have plans to mitigate against bad press, preventative damage control, and marketing campaigns to provide users with comfort that nothing - yet something - has changed. As you might guess there is a fine line here between being informative, retaining the existing demographic and attracting new users/watchers.
• Current Product Identity:  Where do current shows and offerings fit in? Do current advertisers believe their products/services fit in with this new identity? It's important for studio executives to make changes to what syfy/sci-fi stands for slowly to avoid loosing current advertisers and keep business partners on the same page. For instance is Twilight Zone "hip enough", are re-runs of science-fiction related tv shows in line with the current strategy? Does Apple want to be associated with the target demographic? Without advertisers a tv station makes no money... so it's kinda important.
• Promotion: Did you know there was a change? Did you care? Did it not affect you either way? If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it - did it make a sound... or rather in this case was all the time, money, energy,  and risk worth it if no one notices and viewrship and advertising don't change?

I find these stuff so interesting and having sent the last few years in IT I can see a change like this not just from a pure"okay the name changed so what" perspective, or from Marketing's 4Ps, but from a what, why, how logistical view - and that I find very cool.

What do you think?