GroupeMĂ©dia TFO (TFO) got something special for its 25th anniversary this year: an expansive rebrand.
The organization, which produces and distributes French educational and cultural media content in Ontario across various media platforms, had a desire to refresh its brand. Its creative and strategic branding agency, Lowe Roche, took on the challenge.
Monica Ruffo, CEO of Lowe Roche, said the TFO brand was “a bit dusty” and wanted to mark its 25th anniversary in a way that would attract a wider and younger audience. TFO was looking for a contemporary update and a way to show the brand has made technological advancements.
For example, it undertook a strategic shift last year that included a new organizational structure to, as TFO president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell said in a release at the time, “strengthen our role as the voice of Francophone citizens in Ontario.” Some of the new initiatives include a web/TV series called Ruby TFO for women 30 and over and more smartphone apps, such as kids’ game Animélo.
In order to fulfill TFO’s brief to better position the company as a producer and broadcaster of quality multiplatform educational content, the Lowe Roche team wanted to capture the brand essence, which Ruffo said is about “igniting people and minds.”
The redesign itself features a bold, simple flag for the logo, which Ruffo said symbolizes the “connection and pride among French-speaking Ontario.” The colour palette used includes red, blue, lime green and purple (the corporate colour). This wide spectrum of colours was used, as Ruffo said, because TFO doesn’t have commercial breaks. It does, however, air a lot of its own promo pieces. The scope of colours and treatments is a way to “break the potential monotony” in the on-air promos, said Ruffo, as well as symbolize the diversity of TFO’s content, which ranges from art house cinema to children’s shows.
Appealing to a younger generation was an important part of the rebrand. “The face of French Ontario has evolved in the past decade and it was time for TFO to build on its past accomplishments to attract a wider audience,” said Ruffo. The Lowe Roche team tried to reflect the symbolism of the heritage with the flag and the logo, but for the rest of the redesign, Ruffo said “TFO has entered a whole new era and wants everyone to notice it.”
The rebrand is being used across several on-air and online TFO media, including the website and in station IDs and on-air promotions and signature. It is also appearing on stationary, signage and in collateral pieces. Promo materials featuring the new brand identity include notebooks, luggage tags, baby clothes and e-reader covers.
Toronto-based Lowe Roche won the TFO account in September 2011.
