Educational and cultural broadcaster Groupe Média TFO (TFO) has introduced a new visual identity designed to emphasize its commitment to Francophone culture as it continues its migration from a linear TV model to a more digitally focused entity.
The Toronto-based broadcaster worked with Hollywood agency Troika on the rebrand, which was completed over six months and employed a multi-disciplinary team that included TFO’s chief marketing officer Pascal Arseneau and brand manager François Bleytou.
Troika, which has worked with broadcasters such as ESPN, Turner, AMC and FX in the past, was selected from three agencies that responded to an RFP issued by TFO last year.
TFO president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell said the rebrand is designed to emphasize and celebrate the Francophone element at the broadcaster’s core. “It’s all part of the broader picture of taking what was a fading conventional television station five years ago and repositioning it in a way that would give it new relevance and a new dynamic outlook” said O’Farrell.
TFO describes the new identity, which spans both on-air and online elements, as “friendly, human and educational.” Troika based the new visual identity on a concept called “flag of culture,” which it said offers a “sense of motion” by pointing viewers to navigational information. French cultural icons such as macarons and moustaches accompany the new identity.
“We felt it was time to update and refresh the visual identity to incorporate a little more of the Francophone elements of culture and language that would give it a bit more of that distinctive quality,” said O’Farrell. “It’s something the management group felt was necessary to continue building momentum for the new TFO that has emerged over the past four-and-a-half years.”
O’Farrell said that TFO’s “modest resources” preclude it from introducing the new brand identity with a major ad buy, but said it would emphasized throughout the year on smaller campaigns promoting its various products and services.
BRANCHING OUT
While TFO hasn’t completely abandoned linear TV, it is increasingly looking to connect digitally with its primary audience of 2-12 year olds, according to O’Farrell. He said that TFO now derives “well over 90%” of its audience from its various digital platforms.
The media player now boasts 10 YouTube channels (with another four debuting before the end of the month) that boast a combined 150,000 subscribers. The channels have garnered a combined 200 million views to date.
“YouTube has been a huge success,” he said. “We started with one channel in early 2011 and hit 1 million views on that channel on Christmas Day 2012. We were dancing in the street we were so excited.”
O’Farrell notes that TFO content is displayed “front and centre” on the Canadian YouTube Kids app that launched late last year (about nine months after the launch of its U.S. counterpart). “We’re the only French-language content you can find on YouTube Kids Canada, frankly,” he said.
TFO’s online success has also opened up new streams of advertising revenue for the public broadcaster, which has traditionally derived its revenues from a combination of government funding, subscriber fees and a smattering of sponsorship.
It continues to explore what O’Farrell described as “responsible ways” of commercializing its content to generate new revenues that will be funnelled into new content.
Late last year, the CRTC denied TFO’s application for a “must-offer order” that would have required cable and satellite companies to offer the service across the country>. But it continues to actively seek out additional distribution beyond Ontario and Quebec.
Last year, it entered a deal with Telus for a free preview for subscribers in Alberta and B.C., and O’Farrell is hoping some subscribers opt to renew when the CRTC’s new rules regarding pick-and-pay come into effect in March.
TFO is also working with the national non-profit organization Canadian Parents for French to boost its profile outside of its Ontario/Quebec footprint. “We’re finding a tremendous amount of interest, and we’re hoping that translates into subscribers,” said O’Farrell, who said that TFO is offering free previews of the service in the hope they’ll add its signal to the new “skinny basic” packages when they debut.
