Heritage Brand For a World That Is Moving On
So, Warner Brothers, ahead of its 100-year anniversary—by the way, what do you get a brand for a 100-year anniversary? Silver? Gold? Platinum?
Apparently, if you’re a 100-year-old film and television production company, in 2023 you get a redesigned logo.
To differentiate between the past and the present, Warner Brothers has redesigned its overall logo and corporate brand identity for its upcoming anniversary in 2023.
And I quote from the breathless, tech trades:
As a heritage brand, Warner Bros. had the benefit of brand recognition; the shield emblem that encases the Warner Bros. initials is easily identifiable on its own. But as a studio without its own network, the TV shows, movies, and other content it produced lacked a sense of brand cohesion—the ability of a viewer to recognize individual titles as Warner Bros. content no matter the platform they used to watch it.
Which I guess is all good from a marketing perspective, and probably really brand beneficial, but I don’t think lack of brand recognition has been the thing that Warner Brothers has had to address over the last few years.
‘Tweaking’ the Brand is What Brand Marketers Do
Streaming services. Cable. Movies. Bifurcation of audience attention vis-à-vis the Internet, gaming, YouTube, and other distractions.
These are the market realities that can kill a brand.
Along with the corporate and cultural ones like firing 800 employees with no warning, dictating to a state about their internal governmental policies–Georgia–and breathlessly hiring Ann Sarnoff after #MeToo’ing your last boss.
And I quote, yet again from the tech media shills:
According to Dee Dee Myers, Warner Bros.’ executive vice president of worldwide corporate communications and public affairs, the proliferation of streaming content has widened the studio’s pool of competition beyond other movie studios to include Netflix, Hulu, and similar services, and going forward this will make the ways in which fans watch Warner Bros. as diverse as the studio’s creative portfolio itself.
I think that audiences know about Friends, Harry Potter, and other properties, such as the DCEU—which you’re busy destroying, one film at a time—and your cartoon properties from Hanna-Barbera to Looney Tunes.
I don’t think a re-brand is going to help your house much, Dee Dee.
And, by the way, weren’t you a politico in the Clinton White House?
It’s nice to know that people in politics fail upwards. God, I love America.
‘Tweaking’ the Content is Another Story Though
Dee Dee notoriously had little to say in her comments on the WB re-branding about the content that the studio continues to create, produce, and distribute.
Tweak the font.
Tweak the colors.
Make it mobile-friendly.
Make it tablet friendly.
Make it desktop and streaming friendly.
Make it a business card and water tower friendly logo.
And then, declare victory.
If you’re the marketing and branding company. And I quote, for the last time:
The rebrand of a heritage company is a huge undertaking—especially when it has a worldwide presence. And yet it is a common challenge, with heritage brands adapting for the 21st century by trying to strike a balance between recognition and modernization with small changes on a big scale. Warner Bros. is no exception. “We’re excited about refreshing the brand,” says Myers, “connecting it to the past, but with eyes firmly ahead.”
I think that Pentagram, the company that was charged with the re-branding efforts did as well a job as they could do with a brand identity package where the client—Warner Brothers—really just wanted small, manageable outcomes without rocking the boat too much.
After all, that WB logo coming out of the dark in the new Batman film you’re casting with Robert Pattinson should really sell the audience on the whole Long Halloween concept you’ve cooked up.
Right, Dee Dee?
But, Goblin, what do you think?
Is a re-brand just an excuse to polish a stinking turd or is there really something here?
Sound off, below.
