ITV marketing director Reemah Sakaan on ‘Where Drama Lives’ campaign extension and the importance of its brand design overhaul
ITV is gearing up to launch a new slate of activity to continue its previous “Where Drama Lives” campaign last September, to promote the notion that “there is an ITV for everyone in the family”, according to marketing and media planning director, ITV Networks, Reemah Sakaan.
Speaking to The Drum, Sakaan – who is also a judge for this year's The Drum Marketing Awards - said that the plan is to extend the former campaign, which featured characters including Poirot and Morse, to its entertainment brands this spring with plans to centre on shows including Britain’s Got Talent.
“Last time we focused lots on the main channel in the ‘Where Drama Lives' campaign. This year we want to stretch that brand idea out to the other channels to really push awareness of all the other sub channels and push the notion that there is a lot more to ITV than people might think – there is an ITV for everyone within the family.
“We will do an equivalent of the ‘Where Drama Lives' campaign in entertainment around this spring as we have things like Britain’s Got Talent, which we are in the throes of production for” she added.
Her comments come as the broadcaster revealed its first pay TV channel launch on Sky – called Encore. Sakaan said the launch signals its ongoing “brand rejuvenation” and building of the ITV family and the diversification of its revenue streams.
She said ITV’s design overhaul in 2012 marked a major milestone for the broadcaster, which had been grappling with a brand identity which didn’t quite reflect its place as an “emotional storyteller”.
Sakaan continued: “The last few years we have been through a pretty belt and braces transformation of every single part of the brand – how we communicate and operate – and it took a while for the new marketing management structure and team to be put in place. Since then we have systematically restructured, relaunched and rebranded...certainly everyone has really gravitated to the new brand and tone of voice and we feel much more like ourselves."
The broadcaster’s multimillion pound rebrand in 2012 saw it drop the ‘1’ from its flagship channel and marked the biggest revamp in over a decade. The aim of the redesign was to reinforce its place at the heart of popular culture with branding that reflected its core
“There was almost an authoritarian approach to the previous design –it was an intensely practical brand but ITV is obviously a huge emotional storyteller and it hadn’t quite got its arms around that in terms of its branding, so that is what we have been trying to do.
“ITV’s DNA is salt of the earth, it’s quite practical brand and for a while there was a thinking that the marketing and branding might be a bit poncy - that's not really what sits at the hearts and minds of the people."
When asked what she will be looking for in entries as a judge of this year’s The Drum Marketing Awards she said it boils to “amazing creativity with brilliant insight”.
She added: “That’s when you really get things that jump off the page – it needn’t necessarily be something completely different to anything you have ever seen before but applied in with a new insight that disrupts.”
Extensions are available to enter The Drum Marketing Awards 2014 by contacting kimberley.baran@thedrum.com, or by calling 01415596078 to arrange.
Sponsoring this year's The Drum Marketing Awards will be Havas Worldwide London, TubeMogul, Gask & Hawley, The Drum Network and the Recommended Agency Register.