The change was announced on Monday. Notice the difference? Neither did I at first. The difference is that the logo no longer includes a reference to music. According to The Brandchannel and articles in MSN and Ad Age, the move is intended to align with the fact that MTV is now better known for reality TV shows than music videos. There seem to be at least three different motivations for the change.
1. Align with what we do
The MTV brand has represented more than "music television" for many years, and now – appropriately – the words "music television” are no longer part of the official logo. In addition, the original logo has undergone a slight morphing. When MTV launched, the upside of the logo was that it communicated the very specific, targeted business of the brand to a potential audience that had never heard of it. Of course, the downside of the logo is that once the brand diversified to include material beyond music, such as, say, Jersey Shore shenanigans, the logo became confusing, or even absurd." - The Brandchannel, Feb 10, 2010
2. Better appeal to Millennial target
"It represents a new visually defined MTV, stimulating its past, present and future and embracing its diversity. Everything from Jersey Shore, to the VMAs to collaborations with the MoMA. The logo is part of MTV's re-invention to connect with today's millennial generation and bring them in as part of the channel." -- MSN, Feb 10, 2010
3. Put greater focus on MTV talent
"The new logo is meant to put the focus on MTV's current slate of talent -- the stars of mostly reality shows like "Jersey Shore," "Teen Mom," and "The Buried Life." Since the logo (which seems to have a shorter "M" than the original) is also available in a see-through model, it can change when new stars come into the fold. Tina Exarhos, a spokesperson for MTV's marketing team, explained the change to "The New York Daily News": "If you watch the channel, you've seen that it's definitely going in a new direction. We really wanted to see the logo featured in a new way, and this was really meant to be able to house all the great things that are happening at MTV at any given time." PeaceFM, Feb 10, 2010
4. Increase brand recognition
"Mr. Friedman said MTV has also had a problem with brand recognition among viewers who would love certain shows but had no idea they aired on MTV. "The way the logo frames it makes it a simple reference point," he said.- Ad Age
The move has been questioned on several fronts.
Why now after all these years?
Is it enough of a change? Is tweaking enough?
Should the tagline be replaced?
Is it too mainstream/not irreverent enough?
Based on the case you just read and your experiences with MTV, what do you think?
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17 comments:
I think it's all much ado about nothing. The change is so minor, I initially thought there was simply something wrong with my cable when the bottom of the logo was cutoff.
The customization is a novel idea, but isn't really practical for the most visible use of the logo - in the corner of the screen. The nod to 16x9 widescreen is nice, if only MTV actually had a genuine HD channel (Palladia absolutely does not count).
In all, its a subtle enough change to get people talking, yet not dramatic enough to hurt the brand equity. Let's face it, the logo is the absolute last issue MTV should be fussing over in regards to brand identity.
Honestly, I can't see the difference at all. Is there any difference beyond color and the dude in the top one?
I'm not sure how MTV is doing with Millennials. I can guess it is doing quite well with shows like Jersey Shore, The Hills, and The Real World (not sure if anyone even watches this anymore). I was around at its inception, and I can definitely say that MTV was a big deal throughout the 80s and early 90s. Of course, that was when the channel actually showed music videos. I don't think that it has the same resonance with Gen Y. Instead of music, it really has broadened itself to include all of youth culture (for better or for worse).
The logo itself is such a small departure from the original. It doesn't even look like the font has been altered at all. This minor change indicates to me that MTV doesn't really know what it wants to be or who it wants to appeal to as a brand. I don't really watch the channel all that much, so I cannot attest to this "new direction." If this "new" logo is a signal of that new direction, then really, it isn't changing all that much.
In addition to dropping the tagline, MTV also minimally changed the placement of the "TV" within the "M." The "T" now extends to the end of the "M". There is a bit more emphasis on "TV", but maybe it should have been even larger. The font does look a lot more modern than the yellow & blue boxy "M" from the '90s.
I think MTV needs to reinvent their brand identity. Their programing has changed with the times as they now focus on reality shows and docudramas like "Teen Mom."
It was a good step to drop the "Music Television", but a few years from now young people are not going to know what the "M" stands for. They have quite a bit of equity in the brand, but if they want to be a successful long-term they should investigate changing or replacing the "M" with something more relevant. It's going to be a big step.
I think there is no substantive difference other than dropping "music television" which was long overdue. It was the source of a lot of irritation, even to those that didn't watch the channel, because it caused confusion given that's not a core part of their programming. If I had a dollar for everytime I heard someone complain about "back when MTV played videos" I'd pay off my student loans.
Hindsight being 20/20, it should have been dropped 15 years ago, so that now they could be unveiling that the 'M' stands for something, anything else. They could have rebranded it Millennial TV and rode that out.
As it stands, they seem to have no identity, no focus. At least Tru TV is direct about their showing reality shows, you know what you are getting into and are not disappointed by their 2nd rate reality entertainment.
Changing the logo doesn't do much to change the disconnect between 'music' and whatever they want to call what they're showing now.
This almost seems like a case of the brand being held hostage by the consumers. There is a significant amount of equity built into MTV that is recognizable among their target markets that they would lose in an attempt to make the moniker 'MTV' more relevant. In that sense, it's a risk-free change in their intended direction but whatever impact it has will be minimal.
For those of us who remember MTV when they used to play music videos, the “M” stands for music. Simply dropping the explicit reference to ‘music television’ does not change anything; I don’t think that is part of the logo to which viewers identified MTV anyway. Since MTV has evolved into so much more of a cultural reality network that it’s irrelevant.
I actually had to Google the MTV logo to get an idea of the changes that they made. I don't think that there was much change at all and I guarantee that many of their teen viewers won't see the change either. I don't think they needed to invest in a re-branding effort but I do think that it is interesting that they didn't incorporate 'music' into the new logo because as Amy, said most of us equate MTV with Music first and television second.
In doing a little research, I did find that their new logo serves a functional purpose. The Creative Review blog reported that the "MTV Networks International now has a new flexible typographic navigation system for displaying onscreen information. The MTV logo remains in a fixed top left position onscreen at all times and acts as an anchor for the new system of information display - with the title of the current program always appearing immediately to the right of the logo in a blue progress-bar so viewers can gauge where they are in the current program."
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/june/mtvs-brand-new-look
Ultimately, I think that MTV wanted to stay current and up to date with their brand and that is what caused the change in logos. Unfortunately, I don't think that the change was significant enough to drive viewers' to equate MTV with its new identity.
I agree with everyone else that changing the logo was not a significant driver for enhanced brand equity or identity. The changes are subtle, and not very noticeable among viewers. If anything positive comes out of this initiative, it is the publicity and buzz that was created as a result of the change.
Although I think that MTV could stand to make some brand changes that would focus more on their current line up and less on their previous videos, this change it too small to have any impact. Although their logo has strong feelings associated with it, MTV continues to reinvent itself in order to capture that illusive younger audience. It might be time to find a logo that lends itself more closely to this strategy.
I agree with Rob L and believe MTV should change to Millennial TV. That is defintely the market that they are appealing too. Even though if I was a parent of a Millennial, I don't think I would let my teenager watch the lineup of trashy reality shows like Jersey Shore, 16 And Pregnant, and Teen Mom.
I'm personally sad that MTV has changed the logo. Even though its a small change, it finally confirms that music videos will be forever gone from MTV.
To be honest, I can not tell a difference, but I do understand the reason behind it. MTV morphed from the alternative edgy music station a long time ago. Keep that part of the name was not truth in advertising. In fact, the joke goes you can find anything on Music Television but music. Perhaps the company should change the station to ME TV: Millennial Entertainment Television. The shows do not appeal to music lovers so much has 12-27 year olds who enjoy a good scandal.
I honestly had even forgotten that MTV ever was "music television." I mean, let's face it, for years MTV has been phasing out the "music" aspect and phasing in "reality." They even got rid of TRL awhile back, which was, if I recall correctly, the only show left that played any videos at all (albeit 30-second snippets of them).
My only questions is whether with this "rebranding," which I guess is what it technically is, the VMAs will continue. I mean, if it's not even music television anymore, what's the point?
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