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New identity for Scottish TV & Grampian TV

(March 2006)

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SC
scottishfan
STV is set to return as a brand but it looks like the end for Grampian:

Scottish TV Press Release

"SMG Television today announced that they will be launching a new identity for Scottish TV and Grampian TV later this year.

The television companies will come together under a single identity, known as STV, which will be unveiled to viewers via on-screen teasers and promos."
AN
Ant
Whaaaaaaaaaaaat.

Wow, I expected a change but not this big!
ST
STVNews
This is HUGE news! Its the end of an era effectively.
GM
GMc
Wow!!!
Well, I didn't think that would happen any time soon. Shocked
I think this will be a change for the better.
And it will be called STV again. Very Happy
AN
Ant
It'll be strange Scottish TV being known as STV again (and the loss of the Grampian name - expect a little bit of controversy!).
AN
Andrew Founding member
How will they refer to them seperately, such as for regional programmes? STV Scottish and STV Grampian?!
PC
p_c_u_k
Wow.

I really didn't see that one coming. And well done to the OP for underselling the topic. I'd have been tempted to call it 'Grampian dead' to get attention Laughing. Seriously though, it may be worth editing the title because the news is just so big - a lot of people will just skim past it, not recognising it is effectively the death of a station.

Ok - let's take it one piece at a time. Rebranding Scottish TV to STV just makes sense. Anyone who doesn't call the station ITV1 calls it STV - no-one calls it Scottish TV. It's far too clunky a name. So that's a good move.

Killing off the Grampian brand? Controversial - expect some extremely wound-up northern politicians once they actually realise it's happening. But looking at it from a rational, head-based perspective - it just makes sense. The name is inaccurate - it covers far more than the Grampian region. It's a clunky name that can't really be shortened (there's no history of the station being called GTV). It sounds really, really old-fashioned, and doesn't reflect the target audience the station is now aiming at.

However :
* Will anyone take to the new name? - surely, after all this time, no-one's going to call Grampian/ITV1 STV, no matter how much marketing is done)
* Will it cause more trouble than it's worth? (it could shine a light on the reduced regional programming, rather than Granada-style 'keep the name but reduce the resources)

The ongoing problem of having two stations with different names has been a bane at Cowcaddens - separate promos were abandoned, replaced by blue squares; watch to win initially had two logos screened in both regions, before the branding was removed; Scottish TV mugs are blatantly on show during Scotsport, shown in both regions - so I can see why it makes sense. But I do wonder, unless they are determined to hold on and force ITV PLC to buy them out, whether they should just have taken this opportunity to rebrand to ITV1 Scotland. My heart says that would be hell, my head says that, above all else, would really be common sense.

My one real concern about all this - and it's too late to do anything now - is that SMG continues to treat Scotland as one region. I suppose it means we're in a stronger position to battle the erosion of local programming seen in England, but it also means we don't have any real regional programming (aside from local news, which, half the time, borrows news from Grampian for Scotland Today and vice versa).

So - ident ideas anyone? I'd love to see them go with a saltire-based package, where the saltire was shown flying on various buildings (which could be kept generic enough if they felt that was an issue), then a new logo would appear below the flag. Some sort of scenes showing modern and old-fashioned Scotland would also be good - people racing through busy Sauchihall Street or Union Street, then a scenic view of Loch Lomond, or something like that.

However, most likely, they'll adopt the ITV1 style. After all, the shortening of the name lends itself easily to that.

Apologies for the length of the post, but this is massive news.
AJ
A.J.A.
Andrew posted:
How will they refer to them seperately, such as for regional programmes? STV Scottish and STV Grampian?!


I'd say that's highly unlikely. It should be "STV" for the whole of Scotland. Sad to see the Grampian name go, but I think the single identity for Scotland was inevitable. At least viewers there shouldn't be told about stuff "on this channel". Mind you, I've heard it a fair few times on Reporting Scotland...
:-(
A former member
stv = more buget cuts! that the only reason!
save money by calling both station one name!
AN
Ant
STV North, STV West, STV East?
SO
SOL
I think it's a great idea. Although like many others it is sad to see the Grampian brand go, perhaps it means SMG might have more output than they have for the past few years.
SO
Steven O
It still won't cover all of Scotland though.... Wink

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