BBC World News and BBC.com begin major repositioning

The new brand identity centres on a “Live the story” theme to reflect The BBC's position as the international news broadcaster with more journalists on the ground globally than any other international news provider.

The latest marketing campaign will roll out globally, focusing on Singapore, Hong Kong and Germany, and will span consumer and trade media across television, press, online, radio, out-of-home and experiential media.

The repositioning is the latest development in a series of investments from the BBC to enhance its offering globally. Earlier this year, BBC World News re-launched its studios in London—the biggest change for the channel in a decade.

It also appointed Linda Yueh as chief business correspondent, a new Singapore-based position to signal its commitment to Asia and a determination to expand the breadth and depth of its international business coverage.

Chris Davies, sales and marketing director, BBC Global News, said although the BBC is a well-known brand globally, competition for viewership has increased and audiences are moving between news providers.

“I think it’s about, like it is in any competitive marketplace where you are up against four or five or six competitors in that space, very clearly saying to the audience who you are, what you stand for, what you will get if you spend your time with us,” he said. “If one [broadcaster] is doing it, then if you don’t do it then you risk being left behind.”

In Asia, for example, Bloomberg Television last year launched its largest advertising campaign in the region to promote its expanded ASEAN coverage and new studio in Singapore.

The BBC World News campaign will be fronted by its correspondents, with the TVC element narrated by reporters talking about how it feels to when a news story breaks.

The campaign also includes a substantial digital element to drive engagement with audiences and leverage the growing trend of the news consumption through social platforms.

“We do really well on brand values around trust, impartiality, accuracy, and those are great, but we also want to start driving up some of those more engaging brand attributes,” said Davies.

“Social platforms will play an increasing part in how we communicate and market to our audiences," he added. "It also means we can market and get out message out to younger audiences who don’t necessarily visit us first time. It’s an opportunity to reach out to new audience bases that perhaps we don’t already communicate with."