Brand Character & Marketing Print and Video Campaigns TCI Cablevision Southeast Division wanted to change their public image from a Utility Company (like power and phone) to Entertainment Service Provider. They needed a new Brand Identity. However, they had never done this kind of self-marketing in video before. They needed a creative interface with their Ad Agency: me. |
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Creative Direction Brand Usage Guide Concept & Design |
Writer/Creative Director/Media Producer |
Up until this point, most of TCI's marketing was print; when they did video spots, it was only to feature upcoming channels or programs. In one of their print pieces, their ad agency had created a stylized TV set to illustrate some of the features.
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![]() ![]() ![]() They also needed to add a news setup (back when only CNN offered 24 hour coverage) and the adventure segment could use the addition of a good Explorer Hat. A visit to the New York Production House during final edit revealed that instead of hand-animating Telvis, they had created actual Telvis Body Figures for every position that would have the face animated onto them. That might have accounted for some of the six figure numbers. One of the producers graciously offered me (swiped for me) one.
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Telvis: The Further Adventures |
The Southeast Division of TCI originally envisioned the Telvis spot as a stand-alone that could ostensibly be broken up into genre-specific segments (news, sports, music) and used to tie together other video ad campaigns. The challenge... no, let's be honest here, the PROBLEM was that the not all of the bits worked solo. The open/close worked fine as a donut for other content and special offers, but the :03 seconds of "news" wasn't going to help much in solo form, and there were a lot of areas the spot didn't touch upon. There needed to be... more. There also needed to be a print tie-in to the "new" Telvis. There hadn't been much thought given to that as everyone at the Division level ogled both the spot and the price tag. |