Television Idents

Some might perceive them as an interruption or an excuse to put the kettle on, go to the loo or indulge in a little bit of daydreaming but I love idents, here's a text I wrote a couple of years ago as part of a wider marketing module at uni......

At the outset of  television broadcasts a 'test signal' was transmitted which was thought to enable televisions to pick up the signal that was being broadcast; however the real purpose behind the signal was that while the television sets were 'warming up' the viewers could sit in anticipation waiting for the picture to appear. These test signals, which usually consisted of an image with the broadcasters name and some lines or other technology inspired symbols, are an early form of television ident.

Some examples of early test signals can be seen on this YouTube video by "Identchannel"

According to author Steve Curran the true birth of the television ident came about in the early 1980s with the creation of MTV.

"Before the advent of cable television in the 1980s, on air graphics of the Big Three networks had grown cold, corporate, and unimaginative. Flying metallic logos and staid solutions defined on-air graphics; they were products of technology and corporate culture more than of creativity and talent. Because the networks were battling for the eyeballs of the lowest common denominator, they had developed department store personalities - all things to all people." (Curran, 2000)

The increase in television channels, due to cable and satellite subscription services, meant that there were now a lot of specialised channels available. In particular younger audiences were targeted with an abundance of music channels. As the main content of the music channels consisted of videos, which were also undergoing a complete regeneration, the broadcasters had to 'up their game' and produce corporate idents that were at least equal to the creativity and quality of the material they were broadcasting.

The ident is now taken very seriously as not only a marketing opportunity but also as a way of expressing the content and policies of the broadcasters.  A circle has been used in the idents for BBC One for a number of years, with the O being displayed in numerous formats. This is used to not only represent the 'O' in the word one but also to show "the sense that we come together in circles to do things" (Red Bee, 2006) In a similar fashion BBC 2 and Chanel 4 idents also use the environment to symbolize the numbers 2 and 4.

Although a lot of idents seem to be quite whimsical at first glance, upon further investigation the methodology adheres to strict protocol. The importance that a channel places on its corporate identity can be understood when reading through the Channel 4 Identity Style Guide. This document stipulates exactly how the company is to be portrayed both on and off line. Although the circumstances, images, information and location of the advertising vary there must be strict adherence to the formula. The guidance given covers not only the logo but also the colours, typography, imagery and even the tone of voice that is to be used. The logo must always have a designated isolation area so that it does not compete with other information given. All of this must happen with the viewer remaining unaware of the underlying foundations.

The importance of an ident is that it is not perceived as a piece of marketing. In a consumer led visual society marketing is important for even the most mundane product or service. It is of particular importance that a service that is primarily visual not only reflects the latest trends but is also seen as an innovator for the visual community.

References

Curran, S. (2000). Motion graphics. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport.

Eyemagazine.com (2013). Eye Magazine | Feature | TV in the age of eye candy. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.eyemagazine.com/feature/article/tv-in-the-age-of-eye-candy[Accessed: 5 Nov 2013].

Meldrum.co.uk. 2013. BBC Tuning Signals. [online] Available at: http://www.meldrum.co.uk/mhp/testcard/bbc_tune.html [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013].

Red Bee. (2006). BBC One embraces the circle. Televisual, (October).

Tvtropes.org (2013). Main/Station Ident - Television Tropes & Idioms. [online] Retrieved from: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StationIdent [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013].

Wikipedia. 2013. Television. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013].

YouTube

YouTube. 2013. BBC 1 1936 - 2006. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZaEeI_yKNI [Accessed: 5 Nov 2013].

Images:

BBC One Hippo: http://www.tvforum.co.uk/tvhome/bbc-one-29489/

BBC One Circle: http://idents.tv/blog/category/uk-bbc-one/

BBC Two Tent:   http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/bbctwo/2007_idents.html

Channel 4:  http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/channel4/2004.html