Strategy, Naming, Brand Voice, Platform Writing.
It’s always good times when you’re tasked with redefining the brand of a product, service or business that’s already out there amongst the masses. But when you're brought in long before this, something even more incredible can happen.
SKY had led New Zealand’s television industry for over two decades. But the rapid rise of digital unearthed a new threat to television companies worldwide: video-streaming and illegal downloading services.
SKY's solution was simple – they’d create a video-streaming service of their own. But figuring out how it would look, sound, and work? Less simple. They needed a brand that could shape their service’s development, bring it to life, and convince Kiwis that the old TV network could compete in this new era.
Introducing NEON. The service’s user interface (UI), accounts for 90% of the user’s experience with the brand – so that’s where the work began. Knowing they’d want to get from searching for content to watching it as quickly and easily as possible - NEON was created – a bright, bold, brand of the future. Once you switch it ‘on’, it helps you find what you need, and then gets out of the way. So you can forget about your world, and stream effortlessly into another.
In the case of Neon, the product and brand were essentially conceived together, the result of which created New Zealand’s fastest growing on-demand television streaming service, from New Zealand’s largest media company. Neon has managed to reverse SKY's decline in the face of changing consumer behaviour and a heavy hit from Netflix’s entrance into the Kiwi market. The video included in the portfolio doesn’t just reveal the brand that is Neon, but it explains how the tone of voice has shaped the way in which the interface experienced and enjoyed by hundreds and thousands of New Zealanders, both at home and on the move.
Created with the team at Interbrand Australia, I was proud to lead the naming and brand voice development of this important project, and assist the strategy team with the development of strong strategic brand territories built on local market insight and first-hand consumer experience on the ground.