The TV Brand Builders
How to Win Audiences and Influence Viewers
Full of interesting anecdotes and behind-the-scenes peeks, this book is an authoritative resource in television marketing.
Andy Bryant and Charlie Mawer’s The TV Brand Builders is an insightful look at television brands and how to build them, and is chock full of expert observations and relevant examples.
In this lively, detailed book, two executives from a British agency that specializes in marketing for media companies demonstrate that television is a hotbed of branding creativity. Perhaps most impressive is the book’s comprehensive nature; it covers not just TV marketing in general, but also the marketing of networks, channels, genres, and individual shows.
While the book will probably be of the highest value to practitioners and students of brand marketing, even consumers should find it of interest. The TV Brand Builders offers a rare behind-the-camera look at how brands are developed and marketed. Intriguing case histories abound, such as the story of how USA Network re-launched with a brand campaign that focused on “Characters Welcome.” As the authors point out, the rebranding was not merely an updated graphic logo, “but the way the channel presents itself to its viewers (and prospective viewers) across every touchpoint.” As a result, “USA Network became the number one cable network in the United States and after nine straight years of leadership it ended 2014 as the most-watched general entertainment channel.”
Just as interesting as network branding is the branding of specific programs and genres. Here, the authors explore several American and British shows, including Mad Men and Dr. Who, augmenting the descriptive text with the occasional black-and-white photograph to illustrate specific graphic examples. The section of the book on genre branding is also fascinating. Bryant and Mawer talk about what it takes to market such categories as news, documentaries, sports programs, and children’s television. Each genre features both excellent reportage and current examples.
The final part of the book, appropriately enough, addresses “Building Brands in the Age of Online TV.” Particularly intriguing in this section are the authors’ observations about the use of “immersive experiences” to engage viewers and blur the lines between television, online, and live entertainment. No book of this kind would be complete without predictions about the future, and Bryant and Mawer do not disappoint. They ponder such areas as “the evolution of curatorial TV brands,” “building an on-demand brand,” and the increasing impact of personalization in TV marketing.
With salient observations, on-target illustrations, and extensive references, The TV Brand Builders is sure to be an authoritative resource for anyone interested in television marketing.
Reviewed by
Barry Silverstein
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
