Innovation Showcase - Frontify - Chicago Advertising Federation (CAF)

Did you miss our recent panel on How the Emmys® Transformed its Iconic Brand?

We got you!

Read below for a quick recap or go deeper and watch the live recording. Thank you to the Frontify team for providing this insightful and relevant discussion.

How the Emmys Transformed its Iconic Brand

Infusing new life into a legacy brand is no easy feat. The iconic Emmy Awards – yes those Emmys! – were challenged with antiquated brand designs and guidelines that didn’t really allow for scale in the digital age. With roots dating back to the 1950’s, they needed a serious transformation to bring the brand into the digital age. Enter agency Windrose Management who together with the Emmys have successfully managed to infuse new life into the brand while maintaining integrity and amplifying equity through rebranding. Sponsored by Frontify, the CAF is excited to bring this unique brand to our audiences to learn how they accelerated and tapped into the power of the Emmy.

Takeaway 1:

The loss of physical touchpoints from the pandemic – like live events and in-person meetings – has made digitizing a brand essential in order to compete and evolve. COVID may have been the impetus for the increased need for online brand guidelines, but remote work is here to stay and organizations need tools that can easily distribute branded materials to stakeholders everywhere while also providing a digital doorway to the brand on demand.

Takeaway 2:
A rebrand is more than just a logo. Having a high-level answer to why you’re doing a rebrand in the first place is really important and will help guide you for future aspects of the brand. Also, don’t feel pressure to do the entire rebrand at once. You can roll out the rebrand in stages. First, start with the logo and basic brand guidelines. Then, move to other assets and more expanded brand guidelines.

Takeaway 3:
As brand guardians, it’s natural to feel protective of the brand, especially following a rebrand. But rigid brand guidelines can actually have the opposite effect of what you want. Instead of following rigid guidelines, end users may feel excluded and create their own assets that are off-brand. As a solution, try creating more flexible guidelines that can grow and adapt over time based on what users need.

Takeaway 4:
To help increase the adoption of your brand (whether you’re undergoing a rebrand or not), the first step is to understand and categorize 1.) the content, 2.) the people who access your brand and content, and 3.) the people who are the admins of the brand and content. Be sure you talk to your key stakeholders before, during, and after the rebrand – the ones who have a vested interest in the success of your brand. When you understand everyone’s different needs, it makes it easier to create a process that will actually be adopted and used.