For its 25th anniversary, Groupe Média Télévision Française Ontario (TFO) wanted to modernize its image and broaden its appeal beyond Franco-Ontarians to Francophones across Canada. Having started to revamp its content a year ago, TFO enlisted Lowe Roche to bring its image up to date as well.
Since TFO is commercial-free, Monica Ruffo, CEO of Lowe Roche, says “the identity ends up being used in all sorts of formats to fill the holes, so it has to be really engaging.”
Ruffo explains that the design process was highly collaborative. “We interviewed a ton of stakeholders, we also had session groups with viewers. We tried to make sure that everyone’s point of view was taken into account, which is one of the keys to success when you’re refreshing something as iconic as TFO.”
TFO's old logo
The previous logo and look was “familiar television visual language,” says Dave Douglass, co-CCO at Lowe Roche. There was nothing particularly bold or iconic about it, and it used only one colour – blue.
Lowe Roche’s hue-infused design incorporates an entire palette, which differentiates the various content categories of TFO (such as TFO Kids or TFO Films), and also helps keep the look fresh, since the branding is on screen so often.
“It had to appeal to TFO’s traditional viewers but also open it up. So it was actually quite a challenge to not alienate people who were already watching TFO,” Ruffo says. For example, a flag encasing the logo is a symbol
meant to “capture the pride of the Franco-Ontarian,” explains Ruffo.
The new look is rolling out on-air, online and everywhere else TFO puts its stamp.
Watch a video of the rebrand in action below.
[iframe_vimeo video=”35886784″]
