CTV has launched a branding effort to kick off its first truly national programming schedule.

Rick Lewchuk, ctv vice-president of advertising, promotion and publicity, says prior to Baton taking control of ctv last year, the network could really only brand about one-third of the programming on its affiliate stations.

‘ctv only really existed as 40 hours a week of programming supplied to its affiliates,’ he explains. ‘The other 80 hours of programming a week was left up to the affiliates.’

When Baton took over ctv, Lewchuk says it saw an opportunity to put together ‘a true national program schedule and finally brand ctv the way it needs to be branded – as a national network.’

The campaign is evident right now in on-air promotions, but Lewchuk says they’re only a small part of what’s going to happen over the next four to five months.

He says the branding elements will create a commonality across everything ctv does, and will be reinforced with print and outdoor advertising.

The colors and shapes of the network’s logo are being used to identify the three main components of its business – entertainment (red circle), news (blue square) and sports (green pyramid).

Lewchuk says the icons will be used as navigational devices so that viewers will subconsciously be able to identify programming genres without ctv explicitly saying red stands for entertainment.

For instance, stars such as Calista Flockhart of Ally McBeal and Mike Bullard of Open Mike with Mike Bullard are shown during prime-time breaks interacting with the ‘red C’ of the logo in what the network is calling Starpower IDs.

ctv worked with the New York office of Pittard Sullivan, an international firm specializing in branding and entertainment marketing, to create its new look and feel that’s said to feature higher production values, as well as orchestral rather than electronic music.

Although it worked with a u.s.-based company on the concept, Lewchuk says all the production, music and talent behind the branding effort was Canadian.