Viaplay. The European SVoD leading streaming service. Brand Design development across markets - Poland, Netherlands, Baltics countries, USA, and Iceland.
Viaplay was about to embark on a new era. The vision: to become the International streaming challenger. For achieving this ambitious aim, it needed a refreshed identity that could challenge the industry, but most importantly a concept that would support a tonality and positioning that would break through the clutter in the already saturated industry and connect with people differently.
THE STRATEGY
Visual strategy
Grow the brand with distinctive brand design assets.
Mental shortcuts to the brand in our memory. A proxy for the brand itself. The solution was to develop a clear set of distinctive branding assets using sensory cues (colours, audio, layout design…) to remember and recall. Flexible within the execution. Adaptable to the medium. Neurological diverse.
The Motion.
Motion is the glue across all the brand design elements. Bringing them to life, captivating the eye, creating cohesion and allowing them to co-exist and create new narratives in all moving assets.
Positioning strategy
The irreverent maverick.
We use wit and humour to challenge complacency and perhaps an amused gasp of disbelief about changing the world while watching a TV show. Irreverent mavericks. An opportunity - for a challenger narrative of provocation, deliberately setting out to entertain and engage - even court a little controversy - when talking about ourselves, our content or the other’s brands.
Our Tone of Voice
The streaming challenger.
"We do things our own way. We don’t try to fit in with the competition or play by their rules. We know that streaming means relaxation, and quality time spent alone or with friends and family. And we think that’s important enough - no need to pretend it is more than that."
How we talk.
Down-to-earth. Easy-going and confident. Straight forward and to the point. Fun, witty and a bit cheeky. Honest and genuine. Warm and welcoming.
This is a poster for a new streaming service. (Spoiler alert: we’d love you to join.)
Four weeks for free. It's a trick but it works.
THE BRAND CAMPAIGNS
Concept strategy
The big idea: We know you. We get you.
Everybody focuses on content… so we instead focus on the people. We challenge the way things are done by starting with the most important: our customers. We relate using truths - about consumption habits - that can be universal or local as long as they’re funny and ring true.
These recognizable insights, draw a smile and create an instant connection with viewers - talking to them as a friend sitting next to them on the couch would. The message is simple: Viaplay knows you. Viaplay gets you.
We bring to life Viaplay brand's ambitions through our concept, allowing the design assets to express the tonality and positioning and enhance how the brand engages with users. Pushing the tone of voice and insights to stand out from the crowd.
You gonna love them like meatballs.
When you think you have seen everything… New platform with sport and entertainment that gets you.
We know you watch only Lewy.
VISUAL IDENTITY
The brand identity is built as a global-local brand. The distinctive design assets are localised depending on the market. This allows us to bring brand ambassadors into the conversation and add stories to build truly relevant connections with users. We get to know our audience and reach them in the closest way to their interests.
USE OF TYPOGRAPHY
The use of typography is central to the brand, as it carries the tone of voice and leads to engagement.
Viaplay Sans.
Viaplay Sans is a geometric typeface, its neat design goes in harmony with our symbol.
The original family was narrow, so designing a new Viaplay Sans Black Outline font was necessary to achieve our goals and further expand the family with italics too. This allows for a better range of weights and variations that serves to communicate the concept across the brand.
USE OF COLOUR
The Viaplay gradient is a story of success. First introduced in 2019 as the main colour for the brand, it's been key to developing the visual identity of Viaplay.
It's mostly used in relation to a shape, whether it is the logo, the arrow, the corners or the typography. Its value is measured by higher awareness and differentiation among competitors, contributing to Viaplay's uniqueness and fame. Complemented with yellow as a highlight for accent, the pair appeals to family and sports fans, representing energy and warmth.
ART DIRECTION & VISUAL TONALITY
To recognize the brand before anything and create a mood. A strong, vibrant colour palette based on our brand colours and extracted from our original content. A stylized light in realistic-looking locations, wide-angle lenses and clever camera work. Contemporary and tangible spaces that feel natural with a bit of stylized colour, that feel ‘lived in’ and ‘used’ - Viaplay world is far from a theatrical set. Warm yellows and ambers are contrasted by touches of magenta and purple-blue-ish. These are supported by neutral tones, greys and natural elements.
THE VIAPLAY ARROW AND CORNERS
Viaplay Arrow introduced in 2019 is a key asset to communicate with users. The arrow embraces the content, and the Viaplay corners are the minimum expression of it. They frame Viaplay's strong point of view - reflecting its positioning - and make clear to the user that this is Viaplay talking.
SONIC BRAND
A new sound was developed, that encapsulates the challenger, honest down-to-earth witty attitude and allows the brand to have a new diverse asset that relates with our audience differently.
BRAND CAMPAIGNS ACROSS MARKETS - THE NETHERLANDS
For the Netherlands, we partnered with a new brand ambassador, Max Verstappen. With him in place, it was all about making the story true to him and therefore true and real to his fans. A nearly real situation of him rushing from the Zandvoort circuit to his home was enough to complement a strong tonality spread out through other media. Design elements support a strong brand visibility embracing all type of communications.
Hello! We are Viaplay. We come in peace.
Visit the dark Scandinavia but cheap.
In series politics is still fun.
looking for some extra thrill?
BRAND CAMPAIGNS ACROSS MARKETS - THE BALTICS
Each country has different needs, a different relationship with streaming content and different interests. For Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia the brand message needed to be adapted, but we still kept the humour through three well-known comedian hosts, that add a very cheeky and witty attitude, bringing our tonality to the forefront even when having a more sales-driven message.
FUTURE BRAND COMMUNICATIONS
The strategy gives freedom to create new communications, on-brand, with the same distinctive assets and tonality, while focusing on real and local people. We can then address insights relevant to our users and start new conversations about core topics in each of the markets.
A truly global-local brand.
CREDITS
Agency Poland: Freundschaft
Agency Netherlands: dentsuACHTUNG!
Agency Baltics: Not Perfect Vilnius
Agency TOV: We All Need Words
Sonic Branding: MassiveMusic
Viaplay - Senior Motion Designers: Rex Abba-Abba / James Fisher
Viaplay - Senior Creative Director Brand: Joshua Hertz
Viaplay - VP Brand: Anna Munkenberg
Max's Verstappen team: Herman De Vries
Poland campaign: Kacper Ruciński
Design agency: HEXA studio - Celeste Herrera