Reclaiming relevance: how ITV’s rebrand has helped them reconnect with audiences and reshape the UK’s streaming landscape.

Our work with ITV Creative reintroduced ITV to the world, resulting in a 47% increase in brand health and over one billion streams just 4 months after launch. ITVX is now the UK’s fourth most considered streaming service… and climbing.

The launch of ITVX has tipped the scales of the streaming world, with the new service overtaking the likes of Disney+ and All 4 as the UK’s fourth most considered streaming service. Together with an ambitious marketing strategy, the new ITVX brand has repositioned ITV in the streaming wars; ITVX is scaling brand awareness charts, recently overtaking All 4 and Now TV. And just four months after launch, the new platform has passed one billion streams. It’s always exciting to see a brand perform, but why exactly is the ITVX rebrand resonating?

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Shifting perception of ITV with a comprehensive rebrand.
‍The rebrand drove reappraisal of ITV for two main reasons: it unified ITVX with the existing channels in a way that drives constant brand attribution, and it gave ITV permission to be different to the rest of the streaming sector, setting ITVX apart from competitors and helping them recapture the UK’s attention.

‍Standing out by standing up for a different kind of streaming. 
The strategy we developed gave ITV permission to embrace the weird, impulsive, flawed, changeable nature of modern Britain and celebrate the many varied lives they represent. The new service needed to be unapologetically human, speaking to the eclectic range of interests we all have. If the brand was going to truly embody this kind of individuality, it had to look and act differently to all of its competitors. And, while championing such a high level of difference, it needed to work as a unified system, tying the new streaming platform to the existing ITV channels in a way that would reinforce the brand and make the experience easy to navigate. 

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“Refusing to conform was a risk, but it’s one that paid off.”

A name that refuses to conform.
‍The first step was naming the new streaming platform. At the start, ITV was understandably considering the name ITV+, seeing as the ‘plus’ naming convention has become synonymous with streaming. ‘Plus’ wasn’t without its drawbacks, however. It might be universally understood as a streaming service, but it would blend into the streaming sea of sameness. It also suggests a paid service, making it a poor fit for a platform with free as one of its core benefits. 

To create excitement around a new service and drive genuine reappraisal, the name needed to feel fresh. Together, we realised there was an opportunity to do something different. We turned the convention on its head by literally rotating a plus 45 degrees; in a world of plusses, ITV would be an X.

Why X?
‍X is a multiplier – sleek, premium and daring, as well as symbolising potential, scale, anticipation and entertainment. It challenges norms, creating space for flexibility and heralding a new perspective. And it unites in its suggestion of collaboration. As a beacon of change and daring spirit, ITVX was the creative spark that ignited the rest of the brand.

Creating a new, unified future for ITV.
‍The new brand system moves ITV from a siloed model to one that is seamless and immersive. With ITVX as the connective tissue across the ITV brands, the new streaming service is at once the signifier of all things ITV and the network’s future in an increasingly digital sector. 

The brands work together to allow for cross-promotion, pulling viewers into a refreshed world of television from ITVX and vice versa, but affirming the streaming-first digital destination with shared visual threads that always lead back to X. By imbuing every part of the brand family with an honest, inclusive and unfiltered take on British identity, we created a future-facing brand able to reflect and connect with modern Britain. 

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The power of difference.
Refusing to conform was a risk, but it’s one that paid off. Based on data from YouGov's BrandIndex tool, ITVX’s brand awareness score has increased from 77.7 to 81.5. And their BrandIndex score, which measures overall brand health, has jumped 47.4%, from 13.5 to 19.9.

For a closer look at the ITV rebrand, head here.