Red Bee gives UKTV’s Dave ‘a shave and new haircut’

The consultancy created Dave’s branding and on-screen identity for its launch in 2007  and has worked with the channel since. The refresh proect, which began about a year ago, has seen Red Bee create more than 40 new programme idents, new stings and on-air menus.

New stings and on-air menus have also been added.

‘We’re describing it as giving the channel a shave and new haircut’, says Dave manager Steve North.

‘We’re not rebranding the channel or changing its personality –  the pillars of wit and banter and smartness remain.’

He adds, ‘The Dave identity is very important to us – we wanted to take time to stand back and find out what makes our viewers and consumers tick and where we could go with the brand.’

The channel has recently announced new comedy programme commissions, including chat show Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, three football specials to air ahead of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, and a second series of Ross Noble Freewheeling.

Ruth Shabi, Red Bee group creative director, says, ‘In terms of programming, [Dave] is commissioning a lot more of their own stuff now. We’d developed a tone of voice which was coming across really well, but previously it was about housing funny stuff, and now it’s more about Dave creating it’.

According to North, this is the first refresh of the channel’s identity since launching. He says, ‘It was about keeping the core of what Dave means to us but as the programming and the channel evolves, looking at how the brand identity and architecture help move the channel forward.’

The new look, which launches tomorrow, will be shown across all touchpoints including the website and Dave app, which were modified by Dave’s in-house team.