Challenge

CMT was in need of an entirely new brand platform. The old school stereotypes associated with country music were deterring advertisers and alienating valuable young viewers. Country lifestyle had evolved and CMT was out of step. The brand needed new bedrock for durable growth.

Solution and Result

Periscopes Up combined forces with our long-term partners and friends at San Diego based Bulldog Drummond to develop a brand platform and implementation strategy that would make CMT relevant in a changing market.

Together we oversaw thorough consumer research and formulated insights that pinpointed what it means to be “country” in current times. By digging deep into the cultural aspects of country lifestyle including the role of family, social occasions and spaces occupied by music and TV, we identified entirely new viewer profiles previously not recognized as part of the potential CMT audience.

A new brand DNA was created from the ground up and brought to life through an entirely new brand platform called “Get Country”. We worked with almost every CMT department from programming to marketing—as well as parent brand MTV Networks—to implement the strategy in a meaningful and completely organic way. The result was a fresh approach to program development and production, a  reinvigorated sales team, a refocused marketing department and the ability to draw in advertisers and a new younger viewer.

“Periscopes Up joined forces with innovation studio Bulldog Drummond and together with our internal creative team, built and implemented a unique and powerful brand platform, “Get Country”. The result was increased relevance for CMT during a major shift in country lifestyle culture, which led to new audiences and advertisers.”.

 

Dee McLaughlin, Former Chief Marketing Officer, MTV Networks’s CMT Channel

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