Maybe it's time to bring Michigan J. Frog out of retirement and use him as a brand ambassador? (Although maybe make him a little less of a stereotype than the WB did back in the day...) On Wednesday, December 7, 2022 at 12:00:29 PM UTC-5 Adam Bowie wrote:
> I was convinced they'd just go with "HBO Discovery" or "Discovery HBO" - > simply on the basis of brand recognition alone. > > While I'm sure someone somewhere has done some research that says that HBO > is considered too premium/male/old-skewing for some consumers, I'm not sure > I'd buy that. It just takes one hit show to wipe away those perceptions. > > Surely you just go with the brand that has the biggest impact. "HBO" means > good TV. "Discovery" means... well we sort of understand what it means. > "Max" means nothing to anyone. > > Every other streaming brand has taken its strongest individual brand and > built off that. CBS All Access becomes Paramount+ because more people know > Paramount than CBS - particularly if you have global aspirations (there not > being a bunch of CBS channels out there in the wild). Disney+ wisely trades > on their most valuable asset - their near century-old brand (I'm also > firmly of the belief that ABC, FX and Hulu shows can all be wrapped into a > single app, just becoming tiled sub-brands within it, exactly as they're > doing in the ROW). Peacock is a meaningless brand outside the US. Nobody > has a clue who they are, or why it's named after a bird that was kept by > wealthy aristocrats. But then NBC's global presence is largely limited to a > financial business channel, because even though viewers throughout the > world know NBC shows, they're not branded as such (Friends is Warners etc). > > WBD is going to have to spend sooooo much money explaining who they are to > consumers when they already had two perfectly good brands that already > explained that. Their rivals will be scratching their heads wondering at > the madness of it all. "HBO" already has lots of value globally. Game of > Thrones on its own is enough to say "We make TV you want to watch" globally > - no more, no less. Throw in something like "Euphoria" and I think you're > done. > > Similarly, "Discovery" is another decades old brand which instantly tells > you what you need to know about its programming. Why any marketing person > would want to ditch those powerful brands is beyond me. All their marketing > is going to have to have to explain it all over again to consumers. I mean > unless they're going to pivot entirely on what they make, and for all the > cuts that WBD is making, I don't think Zaslov actually wants to do that. > > Also, I'd be amazed if they don't run into IP issues with the name "Max" > all over the world because it's such a simple name, and there will be > dozens of businesses in overlapping areas. There definitely *will* be > territories where they simply can't use it - at least unless they start > writing massive cheques. > > > Adam > > > On Wed, Dec 7, 2022 at 3:17 PM PGage <[email protected]> wrote: > >> So I have heard different takes on this; those who are saying Zas is >> getting rid of HBO are, I think, clearly wrong. HBO will still exist as a >> premium cable channel that can also be streamed, but the name HBO will no >> longer be included in Warner Brothers Discovery Streaming Hub site, which >> is on track to being called simply “Max.” That is the sacrifice of >> significant brand awareness. >> >> The fact that Discovery doesn’t want the HBO brand on its signature >> mothership tells us everything we need to know about WBD. Whether still >> deserved or not the HBO brand signifies quality programming; but WBD’s >> brand is cheap, mass appeal, not elite quality. They are McDonald’s, not >> French Laundry. And, of course, as much money as Thomas Keller makes, I’m >> sure it’s not a major fraction of what McDonald’s clears every year. >> >> Still, if the French Laundry was purchased by Macdonald’s, and they >> forced customers to walk into a local McDonald’s to make reservations at >> the French Laundry, a lot of folks would be irritated. >> >> ======= >> >> “The merged platform’s expected name, “Max,” is being vetted by the >> company’s lawyers, according to people familiar with the matter… >> >> The app itself will share similarities with Disney+’s platform, with >> Warner Bros. Discovery’s brands as individual tiles, the people said. HBO, >> Discovery, DC Comics and Warner Bros. will be among the landing hubs on the >> platform, the people added.” >> >> >> https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/warner-bros-discovery-max-streaming-service-name.html >> >> -- >> Sent from Gmail Mobile >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "TVorNotTV" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYL98tsT_-tPi%3Du%3DkTS_WPWw-gDWPdm8nHQ%3Db3kCnojkyg%40mail.gmail.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAKGtkYL98tsT_-tPi%3Du%3DkTS_WPWw-gDWPdm8nHQ%3Db3kCnojkyg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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