Philo has unveiled a brand refresh that leans into its reputation as a cost-conscious streaming television service, while also spotlighting its free, ad-supported and core premium content offerings.
On Tuesday, the company announced a partnership with brand studio and production company Sibling Rivalry on new character-driven spots and a new tagline that reminds customers that Philo is “a better way to watch TV.”
At a time when the television landscape is becoming increasingly fractured, Philo aims to remind fans of entertainment, lifestyle and knowledge-based programming that they can have it all with a core package of more than 70 premium networks and a growing roster of 90-plus free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels, all without breaking the bank.
The brand refresh started last month with an update to Philo’s logo, which also brought about a refreshed user interface on the company’s phone, tablet and streaming TV apps. The pact with Sibling Rivalry also includes the development of character-driven TV, radio and digital spots that will mark Philo as a central destination for all kinds of TV content.
Wallet-conscious streaming service @PhiloTV has unveiled its brand identity refresh, which started with a new word mark and UI improvements, and evolved to include a new tagline and promotional spots. https://t.co/Iw8ANfWVKe pic.twitter.com/nVWbXkw4yj
— TheDesk.net (@TheDeskDotNet) October 1, 2024
“At a time when there has never been fiercer competition for the attention of audiences, the need to have a strong brand point of view that expresses not only what you offer, but who you are as a company, has never been more important,” Matt Stein, the Head of Brand and Creative Strategy at Philo, said in a statement early Tuesday morning.
Central to the brand campaign is that the TV viewing experience should be joyful — not one that involves an endless search through apps and guides for something to watch.
“Our goal was to clarify and amplify what makes Philo so special, setting the stage for the company’s continued growth as an entertainment brand,” Bo Bishop, the Executive Director of Creative Strategy at Sibling Rivalry, said on Tuesday.
Part of the challenge was figuring out how to leverage Philo’s different offerings: In addition to its core premium cable networks that come from partners like Paramount Global, A+E Networks and AMC Networks and its cultivated roster of FAST channels, Philo also offers tens of thousands of TV episodes and movies through a robust on-demand catalog, to include titles from its linear channels and Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Crackle.
The complexity of choice is reimagined as a key element that provides Philo strength over its competitors — there’s always something to watch, and at a price that won’t break the bank. Philo’s core programming package costs just $28 per month and includes access to the ad-supported tier of AMC Plus; its FAST channels are available to view without a subscription.
“The advantage was very clear to me — they’re the only service offering all these convenient, intuitive ways to watch what you love,” Bishop said.
Philo is leaning hard into its new brand identity. At a tour of its San Francisco office last week, The Desk witnessed the new Philo wordmark on a back wall, surrounded by the whimsical illustrations that have now been incorporated into its connected TV apps. The digital displays in the conference room also utilize the font and color scheme of the new Philo brand identity. Even the coffee mugs that line the wall of the open-space kitchen have the new logo.
While Sibling Rivalry helped with the brand refresh, the new wordmark and accompanying illustrations were all drawn by Philo’s in-house creative team. “It’s the visual manifestation of how we think TV should feel,” Stein said in a blog post published on Tuesday.
The characters are meant to help Philo come across as a “TV fan talking to other TV fans,” Sibling Rivalry’s Executive Creative Director & Partner Lauren Hartstone said on Tuesday.
“Where traditional streaming can have a technical, dry feel, we wanted Philo to feel like a brand that gets you, with a little bit of humor and fun,” Hartstone remarked.
Everything about the new brand campaign better positions Philo for its future growth opportunities, and reflects the overall mission of delivering good TV content to great customers, Stein said, adding that “developing the brand campaign and new visual identity has been a labor of love, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome, and how it reflects our core values while setting the stage for all the good stuff to come.”
