National Geographic goes 'Further' with global rebrand

This builds on last year’s expanded joint venture with 21st Century Fox and cements National Geographic’s position, as a leader in premium content with an unparalleled global reach.

Gretel NY developed the rebrand with National Geographic senior VP brand strategy and marketing, Emanuele Madeddu and VP of brand Mariano Barreiro, under the direction of CEO Courteney Monroe. For Gretel, Greg Hahn is founder/CEO, Ryan Moore is creative director, Caleb Halter is art director, Amber Kusmenko is senior animator and Shane Dolly is producer.

Across all aspects

The rebrand will touch every aspect of National Geographic (at both the for-profit National Geographic Partners and the non-profit National Geographic Society), including the visual presentation of the global channels in 171 countries, the iconic magazine, nationalgeographic.com, all of the company’s social and digital platforms and the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC.

Embracing the company’s purpose to be the leading premium content destination for science, exploration and adventure, ‘Further’ captures the aspirations of its audience and serves as a rallying cry for its employees, explorers, photographers, producers and other constituencies, as well as a promise to advertisers, affiliates, educators and other external partners.

“A year ago we combined all of our content platforms into one company, establishing a global reach for our brand, which touches over 730 million consumers every month,” said Declan Moore, CEO, National Geographic Partners. “Now, as we reimagine our business for the 21st century, this rebrand — the largest in our history, and possibly the largest of any integrated media company — reinforces to consumers and the marketplace, with a singular vision, the power of the brand, as well as the visually spectacular nature of our storytelling across every platform.”

“It allows us to cement National Geographic in the minds of consumers, whether the magazine, the channels or the society,” added Gary E Knell, president and CEO, National Geographic Society. “Through our support of explorers, adventurers, scientists, educators, photographers and other storytellers, we aim to build a worldwide, public community of learners and I cannot think of anything that encompasses our mission better than the idea of ‘Further.’”

Rebrand coincides with Mars premiere

National Geographic will now share one unifying brand logo across all of its media platforms. As part of this effort, the network will also drop the word ‘Channel’ from all on-air and off-air extensions across 440 million households in 171 countries and 45 languages. The rebrand will coincide with the global event series premiere of Mars, the epic story of mankind’s thrilling quest to colonise Mars, from executive producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard on Monday, 14 November 2016 at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT in the US (globally November 13). The initial phase of the network’s rebrand design covers all aspects of National Geographic.

On the channel, the campaign includes a new distinctive on-air look, brand IDs, brand animations and talent IDs, featuring talent including Jason Silva (Brain Games, Origins), Neil deGrasse Tyson (StarTalk) and Richard Bacon (explorer), as well as explorers and photographers. The network has also unveiled a new brand anthem and slate spot timed to the rebrand.

The magazine has redesigned its cover, with a renewed focus on the iconic imagery National Geographic is known for, beginning with the November Mars issue. The website and all digital and social channels will also relaunch 14 November, reflecting the new design. In addition, the National Geographic headquarters in Washington, DC will be outfitted with imagery from the new campaign outside the museum and inside the offices.

In the beginning of 2017, the rebrand will evolve to include a ‘Further’ section in National Geographic magazine, a ‘Further’ web series and more consumer-facing activations will be announced.