The Comedy Central Rebrand

In 2011 we had a problem at Comedy Central. Ratings were slowly declining and our research staff had discovered that our fans were now getting their comedy content from a variety of new media sources. In addition, our audience, already at the forefront of social networking, was now both sharing and commenting on comedy content in ways we had never envisioned. As a result for the first time, our fans became true “curators” of what was funny in their lives (and the lives of their friends).

But there was something even more concerning than the new competition and the new consumer behavior. Our data was revealing that when our content did get shared, Comedy Central, the brand, rarely got credit. It became clear that our entire relationship with our fans had to dramatically change: as a brand, it was time to take a step back, reconnect with our fans, and look to the emerging new digital and social channels (not traditional "TV") as our true inspiration.

This reality check inspired us to rethink EVERYTHING about our brand’s voice, look, feel—even our logo. It helped us to refocus our energies and ensure that our unique content was not only available to our audience on every new platform, but—most importantly—that it was consistently and clearly branded in all of our promotions—literally stamped with our CC seal of approval. This was the catalyst for the “re-engagement” of the Comedy Central brand.