Cable channel SciFi becomes Syfy in rebranding campaign

by Staff, Brand Republic 16-Mar-09, 14:20

NEW YORK - The Sci Fi Channel has today renamed its offering Syfy in a re-branding exercise that seeks to distinguish the channel from competitors and help with applying for a trademark.

It is hoped that the cable channel, which is part of NBC Universal, will do better on the Nielsen ratings service once its name differs visually from 75 others with a version of the name 'Sci Fi'. The channel's website is also going to be renamed as syfy.com.

The channel's logo will lose its image of the planet Saturn and instead get a simple, block-writing logo with the new slogan "Imagine Greater" printed underneath.

Bosses say the change to the 17-year-old name allows them to trademark the brand, something they couldn't do when working under the name Sci-Fi.

Bonnie Hammer, the former president of Sci Fi who is now the president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions, said: "We couldn't own Sci Fi -- it's a genre. But we can own Syfy."

It is also hoped that Syfy will change viewers preconceptions. Dave Howe, president of the channel, said: "If you ask people their default perceptions of Sci Fi, they list space, aliens and the future.

"That didn’t capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment: the paranormal, the supernatural, action and adventure, superheroes."

The Syfy name became free last month when Quantum Global Media rebranded its Syfy Portal website to Airlock Alpha. The Syfy brand name was sold on to an undisclosed party.

Comments

John Nelson - 16/03/2009

Well now, I can't believe they paid an agency gobs of money to come up with "syfy". If they are looking to build equity in a rebrand, they'll have none with this. It says nothing - in fact is says much less then the original brand of sci fi - what is really curious is if they were looking to establish themselves beyond the scifi genre, as mentioned of wanting to "capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment" they have miserably failed in that endeavor. I suspect 12-18 months from now, the relationship with Landor Associates will end, as this rebranding exercise will be the butt of jokes.

sue turner - 18/03/2009

Yet another tawdry phonetic moniker. Are they so desperate to get down-wiv-tha-kids? Have they been listening to the bods who claim that there's nothing wrong with text speak and that it will/should replace the Queen's own? No wonder they can't spell.