From breaking news to breaking through
Despite a storied history, CBS Philadelphia was struggling to stand out locally. We helped them craft a brand strategy and a breakthrough brand identity with the power to win the hearts and minds of all who call Philly home.
Winning new viewers in a major market is tough, especially when audiences develop deep connections with specific stations and anchors early in their lives. Even with a strong internal culture and a unique perspective on local news, CBS Philadelphia wasn’t standing out, especially for young viewers. Together, we developed a strategy rooted in the organization’s ability to inform, connect, and represent the surrounding community in an authentic way—a promise made possible by the team’s deep local ties.
Competing news organizations all promise the same thing: the truth, and quickly. To stand out, CBS Philadelphia adopted a positioning statement that added humanity to the mix, captured in a new core message: “Finding heart in every beat.” The message is a promise to invested locals and a call-to-action for the team, establishing a station-wide perspective to unite the group behind a singular vision.
The evolved visual identity is rooted in the same idea of “heart,” creating a brand capable of capturing the energy and humanity of the station’s new position. The system is deliberately designed to connect with the CBS News master brand without getting lost in the shuffle, powered by a familiar Philly shade of green that sets CBS Philadelphia apart from the local news competition.
