by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice's video streamer Showmax is undergoing the third brand
change in its 9-year existence – keeping the "Showmax" name after
consumer-testing 100 new names but changing colours as it switches to a
new ombré-infrared infused livery as
it gets ready to now go red-to-red with biggest rival Netflix..
For the relaunch of its video streaming service using the platform of Comcast NBCUniversal's Peacock streamer, MultiChoice was willing to change everything - even the name - and tested a hundred other brand names to possibly replace Showmax.
In the end, the decision was made to keep the Showmax name as a brand.
"We had to make sure that the brand delivering streaming for Africa was fit for purpose - just like we did the platform and content," explains Yatish Narsi, Showmax chief marketing officer (CMO) of the new Showmax which will officially switch to its new look on 23 January.
Gone from next month will be the little pink and turquoise "double lane" stripes, somewhat reminiscent of BMW's three streaks, replaced by a red-worded logo and a diced "x" at the end which is also utilised as a profile avatar within the app.
The new-look red pink-orange Showmax will now go head-to-head and red-to-red with the global streamer Netflix which, together with Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, is gobbling up subscribers across sub-Saharan Africa and jointly represents a big existential threat to MultiChoice's traditional pay-TV service.
The new Showmax logo brand colour palette incorporates the colours of red pink (FF0055) and an orange shade (FF8242), as well as black (FF031124), with the Showmax-word using the red pink and orange as a "red pink-orange" gradient.
The new Showmax font uses an extra-bold, small-caps version of the Nunito font, a font described as a "well-balanced sans serif typeface".
"What we had to do was test this. We tested it across every market. What was really rewarding for us as a team ... what we needed it to do was work with a really wide array of content - from international general entertainment to local stuff and then the English Premier League (EPL) in your pocket. So you need a brand system that could respond to all of these," Narsi explains.
"In testing, 80% of customers tested preferred the rebrand and said this is the route that we should take. We tested everything from the existing brand exactly as it was, to a hundred new names that could scale across the continent. Multiple combination names. This is the one that was actually chosen by our customers."
"Again, it's just testament to the philosophy of the team going forward - everything from the product, to the content, to the brand. These are not decisions we take lightly, they are not decisions we make for ourselves. All of these are made with our customers front and centre," Narsi says.
"I really hope that when you interact with the product, you can feel how that brand sits in the palm of your hand, or in your TV, capturing the products you love."
