Dallas-based public television and radio station KERA revealed its new branding image on Jan. 24, immediately preceding the latest episode of Downton Abbey on KERA TV.
The new look is part of a rebranding and audience development campaign the not-for-profit public media organization has designed with creative agency Commerce House of Dallas.
KERA’s family of brands includes KERA TV, KERA FM, KXT 91.7 and Art&Seek.
“This is a bold campaign that will allow KERA to connect with new audiences like never before, while deepening our relationship with those who already love what we do,” said Mary Anne Alhadeff, president and CEO of KERA.
For more than 55 years, KERA has been home to programs that inform, engage and entertain. Serving the fifth-largest media market in the United States, KERA reaches a weekly audience of 2 million people through its TV, radio and digital platforms. The new brand is a culmination of a two-year process of audience research, testing and design, and it comes on the heels of the 10th anniversary of Alhadeff. Since joining KERA, Alhadeff has overseen the launch of KXT, one of the most-listened-to AAA stations in the country, added a dedicated arts wing with Art&Seek and significantly expanded KERA News’ local reporting.
KERA’s new logo resembles a speech bubble, suggesting a dialogue through which viewers and listeners can connect and engage.
KERA’s audio identity also has been refreshed with a new mnemonic that will be used to connect programs on KERA FM, as well as new musical themes for KERA News and Art&Seek. Local musicians performed each musical element.
The refreshed brand, which includes a new tagline, “Go Public,” includes print, digital, outdoor and cross-channel advertising as well as placement on DART trains and buses.
In 2015, KERA earned 24 regional and national awards for outstanding journalism. The honors include the esteemed Peabody Award, which recognized KERA’s contribution to NPR’s coverage of the Ebola outbreak. KERA also earned six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, including KERA’s first-ever award for Overall Excellence among large radio stations in Texas and Oklahoma. Additionally, KERA’s One Crisis Away series won an inaugural national award from Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) and the National Endowment for Financial Education.
For more information and to see the new look of KERA, visit kera.org.