NEW DELHI: With an eye on aggressively driving advertising revenues and viewership, National Geographic Channel (NGC) today launched its new channel positioning 'Think Again' in India as part of its global repositioning campaign.
"The new NGC is bolder, more contemporary and about entertaining the curious mind," NGC International senior vice president, creative and marketing, Guy Slattery, told a press conference here today.
On cue, NGC Network India head of ad sales Nikhil Mirchandani said that the channel's aim is to push advertising revenue up by 200 per cent by the end of June 2006. NGC follows a July-June financial year.
Though Mirchandani demurred from handing out other financial details, he did admit that the new brand positioning, coupled with some other initiatives, has yielded NGC dividends globally.
"The channel now needs to address the challenges of converting first-time advertiser experiences into longer-term relationships as well as broad basing its appeal to an even larger set of advertisers," he added.
The programming too will be in tune with the new positioning and will cater to the "knowledge seeker" who is curious about the world. It stems from the channel's need to continuously stay relevant to its viewers.
The positioning will ensure that NGC maintains its mission to "promote knowledge of the world and all that's in it," while becoming more entertaining and engaging.
"Television language is changing and it's different than (that used for) print," Slattery said, adding that the channel is conscious of this fact and also the need to be entertaining and engaging.
The programming on the new NGC deals with issues that impact people's daily lives ---- from SARS, bird flu, mad cow disease to AIDS and small pox, from mega cities, mega structures to technological advancement in the field of crime and crime management.
"The new programming on NGC today is more relevant, more topical and more relatable (by viewers)," Dilshad Master, senior vice president, content and communication said, "Our aim is to retain the historic essence of National Geographic as we grow in the direction of our viewer's interests and needs."
The line-up includes series such as Nat Geo Investigates, In the Womb, Ultimate Survivor and new episodes of Megastructures, Frontlines of Construction, ShowReal Asia and Taboo. The Channel is also premiering 'Deep Jungle Week' which examines how new technology and scientific ingenuity is revealing secrets of the world's endangered rainforests.
The new on-air graphic elements also feature light and vibrant effects. To promote the new look and feel, the channel is also rolling on-air IDs and advertising spots based on the 'Think again' theme. The IDs and spots communicate the theme 'Think again' in a way that is not only smart, innovative, entertaining but also humorous.
Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC US, which is a joint venture of NGT&F and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in over 230 million homes (including day-part households) in 153 countries and 27 languages.
