Colors to rebrand ETV regional channels

The recently acquired ETV channels are being rebranded by Viacom18 to Colors to strengthen their identities in the regional market.

Starting from Sunday 22nd March, the five regional general entertainment channels – ETV Gujarati, ETV Marathi, ETV Bangla, ETV Kannada and ETV Oriya will drop the “ETV” prefix and replacing it with the “Colors” brand. The cluster of channels will also see the introduction of new programmes.

“The new regional programming lineups have been evolved to suit the socio-cultural ethos of the respective regional markets. We will bring alive the rebranding of the regional general entertainment channel cluster through enhanced packaging and an integrated marketing approach. The revelation of the new brand identity of each of the five regional channels has been staggered across a period of two months starting March 3. It is scheduled to coincide with regional festivals that mark new beginnings,” Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, said in a statement.

“Rebranding will increase the viewership footprint of Colors, which is important, thus extending our brand in the regional space was the most logical way forward. Also from the viewer�۪s perspective, ETV has a heritage, loyalty and trust. However the channel started 15 years back and the viewers of ETV have aged with the channel. It is therefore important that we get a reappraisal of the channel and get the youngsters in,” said Vats.

Campaigns for each regional brand will leverage the distinct flavour of the corresponding state or region through region specific events and onground activations involving popular local influencers. The campaign will run for approximately four to five weeks, beginning with Colors Marathi on 22nd March, coinciding with the Maharashtrian New Year – Gudi Padwa.