Radio is back...anytime now...
Ask a kid in 2050 about radio and you'll probably get a blank stare. Once seen as a technological marvel, now seemingly redundant in a visual-hungry world, radio stations struggle to attract enough young listeners to keep the stations running. Recently, 99.5FM, one of the few radio stations aimed at millennials, closed shop for consistently failing to meet audience size expectations.
With this current situation in the radio industry, why did 938LIVE rebrand itself, going to lengths of even changing its name?
With this current situation in the radio industry, why did 938LIVE rebrand itself, going to lengths of even changing its name?
About 938Now
"938NOW is Singapore’s first and only news, information and music radio station for the professionals, managers, executives and business people who want to be kept abreast with the latest while on the go. 938NOW will feature current affairs, business and financial news, and trends on health, wellness, food, lifestyle, travel, entertainment, technology, parenting and education."In short, this station is the radio version of Channel NewsAsia.
Goodbye, Chat Bubble
A few weeks back, I was looking through the past and present local radio station logos and realised that 938LIVE's logo looked stunning.
Nothing fancy here, just a clever idea which was nicely executed, creating this effortless design. Despite being a relatively old logo, it held its own against the newer logos from other stations. Truly a timeless logo, but I can't say the same for the other radio station logos, or this logo's successor.
 |
| Too much green, but other than that, great example of brand application using the chat bubble (Source) |
Hello, Quotation Mark
Replacing the chat bubble as the star of the logo would be the '9', which resembles a quotation mark. Not the most obvious reference, as I would not have figured out had 938's Daniel Martin not mention it on Facebook Live during the launch party.
 |
| The '9' is versatile enough to be an 'O' as well. Not sure if it's a good thing. |
 |
| Daniel Martin mentioned that we would be seeing more of the quotation mark soon. I hope so - a pattern made up of this logo alone is not the way to go! |
Comparing the previous logo with the current one, the current one looks messier. 1 way to make the logo parts fit with one another is to make the 'W' tighter, to match the tall, condensed characters in the logo. The 'O' in 'NOW' should be made bigger; it appears smaller due to visual perception, which also contributes to the overpowering 'W'.
At around the 0:26 mark, you can listen to the station introduction, done by a robot. Autobots, it's time to transform and roll out!
 |
| Yeah, the 9 reminds me of a leaf blower |
Slogan
Perhaps the best thing which happened during the rebrand was the new slogan.
938LIVE's slogan was 'gets you talking', which was probably as effective as Talking Point - not many people were talking about the topics discussed on the radio programmes/TV show. It was ambitious to have such a slogan, but it just did not resonate with the people.
938LIVE's slogan was 'gets you talking', which was probably as effective as Talking Point - not many people were talking about the topics discussed on the radio programmes/TV show. It was ambitious to have such a slogan, but it just did not resonate with the people.
The new slogan is exactly what 938Now is about. Well, 'In the Know, On the Go' can also describe a social media site, but still, it is a good fit for the station. Why scroll and read when you can just relax and listen?
So Why Rebrand?
As millennials begin to take on full-time jobs, 938Now hopes they would listen to the station for news and business updates, sprinkled with a healthy dose of lifestyle (work-life balance is a priority for young job seekers, ahem). They are simply competing for a space in your car, via your car's radio.
In order for that to happen, they shake things up. 938Now's current programmes are more tailored towards the young adult demographic, and they brought in new radio presenters to sweeten the deal.
This is a rare case where 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' does not apply. The previous logo might be alright, but Mediacorp believes that the history attached to it is neglecting a potential group of loyal listeners. By giving this station a facelift, younger listeners might just give this station a shot.
Who knows what the future of radio in Singapore would be like. But one thing is for sure - if there is a time when radio needs our support, it's definitely now.
CONVERSATION