BIGSMACK Creates Brand Campaign For National Geographic International

Creative Boutique Unveils “This Is Who We Are” for TV Image, On-Air, Print, Online and Viral Stunts

Even the most established networks need the occasional brand reboot. Such is the case of National Geographic International, who came to BIGSMACK, the full-service creative agency specializing in entertainment marketing and production, to create not just a new tagline for the global network, but a new attitude. The company responded with the tagline ''This Is Who We Are'' – a bold, declarative statement about the network and how it wants to be perceived by viewers. 

In addition to the tagline development, BIGSMACK helped Nat Geo International bring it to life by creating launch campaigns for the upcoming season’s new programming, including Drugs, Inc., The Indestructibles, and Brain Games.

In fact, the premiere of Brain Games led to the network’s highest primetime ratings since its broadcast of George W. Bush: The 9/11 Interview in late August. That campaign was also created by BIGSMACK and Nat Geo, which became Nat Geo’s highest rated primetime telecast in the network’s history.

''They wanted something that could act as an exclamation point to the aggressive new programming they have on the horizon,'' Andy Hann, BIGSMACK’s Head Creative says. ''So we pitched some pretty bold ideas.'' 

Hann notes;  ''The new tag works double duty as a button at the end of each spot to take ownership of the Nat Geo International content, but also as a larger declarative statement for the viewer to participate in that ownership. This is Who We Are as a network, and This is Who We Are as a viewer.''

The new tagline will be seen around the world on all of National Geographic International’s TV, print, online and experiential branding.

''We worked together to establish the new brand statement, it was a collaborative effort with a great client,'' Hann adds. ''This new direction will be seen around the world in all of National Geographic International’s marketing efforts. It gives the brand the significance and weight it deserves, and makes a bold claim that few other brands can make. We wanted to give them a new personality -- a new way of talking to their audience that is more lighthearted and energetic. “This is certainly not the same National Geographic you read in the dentist’s office when you were a kid!''