New York -- Courtroom Television Network will launch its
biggest-ever branding campaign next week, backed by a $10 million marketing budget.
Lee Hunt Associates created the new "thumbprint"
logo for the network -- which will make its debut on TV spots next week -- along with the
tag line, "Inside Crime, Inside Justice."
"This is the first time in the [seven-year] history of
Court TV that we're announcing a new look and feel," said Henry Schleiff,
president and CEO of Court TV. "What we're shouting with the thumbprint is that
it's really Court TV's imprint in the area of crime and justice, which is the
area that we really want to be associated with."
According to Schleiff, recent attention to the genre by
broadcast-network newsmagazine shows like Dateline, 60 Minutes and 48
Hours has helped to corroborate Court TV's crime-and-justice programming
strategy.
Schleiff said the network would run high-profile
programming next week in conjunction with the campaign's rollout. Included during
primetime are four original documentaries devoted to some of history's most notorious
serial killers.
The $10 million will buy national and local TV spots; radio
commercials in the top 35 markets; and trade and consumer print ads. Changes in the
network's logo and slogan will be carried over Court TV's web site (www.courttv.com).
Schleiff said the network wanted to make sure that it took
advantage of the "extremely high brand recognition" that it already enjoys, and
to overcome any concern about the narrowness of its focus.
Court TV is building on the foundation of its live,
gavel-to-gavel daytime programming with primetime shows like Homicide: Life in the City
and weekend movies including 12 Angry Men.
"Our household ratings are up a record 200 percent to
300 percent since January," Schleiff said.
Court TV has about 33.5 million cable and direct-broadcast
satellite subscribers.
