Nikos Georgópoulos

In July 1969, thousands of Athenians watched the first moon landing because the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) organised a pan Athenian live transmission. In April 1974, Greece competed in the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time with Marinella’s song ‘Wine, sea and my boyfriend’ following ERT’s submission.

In 2019, following a new programming strategy and change of direction, ERT was looking at relaunching its visual identity across all its brands with a view to revitalising its reputation amid growing competition from the country’s commercial networks. As such, the objective was to create a modern and dynamic visual identity aiming at positioning the Broadcaster as a forward-thinking, exciting and diverse brand while also reflecting its rich heritage and new dynamic role that it seeks to play nationally and internationally.

What we realised was that ERT’s brand was inextricably linked to extraordinary accomplishments that every Greek should be proud of. Yet, not many people were aware of these accomplishments. Our strategic ambition was to position the new brand where it belonged – in our hearts. By focusing on the idea that ERT ‘was always here’, we pitched to create the new brand identity, station idents and advertising, proposing a solution that draws upon ERT’s hidden archives. The new logo and colour palette is a contemporary interpretation of ERT’s original branding from the 70s while we introduced an accent on the ‘E’ suggesting that the logo is not initials but a solid brand. The station idents for each channel is a collage of new footage and archival material, illustrating the notion that the brand’s rich heritage is in constant interaction with contemporary culture.