Art Directors' Club :: Concrete Pictures' Jeff Boortz
by Bill Haley, 1 Oct 2006

ADCP is the second-oldest Art Directors' Club in America, but ADCP is not just for Art Directors. It's for everyone in the Philadelphia creative community who wants to take their works to new heights. Find out more at www.adcp.org.

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On September 21, Concrete Pictures president Jeff Boortz spoke to a packed house for the Art Directors' Club of Philadelphia. The event took place at Lucy's Hat Shop in Old City.

Bala Cynwyd-based Concrete Pictures (www.concretepictures.com) has gained national acclaim for its wildly creative broadcast branding work. Clients include the Discovery Channel, Science Channel and Military Channel.

Besides broadcast branding, on-air promotion and strategy, Concrete Pictures has extensive experience in producing motion graphics and interactive media as well as branded, live-action and long-form content. Boortz describes his company as a "creative agency and multiplatform production company." Representing "the next generation in creative media companies," Concrete Pictures has expanded across traditional industry boundaries to overcome the challenges facing its clients while identifying and seizing other new opportunities in today's rapidly growing home entertainment environment.

Boortz brings impressive credentials to the table. A pioneer in promotion, he has spent more than two decades designing for and promoting brands within the entertainment industry. Boortz's artistic vision has been instrumental in the successful launches of several television networks and cable providers in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia. Boortz has personally designed and produced concept-to-completion brand expressions: marketing strategies, positioning documents, on-air packaging and promotional campaigns. He is also an independent film producer and director. The recipient of two Emmy Awards and "Best of Show" accolades from the Broadcast Designers Association (BDA), Boortz received an M.A. in Film Production from USC Film School and his B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Boortz presented a case study detailing his company's recent re-branding of the Travel Channel. Concrete Pictures' creative process, he explained, includes five stages: Discover, Explore, Design, Produce and Post. The goals for the Travel Channel included building on the brand position of "travel advocate" and speaking to the "travel impassioned" viewer. Strategically, the re-branding needed to reflect the evolving "broadcast" landscape, including Video on Demand, mobile devices, Tivo, Broadband TV, iTunes, YouTube, Vcast, Slingbox and more. The Travel Channel needed to establish "a multi-platform advertiser-friendly environment in order to thrive in an increasingly cluttered and complex media landscape."

Interestingly, a key recommendation was to drop the word "Channel" from the Travel Channel. As Boortz explained, doing so made the name an activity, rather than a descriptor. Instead of being a destination, it would become a call to action.

The company developed a series of logo redesigns, including sub-brands for Travel Online and Travel Mobile. The first round was comprised of 13 variations. The final logo was distilled in subsequent rounds and then extended to multiple platforms.

Next, brand tone and manner were established, using statements such as "As A Fellow Traveler we are restless. Our curiosity knows no bounds and we are always open to new experiences."

From there, the "Real Personal" creative platform was established. Through a first-person point of view, the brand would "assume the identity of a fellow traveler and move through the world the way people do. The view will be familiar to anyone who has stared out the window of a plane or walked barefoot into a pristine ocean."

On-air IDs and promos began to take shape in the form of photo montages. Interstitials for specific programs such as World Poker Tour and Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations were developed. This included a "Now, Next, Later" promo strategy intended to flow viewership from one program into the next.

Ultimately, Concrete Pictures produced this multitude of elements and today they comprise the re-branded Travel channel. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. "Concrete Pictures is really on the mark with our audiences," said Dave Falcone, Vice President/Creative Director of Marketing for Discovery Networks. "From the subtlest stylistic logo components to complete 30-second ad packages, they have been able to provide targeted branding that speaks directly to [our] channel's core demographics."

For information on upcoming Art Directors' Club of Philadelphia events, visit www.adcp.org.

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