[GR604] TLC: Visual Strategy Guide [Student Project]

Visual Strategy Guide

Visual Strategy Guide

Our mission is to connect communities of curious minds and create lifelong learning possibilities

Keywords:

Growth: Becoming Brighter

1. The process of developing or maturing physically, mentally, or spiritually; 2. Progressive development; 3. Development from a simpler to a more complex stage

Potential: Full of Possibilities

1. The chance or possibility that something will develop and become real; 2. Latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and can lead to future success or usefulness; 3. The innate ability in every person to live and perform in alignment with their highest self

Interactive: Building Connections

1. Allowing a two-way flow of information, ideas, and messages; 2. Involving the actions or input of a user

Exploration: Searching for Knowledge

1. The activity of searching and finding out information about something; 2. The action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it

Table of Contents

Section .01

Brand Overview

The Appalachian Experiment

The Learning Channel began in the 1960s, deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains…

What was most especially apparent was that the ARC project filled a community need not otherwise easily met. –

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION, 1982

Appalachia has historically lagged behind the rest of the country in most metrics (economics, education, etc.) and became the target of a federal financial assistance program. The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was established to boost access to health and educational services.

Meanwhile, NASA began its own efforts to expand technology usage for public good. In 1972, NASA joined forces with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to test the feasibility of using a satellite to broadcast education and health information. From the collaboration began the massive education technology undertaking: the Education Satellite Communication Demonstration (ESCD).

ARC submitted a proposal to take part in the ESCD and use the technology to disseminate career education to Appalachian teachers.

The educational objectives of the experiment included:

+ Expand satellite delivery capability to more rural teachers in career education training courses

+ Design and implement career and occupational courses that will prepare rural Appalachian teachers to be more effective

+ Demonstrate the feasibility of providing teachers with the necessary comprehensive inservice education to improve classroom techniques

+ Test the effectiveness of two-way inter-connective communication between the RESAs and University via satellite

In 1980, the Appalachian Community Service Network (ACSN) acquired the network, taking it out of the public sector, and renamed the network The Learning Channel. Geared towards an inquisitive, but narrow audience, the network maintained modest ratings.

At its peak, The Learning Channel provided a six hour daily block of commercial-free children’s’ programming, as well as adult educational shows and an assortment of documentaries. Ross Bagwell, whose Ross Television Productions worked with the network in its earlier days, once stated, “The Learning Channel started out as an educational tool that was shown in the classrooms.”

Making the channel public extended the walls of the classroom to anywhere viewers had cable access. Now, curious minds could learn about far corners of the world from the comfort of their living room. The aptly named Community Service Network wanted to fill the community need in rural areas for better learning resources. The Learning Channel extended that access to communities across the country. All ages had something to gain from tuning in to The Learning Channel.

The Discovery Downfall

On a crisp winter day in 1991, The Learning Channel was bought by the Discovery Channel Network…

After being bought by Discovery, in the mid-1990s, the network started to branch out to a larger audience with popular reality shows “Medical Detectives” and “Home Savvy.” This proved to be a good business decision with the rising public interest in reality shows. The Learning Channel rebranded itself as TLC in 1998 and removed the educational content.

MARCH 9,

1965

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) founded with the initiative to boost access to education services

EARLY 1972

The Office of Education provided ARC with a $45,000 grant to investigate “fruitful areas for communication satellite experimentation”

1970

ARC established RESA (Regional Educational Services Agencies) in isolated areas to provide inservice training programs

SUMMER 1974

Appalachian Educational Satellite Project broadcast closed circuit inservice training for K-6 teachers

DECEMBER 1972

The National Center for Educational Technology and National Institute of Education approved a 30 month test satellite project

1982

ACSN achieved the fastest rate of growth of all basic cable programs

OCTOBER 1980

Appalachian Community Service Network (ACSN) broadcast free programming directly to public cable

JANUARY 1, 1984

ACSN shortened the network name to The Learning Channel

1985 TO 1991

The Learning Channel aired for six years, geared toward an inquisitive and narrow audience with generally modest ratings

FEBRUARY 15, 1991

Discovery bought The Learning Channel from ACSN

1992

Discovery shortened the name of the channel to TLC, but maintains “The Learning Channel” below the logo

OCTOBER 26, 1992

TLC began airing a daily six-hour block of educational children’s programming called Ready, Set, Learn

APRIL 23, 1996

TLC premiered it’s first venture in reality programming: Medical Detectives

1998

The Discovery Channel removed “The Learning Channel” from the logo

MARCH 27, 2006

TLC launched a rebrand campaign that wanted to shift away from decorating shows and reality programming

SEPTEMBER 26, 2008

The Discovery Networks moved the last Ready, Set, Learn program to the Discovery Kids channel

JULY 2014

TLC launched a promotional campaign building on a focus of personal stories and family life

2022

The Learning Channel began work on a new rebranding initiative

EARLY 2008

TLC launched a new imaging campaign that shifts the focus to personal stories

NOVEMBER 14, 2010

Considered by many to be the “point of no return” for TLC’s reality program future, Sarah Palin’s Alaska premiered

2018

Following a reality show scandal, TLC turned back to home design programming with a Trading Spaces revival

Tagline Development

The evolution of taglines shows an interesting progression of The Learning Channel’s downfall…

A Place for Learning Minds

1980 The Smartest Choice on Cable

1984

From Channel to Company

The Learning Channel is renewing it’s focus on bringing lifelong learning to communities of curious minds and rebranding itself as The (new-but-familiar) Learning Company…

The Learning Channel is rebranding itself to focus on making connections and fostering curiosity in communities. The Learning Channel hopes to provide support and resources for communities to take learning into their own hands. Like the NASA satellites, the ultimate goal is to establish a two-way flow of information that creates collaboration and feedback.

Far from its days as a television channel, The Learning Channel wants to get people out of their comfort zone and immersed in learning. The Learning Channel wants its audience to know that lessons and mistakes are both moments of learning. Getting dirty and making mistakes in the learning process is half of the fun!

Removed from the television, The Learning Channel found the opportunity to re-envision itself and expand beyond an antiquated medium. The brand will move into this new age with an updated name as the new, but familiar, The Learning Company.

Keywords:

Potential

1. The chance or possibility that something will develop and become real; 2. Latent qualities or abilities that may be developed and can lead to future success or usefulness; 3. The innate ability in every person to live and perform in alignment with their highest self

Interactive

1. Allowing a two-way flow of information, ideas, and messages; 2. Involving the actions or input of a user

Exploration

1. The activity of searching and finding out information about something; 2. The action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it

Buzzwords:

Relevant/Good/Positive

Bankrupt/Stale/Negative

Aspirational

Strategy Visualizations

The following grids show a visual representation of where The Learning Channel’s brand strategy began, where it is now, and where it can go in the future…

The Learning Channel began as an educational tool for classroom teachers and students.

Today, TLC provides entertainment for reality TV enthusiasts.

In the future, The Learning Channel will bring fun learning opportunities to curious people around the world.

Section .02

Audience Profiles

Personas

Audience profiles in the form of personas allows the audience to be seen as individuals…

Audience profiles in the form of personas allows the audience to be seen as individuals with real individual needs. Design exists to solve these needs for people, therefore it is critical for designers to be attuned to the audience. Personas help the audience be seen as more than just demographics.

Areas of Concern:

+ Learning Style + Interest in Learning + Community Involvement

Tipping Point Interest in Learning

Mataji Ishwar The Creator Lei Zhou The Explorer

Avedis Zadian The Tinkerer

Cameron Reed The Vacationer

Mataji Ishwar: The Creator

LOCATION: MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

OCCUPATION: STUDENT

AGE: 8

Learning Style: Visual

+ She doodles notes in class because it’s hard for her to remember written notes.

+ She can make it to her favorite bakery without a map because she remembers the landmarks.

+ She hates reading for class because it doesn’t hold her attention for very long.

Interest in Learning: High

+ She arrives first to school and is usually the last to leave because she always has more questions.

+ She enjoys building forts out of cardboard boxes because she like to push the limits of the balance.

Community Involvement: High

+ She likes to participate in runs and other community events because being involved with the kids around her is important.

+ She is a Girl Scout because she likes to give back to her community and feels like she is a part of something global.

Viviana Romero: The Searcher

LOCATION: LA PAZ, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, MEXICO

OCCUPATION: DIRECTOR OF EVENTS

AGE: 35

Learning Style: Naturalistic

+ She likes to read her book in the park because being in nature clears her mind.

+ She has taken up plant identification as a passive hobby on her morning walks because she enjoys learning about the land she’s walking on.

+ She hates putting together the budget paperwork because math isn’t her strongest skill.

Interest in Learning: Moderate

+ She is searching for more meaning in life beyond her job because she doesn’t like the monotony.

+ She finds herself struggling to pay attention at work because she feels like there’s a whole world that she’s missing out on.

Community Involvement: High

+ She plans events that are popular with tourists and local people because she keeps an eye on the trends and interests in her community.

+ She is a member of over a dozen Facebook groups because she uses the platform to feel connected to like-minded communities across the globe.

Lei Zhou: The Explorer

LOCATION: BEIJING, CHINA

OCCUPATION: TODDLER

AGE: 3

Learning Style: Auditory

+ Her first word was “star” because she listens to the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song every night.

+ She loves going to the zoo because she enjoys hearing all of the animal sounds around her.

+ She enjoys turning household items into musical instruments because she likes experimenting with the different noises.

Interest in Learning: High

+ She touches and engages with anything she can get her little hands on because she’s constantly exploring the world around her.

+ She usually runs to nonfiction children’s books in the library because she wants to know everything about the world around her.

Community Involvement: Moderate

+ She sometimes attends play groups at parks and libraries because her mother wants her to feel connected to the toddlers in the neighborhood.

+ She doesn’t have a community beyond her family, neighbors, and play friends because her socializing is limited to parent-planned events.

Staella Perraki: The Wonderer

LOCATION: KALAMATA, PELOPONNESE PENINSULA, GREECE

OCCUPATION: RETIRED AGE: 78

Learning Style: Social

+ She has friends from her university study groups because they formed close bonds while they learned with each other and from each other.

+ She attends a book club every month because the book means more when she shares it with other people.

Interest in Learning: Moderate

+ She is looking into new hobbies because she wants to do more with her post-retirement life.

+ She makes it to the library events when possible because it’s a low-energy way to learn new things.

Community Involvement: High

+ Her favorite part of the morning is talking to her neighbor from the window because she loves connecting with the people in her community.

+ She frequently visits her community center to find out about upcoming events because she values time spend with her friends and neighbors.

+ She has been exchanging letters with a pen pal in Sweden for years because she finds it exciting to have a connection with someone so far away.

Avedis Zadian: The Tinkerer

LOCATION:

DRESDEN, SAXONY, GERMANY

OCCUPATION: STUDENT AGE: 16

Learning Style: Verbal

+ He writes poems in a secret notebook because it’s the easiest way to express himself.

+ He interrupts conversations with relevant, but melancholic quotes and proverbs because he remembers most of the things he reads.

Interest in Learning: Slight

+ He is building his own computer at home, but is failing math because he doesn’t like to participate.

+ He usually throws away field trip permission forms because he’s rather stay behind at the school and read.

+ He doesn’t do well with book reports because he doesn’t want to deviate from the novel he’s been reading for weeks.

Community Involvement: Low

+ He visits the skate park daily because it’s one of the few places he feels a sense of community.

+ He wishes his parents would let him spend more time on the computer because he’s an active part of a Discord group.

Renier Leclair: The Wanderer

LOCATION: STOCKHOLM, UPPLAND, SWEDEN

OCCUPATION: ENGLISH TUTOR AGE: 19

Learning Style: Kinesthetic

+ He is on a break year and backpacking Europe because he likes getting dirty and doing life rather than reading about it.

+ He drops in on local improv groups because he loves getting creative and acting out scenarios.

Interest in Learning: Moderate

+ He isn’t proactive about formal learning because he feels he has better ways to spend his time.

+ He is returning to college next year because he thinks it’s important even if he doesn’t want to.

Community Involvement: High

+ He loves traveling because he is building a global community of friends.

+ He prefers to stay at hostels with active common areas because he enjoys spending time connecting with fellow travelers.

+ He makes sure to visit a library or community center in every city because he wants to spend his time engaging with the people around him.

Cameron Reed: The Vacationer

LOCATION: MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

OCCUPATION: FINANCIAL ANALYST AGE: 26

Learning Style: Logical

+ He makes a list for everything because he likes to keep his life organized.

+ He buys the newspaper and then throws most of it away because he’s only interested in the stocks and baseball statistics.

Interest in Learning: None

+ He finished business school and found a 9-to-5 job pretty quickly because he wanted his free time back.

+ He is glad school is over because now he can live like every day is summer.

+ He would rather go on a date at a bar than at a museum because he works hard and wants to relax after work.

Community Involvement: Moderate

+ He frequents the same bar after work because he’s built up a community of other regulars.

+ He doesn’t have many friends beyond former peers, bar patrons, and coworkers because he doesn’t participate in unrelated community events.

Davide Fazio: The Ruler

LOCATION: FLORENCE, TUSCANY, ITALY

OCCUPATION: SENIOR EDITOR

AGE: 58

Learning Style: Solitary

+ He worked his way up the ranks quickly because he is very self-motivated.

+ He sound-proofed his offices because the noises of the house distracted him.

+ He works from home because he doesn’t want to deal with other people.

Interest in Learning: None

+ He avoids training events at the publishing house because he doesn’t feel like he has anything left to learn.

+ He gets into arguments with tour guides because he knows the city better than them.

Community Involvement: None

+ He skips any optional work get-togethers because he isn’t interested in having social relationships with coworkers.

+ He is only connected to the world at large by the daily newspaper he reads because he’s not connected to any communities outside of his area.

Section .03

Competitors

Exploring the Competition

The knowledge of competitors in the marketplace can be used to differentiate The Learning Channel…

Current:

Direct competitors currently consist of other sources of reality programming. The streaming services chosen were based on overall popularity, as well as the service’s reality program offerings. The Learning Channel stands apart from these competitors because its heart lies in fostering curiosity, rather than simply entertaining. Each business is accompanied by their mission statement.

NETFLIX

To entertain the world

HULU

To empower everyone to discover, share, and celebrate the stories that connect us

BRAVO

To deliver the best in food, fashion, beauty, design and pop culture to the most engaged, upscale and educated audience in cable

A&E

To lead the cultural conversation through high-quality, original programming that captivates viewers and brings them to the heart of the stories that matter

To kill boring CBS

MTV

HISTORY

To serve as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media

DISCOVERY

To satisfy curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives by providing the highest quality content, services, and products that entertain, engage, and enlighten

To be the leading, branded entertainment company across television, motion pictures and digital media platforms

PARAMOUNT+

To unleash the power of content

PEACOCK

To provide consumers with a destination that goes beyond movies and television, aggregating a variety of content that fans want on one service

Adjacent:

Adjacent competitors to The Learning Channel currently are those businesses that offer other low-energy forms of entertainment for people’s leisure time. The chosen entertainment forms generally rank closer to “mindless” than “educational” in their content. These competitors give a glimpse of non-television activities that could pull customers away from The Learning Channel. Each business is accompanied by their mission statement.

TIKTOK

To inspire creativity and bring joy

INSTAGRAM

To capture and share the world’s moments

SNAPCHAT

To empower people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together

AUDIBLE

To build a new medium that will redefine and enhance the nature of spoken information, education, entertainment, and other modes of verbal expression

NEWS

To empower the informed

FACEBOOK

To give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together

YOUTUBE

To give everyone a voice and show them the world

BOOK

To amuse, persuade, inform, or to satirize a condition with the written word

PODCAST

To entertain, humor and educate with audio recordings

MUSIC

To express and modulate emotion

Future:

The Learning Channel aspires to position itself amongst competitors that offer engaging educational content and services. Also, businesses that create connections in communities are considered possible competitors following the rebrand of The Learning Channel. Each business is accompanied by their mission statement.

MASTERCLASS

To unlock human potential by inspiring a learning lifestyle in everyone

TEACHABLE

To empower creators to transform their knowledge into income

SPACE CAMP

To promote science and math learning in a space themed environment

EXPLORATORIUM

To create inquiry-based experiences that transform learning worldwide

MINECRAFT

To build a better world through play, inspiring generations of game changers by celebrating our values of teamwork, creativity, passion, and fun

SCOUTS BSA

To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law

BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS OF AMERICA

To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens

IMPULSE

To improve mental health by providing entertaining and challenging mind games

LUCID

To make the world’s most important knowledge easy to learn, internalize, and apply to your life

PUBLIC LIBRARY

To provide free and open access to a broad range of materials and services to people of all ages and backgrounds

Brand History

Polcyn, K. A. (1974). Future United States Educational Broadcast Satellite Experiments: The Appalachian Region Experiment. Educational Technology, 14(5), 8–12. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/44420851

Hack Education (2015). The Learning Channel http://hackeducation.com/2015/05/30/ the-learning-channel

Business Insider (2012). History of TLC from Learning Channel to Honey Boo Boo https:// www.businessinsider.com/history-of-tlc-fromlearning-channel-to-honey-boo-boo-2012-11 + Real Clear Science (2014). TLC Shows that Teach Nothing https://www.realclearscience.com/ lists/tlc_shows_that_teach_nothing/fall_of_ learning_channel.html + CNN (2010). The TLC Network Learning Curve http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/ TV/03/31/tlc.network/ + The List (2020). Things You Forgot About the Early Days of TLC https://www.thelist. com/273731/things-you-forgot-about-the-earlydays-of-tlc/

Competitors

+ All competitor information came from their respective websites