MTV gets a facelift, follows the 'Stay Raw' philosophy

A bigger logo, a new tagline and a changed programming characterise the revamped MTV India.

Viacom 18 promoted music channel, MTV has been re-branded, with a bigger logo and new tagline - 'Stay Raw'. However, the channel's target audience remains the same -- youth between the ages of 15 and 34 years.

Talking about the new look, Aditya Swami, channel head, MTV India, says, "MTV, in India and across the world, has always been about innovation. And that's largely because we cater to young audiences who constantly evolve."

Swami adds, "We have observed that today's youth follow their own rules. They wear their ideas on their sleeves. They have no role models. They are straightforward and true. Considering the mindset of the target audiences, we have brought in the new philosophy, which says, 'Stay Raw'."

While the new logo and the packaging have been designed by London based agency, Petrol; MTV has partnered with Bates 141 for the creatives. MTV will promote its new look through a 360-degree campaign comprising television, print, outdoor and digital in key markets.

"We have increased the size of the logo to create a big impact in the mind of the audience and added brightness to it, by adding various tinges of colours. Additionally, we changed the entire packaging of the channel. Today, thanks to Facebook and Internet, the audience is no more local; rather, it has become a global audience. Keeping this in mind, the logo and the channel have been given an international look," adds Swami.

Apart from a new look, MTV has also made changes in its programming. The channel has created four music blocks -- MTV BBM (Big Bang Mornings), MTV Music Xprs, MTV Mash Ups and MTV International.

MTV BBM will play the latest Bollywood music in the morning; while MTV Music Xprs, the afternoon music block, will have classic hits from across the years. In the evenings, MTV Mash Ups will have hip-hop songs in English, followed by hip-hop songs in Hindi. The evenings will also see VJ Nikhil mashing up Indian and international tracks from the same genre. Finally, the midnight block, MTV International will feature hits from global music charts (top 10 international charts).

Two of the channel's popular shows will also return on-air -- Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On in the last week of November and Splitsvilla Season 4 on December 03, 2010. According to Swami, while everybody says it's the end of reality television, nothing could be further from the truth.

He elaborates, "We had recently launched MF 101, which was a fantasy reality, which is very different from the regular dose of reality shows. So, we are exploring an interesting space, where MTV works globally as well as reality."

Furthermore, the channel has extended its presence in the Indian market by launching a magazine -- MTV Noise Factory. The youth magazine is available on stands for Rs 75.