Fred Rogers Productions
Brand Identity

Branding

Turning a 50-year legacy into a forward-looking brand

Since the 1960s, Fred Rogers has been widely loved and universally admired as everyone’s favorite neighbor, through his pioneering show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The Fred Rogers Company built on his legacy as an expert in children’s entertainment by producing a range of diverse properties, and recognized that a rebrand would position the company for future growth. Based on our extensive experience branding other children’s properties, and our overall entertainment background, we were asked to reimagine the brand to take advantage of the explosion in demand for streaming content.

CHALLENGE
The main objective was to reposition the company as a forward-looking, entertaining children’s education expert with the knowledge and experience to create shows that children would love—and love to learn from.

INSIGHTS
Partnering with The Possibility Shop, we conducted a full audit and focus group test, which revealed that Fred Rogers’ name increased trust and buy-in, but the public was generally unfamiliar with what The Fred Rogers Company did. However, they were very familiar with the company’s flagship property, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a hugely successful animated show.

APPROACH
Based on our findings, we concluded that a new name, tagline, and logo would be needed to clearly communicate the company’s mission and purpose—and that by leveraging Daniel Tiger, we could immediately help raise the brand’s profile.

NAME, IDENTITY AND TAGLINE
New names were iterated and tested before deciding on Fred Rogers Productions, as it very clearly delineated their position. The tagline “Inspiring a Lifetime of Learning” was borne out of the idea that the shows they produced did not give specific education instruction, but instead aspired to build a love of learning within its audience. With a new name and tagline in hand, we strategically incorporated Daniel Tiger into the new identity as an official mascot, raising awareness and adding brand equity to both in the process.

BRAND GUIDELINES
From this initial work, brand guidelines were developed, outlining the mission, values, and editorial voice of Fred Rogers Productions. A complete graphic system was created, including patterns, colors, backgrounds, typography, and design elements, allowing for multiple animation and live-action properties to live under a single, cohesive, branded look.

Fred Rogers Grid

THE BRAND IN ACTION
The rebrand was rolled out across all touchpoints, from sales and promotional materials to social media and video, and used as the basis for the company website. With a new brand in place and new shows, books, and games in the works, the future has never looked brighter for Fred Rogers Productions—or Fred Rogers’ legacy.

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