Animal Planet: Rebranding for a revolution

The former President of Discovery UK, Susanna Dinnage was named as Animal Planet’s first ever Global President last November. Since then, she has worked to rebrand and future proof the channel

Speaking at the Wildscreen Festival in Bristol last week, she told delegates that the global rebrand of Discovery’s Animal Planet is about letting a family audience get close to wildlife: “It is not a tweak, it is a big statement…The brand is new; the mission is new.”

Animal Planet has a new logo, which features a leaping blue elephant, and a colour scheme to match. Officially launching to UK and US audiences on 28 October, it will be rolled out globally to over 200 countries by the end of 2019.

Dinnage explained: “We have had to reimagine Animal Planet for new audiences in a new time. Animal content has never been bigger than it is today, and people care more than ever before.”

“The Animal Planet content strategy hasn’t kept pace with where consumers are going, so we have changed that and made it relevant for today and the future with a new editorial strategy.”

The 22-year-old channel has also changed its editorial direction and content commissioning process.

Dinnage explained that the channel is moving forward with a new company mission: “To keep the childhood joy and wonder of animals alive by…