Marketplace, the suite of business/economic public radio programs produced and distributed by American Public Media (APM), unveiled a new brand identity, a mobile-friendly website and plans for a significant ad campaign.
The new identity will launch throughout the week across digital channels including on marketplace.org, on Facebook and Twitter, with public radio stations that carry Marketplace programs and with a growing list of digital/mobile distribution platforms.
As Marketplace approaches its 25th anniversary year, the weekly cumulative audience for its four signature programs – Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal, Marketplace Morning Report with David Brancaccio, Marketplace Money and Marketplace Tech Report – has grown to nearly 10 million listeners on more than 500 public radio stations in the US. While public radio remains the core of Marketplace’s distribution strategy, a growing audience segment is having a more direct relationship with the brand on mobile platforms. Audio and text content from Marketplace programs is now available on a wide variety of mobile apps including iHeartRadio, Swell, Slacker Radio, Stitcher, TuneIn, GoogleCurrents and Flipboard.
In recognition of this more diverse audience composition, American Public Media hired Minneapolis based design firm Little, in collaboration with APM’s internal creative team, to design its new brand identity. The new identity includes a new logo and custom wordmark for all Marketplace programs, new typesetting, color palette and tagline. The logo has been designed to work as a single stand-alone brand and when integrated with the branding of parent organization APM, or with editorial and distribution partners. APM previously took this successful approach with the evolution of the brand identities for A Prairie Home Companion and the BBC World Service.
Little also developed Marketplace’s new tagline: “Between economics and life.” The tagline reflects Marketplace’s unique place in broadcast media as it explores the intersection of real life and the economy. The new tagline serves as the inspiration for the first phase of Marketplace’s consumer-facing ad campaign. The campaign, which will reach up to 9.8 million print readers and an approximate digital audience of 4.8 million, will start in print in The Economist followed by print and digital campaigns in the Wall Street Journal, LA Times and Fast Company.
