ABS-CBN Broadcasting: Studio Experience Strategy & Design

As we were once enthralled by the spectacle of the television, it always crossed our minds to just reach to the screen and be part of the experience.  ABS-CBN, one of the Philippines’ leading media networks, has always been at the heart of the Filipino people, and this childlike wonder was realized through the creation of the ABS-CBN Studio Experience.

Envisioned to be an immersive experience and an exercise of the senses, it is a place where fans, enthusiasts, and the ABS-CBN community can converge for fun activities bringing the shows’ studios to life, igniting the childlike wonder of being in a primetime show and the thrill of being part of a star-studded network. And with such a popular lineup of programs, variety shows, and celebrities, how can an indoor themed set of spaces blend it all into one blockbuster experience? 

ABS-CBN’s licensing, merchandising, and theme park teams, along with Grit Design, collaborated with Design For Tomorrow to create a logo and branding to realize this vision. DFT devised the customer journey mapping, brand experience design, brand touchpoints applications, wayfinding system, and environment graphics, expanding to sectional and thematic branding as well.

A logo that encapsulates the experience of going behind the scenes connotes that one takes hold of the camera, essentially “seeing and capturing the television moment” as they enter the spaces. “Lights, Camera, Action!” sets the studio’s theme, with the RGB brand colors reference the graphic language of television as well as the logo of ABS-CBN itself set within the themed spaces’ sectional branding. The tri-color coding system is incorporated in the navigation and wayfinding system, becoming a demarcation for the 3 distinct space clusters. Then, a visual language that simulates actual studio and theater elements such as marquee lights was incorporated to echo the fantasy further. 

The ABS-CBN Studio Experience wasn’t only an opportunity to enhance the customer brand experience for the network, but a physical retail opportunity as well to promote and sell ABS-CBN and the respective shows’ branded merchandise.

Completing the task is the brand application guidelines to guide a consistent application of the brand identity across all communication platforms and touchpoints.

The simulation of live studio production, the immersive “backstage” experience, and the excitement of being in a place that was once only seen on TV are all made tangible and emotional with a special place where wonder and interactivity intersects, bringing ABS-CBN closer to its viewers’ hearts.