The ident was first made in 1953 by BBC and this was because with the introduction of new channels such as itv channels then needed to distinguish themselves from one another and the way they done is is by creating idents. The first ident used by BBC was nicknamed the "Bat Wings" due to its similarities to a bat wing. As time went on the idents for these channels did along with it due to new technologies being introduced. One f the most famous idents from BBC is the globe that was used in 1963. The why the ident was the most effective way of achieving the goal of distinguishing between different channels was because they were able to be used at any point during the broadcasting of the channel.
Apart from being used to show the audience they were watching a certain channel they were also used for organising the schedule. This means that during the time of the ident there could be a voice over or added information to the ident to tell the audience what programmes are going to be shown on that channel, usually what the following three programmes are going be shown. At the time this was very important as there were not the technologies of today to be able to see what programmes are going to be shown. Another reason for telling the audience what programmes are going to be shown is was to also try and entice the viewer into continuing to watch that channel. The ident is the ideal time to organise the scheduling as this is a time when the only information that was previously shown was what channel the person is watching and nothing else so including this information meant that it made full use of the time. Below is an example of BBC Two introducing what the next few programmes are going to be on so that the audience are able to know in advanced and also hopefully be enticed to continue watching the channel.
Idents are also able to provide other services, especially for BBC channels as they do not contain any advertisements This other use for idents is for the segmentation of the schedule which means it enables a chance to use up time between programmes in order to keep the programmes starting at the right time. This is useful because a typical programme will have a half hour time slot however will not be on for that whole thirty minutes so idents are used to make up for the remaining time. For the BBC an ident will usually last for about a minute however is rarely played for the entire length but is made to be a minute incase there is a need for extended information to be told or if an error has occurred at the studio and they need to cut to something. Below is an example of a full length ident which is the length most actually are however the the one underneath that is the length that is typically found on BBC but is useful to have the full length one to hand incase of emergencies.
Now days creating a cooporate identity is important due to the fact that channels are now no longer only shown in one country but instead can be transmitted world wide. This corprate identity is able to used both on and off air which means that it could be used for merchandise such as DVDs. This means that on the box of a DVD which belongs to or is shownon BBC then a logo will be put onto the box inorder to show the corprate identity. A corprate identity usually brings with it a brand that is recongisable to the public. Making a brand in this way means that people are likely to become loyal to that brand and threfore channel. The cstomer will know that there is a certain standard of programming in from this channel which they are able to rely on and without this brand they are unlikely to get this kind of loyalty as the public would be less likely to know what programming belongs to what channel. Below is an example of what the BBC logo is on all DVDs and this gives the public a brand to look for when buying an official BBC DVD and is able to be recognised around the world.
The content of the ident is very important to think of when creating it. The reason for this is because it gives the audience an idea of content is shown on the channel. Sometimes people may not know what kind of programmes a channel shows and use the ident to get an overview of the stye of programming. One example of this is on BBC Four whos idents are consistantly mature showing a flock of segull flying or many bookshelves and a librarian. Without knowing the channel from viewing these types of idents the audience would be able to guess that it is a mature channel which shows informative programmes. These kinds of idents would not be suitable to a channel which shows sports as it will give the audience the wrong idea of the sort of programe it is. As you can see from the video below this would not be suitable for a sports channel as it does not have anything to do with sport and also would not reach the target audience.
Included with giving the audience a quick oversight of what programmes are shown on a specific channel the other side are people that know the channel and watch it regularly the ident will need to appeal to the target audience and the poeple that are loyal to the channel. If the audience expects a channel that is fun and appeals to teenagers then having an ident with a classroom and people learning would not be suitable so therefore not appeal to the target audience. instead it would be colourful and random. An example of this is BBC Three whos main colour is pink as it is bright and fun. Not only is this feeling given through the visual but also the music that s played as it sounds electronic which is hip and now which will entice the target audience for this channel.
If a channel is known for a specific programme or genre or show an event then this is likely to be shown in the indent. One thing that some channels do that are in this situation are to package the entire genre that they specialise in or the specific programme to show audience and let them know that they show that programme, genre or event. An example of this is on BBC which shows a new series of Strictly Come Dancing and this is only shown on that one channel. The whole ident is about Strictly Come Dancing and this helps to promote the show without mentioning it and therefore getting the most out of the time with the ident. This is an example of a channel packaging a eerie in a subtle way by showing glitter balls which are used during the show. This is also an example of how an ident can be used as a marketing opportunity to promote a show.
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