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Classical 90.7 KVNO has been an independent, listener-supported and vital part of Omaha’s local arts and culture community for 50 years. In 2020, the public radio broadcast recognized the need for a refreshed brand identity and website that would resonate and ring true with its classical music listeners.
Since KVNO is centrally located on the University of Nebraska Omaha’s (UNO) Dodge Street campus, the station long struggled to separate itself from the misconception that it’s managed by students — when in fact many of its hosts are active performing artists, educators, and experienced broadcasters. On top of that, KVNO’s webpage lived on the UNO domain, causing confusion for donors and limiting flexibility for content layout.
To fully understand the scope of this project, we interviewed KVNO staff, supporters and musicians to ensure the new brand satisfied the needs of each of its unique audiences.
We took the opportunity to partner with MaverickPR — UNO’s student-run public relations firm — to collaborate on the rebrand together. The brand concept was initially developed by a student, then nurtured and refined under the art direction and mentoring eye of Emspace + Lovgren. E+L then fleshed it out for use on business materials, social media graphics and swag items, along with writing new brand language.
The website was the first major deliverable in the new brand, creating a clear visual identity and solidifying KVNO’s standing as a professional radio station. By customizing the design and streamlining the content, KVNO now has a site with improved functionality, which better reflects the KVNO experience online just as listeners experience it on-air.
Throughout 2022, E+L will be supporting KVNO in its communications surrounding the station’s 50th anniversary.
When presenting the final brand concepts to the KVNO team, the choice was unanimous. One staff’s immediate reaction was, “Oh, that’s us. That’s the one.” KVNO’s general manager (who also happens to be a UNO professor) expressed how appreciative he was as an educator to see both E+L and MaverickPR collaborating and that our combined efforts really paid off.
Social media comments on the brand launch post echoed the same sentiment, with messages such as “It’s so much easier to read!” and “Liking the new look. The other [logo], while interesting, was no use to anyone who did not know who you are.”
Traffic on the website, which launched at the end of November 2021, has already seen a steady increase, and KVNO appreciates the simplified back-end process for content updates.
“We hired Emspace + Lovgren to develop our new brand and website and loved the experience so much that we hired them again to help us promote our 50th anniversary. They are responsive, creative, effective and a joy to work with!”
