The Substance and Soul of the South
You can’t go four clicks on the Internet without finding a story about the death of journalism.
Ad revenue is in freefall. Talented journalists are jobless. Entire newspapers are folding, and not in the way publishers hope for. One click deeper and you’ll uncover dozens of possible causes, only one of which we can address: an identity crisis.
First, the backstory
The first thing you need to understand about The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is that this is a storied brand. The publication rose from the ashes of the Civil War alongside Atlanta, where it served as a paper of record for the American South.
Over 150+ years, the brand experienced multiple mergers, new logos and countless campaigns, newsroom shakeups, product launches and shutdowns, and, of course, pivots to digital. The result was a confused narrative and near critical loss of brand equity that threatened the future of the South’s greatest storyteller.
Still, this was never a rescue mission. Our goal was to celebrate the character that defines The AJC—and keeps it among the very best in journalism.
Bringing color to a famously black and white industry
New York can keep her Gray Lady. The South takes its news in full color.
It was a throwaway line in an early exploration, the kind of thing that piques your interest but never makes it to print. Still, it was enough to get us excited. We knew going in that positioning any journalism brand as the scion of truth was a dead end*. The people who already believe in the value of a free press don’t need to be reminded. And those who don’t … just need the brand to prove it.
That’s why we set out to balance the substance of storytelling with the singular “soul” that shines brightest in the South. The result? A refreshingly on-the-nose strapline—crafted by The AJC team—that now graces the masthead.
*With the possible exception of the aforementioned Gray Lady
Channeling Southern soul
We’ve been lucky enough to work with a few journalism brands at Matchstic. As you might imagine, it can be tough to spot the traits that distinguish the brand from the stock standard stuff inherent to great journalism. It requires a lot of digging.
The AJC’s voice augments the intelligence of top-tier journalism with a distinctly Southern flavor. With lines like The News, but Southerner and Everything you need to know, wherever in the South you are, it’s smart but friendly, just like its home.
But it’s not all comfort food. The AJC is fiercely protective of its Southern readership and identity. Fiery lines like Many cover the South. Few can claim it. warn off would-be national competitors drawn to the nation’s new center of gravity.
Toeing a fine line
All too often, Southern is a synonym for folksy. And for a top-tier media outlet, that just won’t do. To combat that instinct, we turned our folksy filter up to 11 and built a library of Good/Bad examples to help writers find the right headspace. We want to celebrate the soul of the South without feeling like we’re browsing a Gatlinburg gift shop.
The takeaway
Around the world, essential and engaging journalism is getting harder to find. In Atlanta and across the South, it’s never been easier to identify.
Just listen for the soul.
Cameron Leberecht is a Senior Writer at Atlanta-based Matchstic.
CREATIVE CREDITS:
Brand Agency: Matchstic
Creative Direction: Blake Howard
Project Management: Patrice Fielder
Design: Gray Hauser, Brit Blankenship, Brian Paul Nelson, Reid Parsekian, Michael Martino, Déborah Neaves
Writing: Cameron Leberecht, Clayton Notestine
Strategy: Blake Howard, Gray Hauser, Cameron Leberecht
The Substance and Soul of the South
You can’t go four clicks on the Internet without finding a story about the death of journalism.
Ad revenue is in freefall. Talented journalists are jobless. Entire newspapers are folding, and not in the way publishers hope for. One click deeper and you’ll uncover dozens of possible causes, only one of which we can address: an identity crisis.
First, the backstory
The first thing you need to understand about The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is that this is a storied brand. The publication rose from the ashes of the Civil War alongside Atlanta, where it served as a paper of record for the American South.
Over 150+ years, the brand experienced multiple mergers, new logos and countless campaigns, newsroom shakeups, product launches and shutdowns, and, of course, pivots to digital. The result was a confused narrative and near critical loss of brand equity that threatened the future of the South’s greatest storyteller.
Still, this was never a rescue mission. Our goal was to celebrate the character that defines The AJC—and keeps it among the very best in journalism.
Bringing color to a famously black and white industry
New York can keep her Gray Lady. The South takes its news in full color.
It was a throwaway line in an early exploration, the kind of thing that piques your interest but never makes it to print. Still, it was enough to get us excited. We knew going in that positioning any journalism brand as the scion of truth was a dead end*. The people who already believe in the value of a free press don’t need to be reminded. And those who don’t … just need the brand to prove it.
That’s why we set out to balance the substance of storytelling with the singular “soul” that shines brightest in the South. The result? A refreshingly on-the-nose strapline—crafted by The AJC team—that now graces the masthead.
*With the possible exception of the aforementioned Gray Lady
Channeling Southern soul
We’ve been lucky enough to work with a few journalism brands at Matchstic. As you might imagine, it can be tough to spot the traits that distinguish the brand from the stock standard stuff inherent to great journalism. It requires a lot of digging.
The AJC’s voice augments the intelligence of top-tier journalism with a distinctly Southern flavor. With lines like The News, but Southerner and Everything you need to know, wherever in the South you are, it’s smart but friendly, just like its home.
But it’s not all comfort food. The AJC is fiercely protective of its Southern readership and identity. Fiery lines like Many cover the South. Few can claim it. warn off would-be national competitors drawn to the nation’s new center of gravity.
Toeing a fine line
All too often, Southern is a synonym for folksy. And for a top-tier media outlet, that just won’t do. To combat that instinct, we turned our folksy filter up to 11 and built a library of Good/Bad examples to help writers find the right headspace. We want to celebrate the soul of the South without feeling like we’re browsing a Gatlinburg gift shop.
The takeaway
Around the world, essential and engaging journalism is getting harder to find. In Atlanta and across the South, it’s never been easier to identify.
Just listen for the soul.
Cameron Leberecht is a Senior Writer at Atlanta-based Matchstic.
CREATIVE CREDITS:
Brand Agency: Matchstic
Creative Direction: Blake Howard
Project Management: Patrice Fielder
Design: Gray Hauser, Brit Blankenship, Brian Paul Nelson, Reid Parsekian, Michael Martino, Déborah Neaves
Writing: Cameron Leberecht, Clayton Notestine
Strategy: Blake Howard, Gray Hauser, Cameron Leberecht
Further Reading
