Culture & Media

Following our collaboration to rebrand <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/work/vrt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VRT</a>, we worked with the Flemish broadcaster once again to redefine the strategic and visual direction for Studio Brussel, Flanders’ most iconic music radio brand.

A brand created for the love of music

In a world overrun by TikTok trends, ‘personalised’ playlists and soulless algorithms, our goal was to refresh a brand with genuine resonance for a community of music lovers in Flanders.
Studio Brussel stands out in the VRT ecosystem for its progressive music and youth-oriented content. Since 1983, they’ve set the trend in Belgian music culture, showcasing emerging artists, celebrating diversity, and fostering community.

Rediscovering the connective power of sound

Three decades in, Studio Brussel was facing unprecedented challenges. Their 2019 rebrand left audiences feeling disconnected and market share in free fall, while commercial competitors and streaming services were gaining ground. 
Our task was to redefine the tone of the brand so it aligned with the new world of VRT we recently helped define. This included reclaiming its full Studio Brussel name, recapturing the listening experience that had once made it a hit, and helping its core belief, ‘Life is Music’, sing once more. Our approach was to better understand music’s power to unite us. A great song doesn’t just play, it takes us on a journey—sound waves win us over, vibrations set the tone, frequencies bring us together. Music helps us connect with others who share a way of seeing (and hearing) the world. 

The result was ‘Shared Wavelengths’: a brand idea connected to VRT’s overarching brand promise to be ‘Forever Current’. The idea serves as a creative platform and gives Studio Brussel’s story an engaging, human touch.

Bringing real resonance to our design system

The new design system centres on a simple yet powerful symbol—the mic. It’s the heartbeat of the Studio Brussel brand, transcending genres, trends and subcultures, just like their diverse audience and the music they love. 
The graphic and motion mechanics around the mic capture the potential of our ‘shared wavelengths’ and speak to the power of music—the ripple effect it has in bringing people together. 
We worked in close collaboration with Studio Brussel content and programming teams to strike the perfect note for the repositioned brand. At its heart is the intention to bring warmth and vibrancy through form, colour and motion—a subtle nod to the brand’s rich heritage as a music radio brand, while also boldly contemporary in its energy.

Winning back hearts, minds and ears

The brand system is crafted to come to life wherever music lives, from digital platforms and social networks to gigs and festival stages. Studio Brussel’s presence is redefined to resonate deeply with the music-loving community in Flanders.

We partnered with VRT and Studio Brussel to develop a line of merchandise to launch the new brand and deliver a fresh look and feel. 
The pieces put the logo back at the heart of Studio Brussel’s music community, offering a renewed sense of pride whether they’re attending gigs or festivals across Flanders and beyond.

Karel Decorte

Given their experience in shaping VRT’s recent brand transformation, continuing our work with Saffron made sense. They have been an important partner in helping us to refresh the Studio Brussel brand: from defining a positioning that helped us reconnect with our music-loving community to creating a design system that brings our unique DNA, as well as our role in the new VRT, to life. An instant hit with audiences, the work continues to help us boost our market share and keep reaching more listeners across Flanders.

Head of Marketing, Studio Brussel

Extending the VRT ecosystem in new directions

As an extension of the design toolkit we built for VRT, the Studio Brussel brand system introduces a range of versatile treatments and behaviours, brought to life across a spectrum of colours. This visual diversity captures Studio Brussel’s eclectic offer across their family of shows, streams, podcasts, and events. The new system is designed to be flexible enough to handle everything from techno to folk, hard rock to ambient, while still maintaining the Studio Brussel and VRT identity.
A key element of the refresh is the brand’s integration into VRT’s digital streaming platform, VRT MAX. The Studio Brussel brand is optimised for digital platforms and prioritises being easy to use for internal teams, helping designers’ work shine consistently across any touchpoint.

Launched live and loud

Studio Brussel went full volume with the <a href="https://www.vrt.be/nl/over-de-vrt/nieuws/2023/11/13/studio-brussel-lanceert-nieuw-logo-tijdens-concert-queens-of-the/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">launch</a> of the new brand, hosting an exclusive broadcast from Antwerp featuring rock royalty Queens of the Stone Age—a fitting celebration for a brand that is once again making waves.

After launching the brand refresh, Studio Brussel saw <a href="https://www.vrt.be/nl/over-de-vrt/nieuws/2024/02/21/cim-cijfers-verdere-groei-voor-studio-brussel-sterke-cijfers-v/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">significant improvement</a> across key performance indicators, with sustained growth in market share month-over-month. The combination of a refined brand position, new content strategy, and fresh visual identity has led to the brand’s continued success, reaffirming Studio Brussel’s role as a leader in VRT’s radio portfolio.

<a href="https://www.vrt.be/vrtmax/kanalen/studio-brussel/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Studio Brussel website</a> Content: Courtesy of <a href="https://www.vrt.be/nl/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VRT</a> Photographers: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wallisannika/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annika Wallis</a>, <a href="https://www.damondebacker.be/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Damon De Backer</a> 	Still want to know more? <a href="https://saffron-consultants.com/contact" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get in touch</a>.

A Shared Wavelength

VRT

Forever current

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A Shared Wavelength

VRT

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