• by Aaron Baar , October 2, 2013

No longer about just country music, cable channel GAC is going by its longer moniker -- Great American Country -- to reflect its broader offerings and appeal. 

“When you just go by an acronym, you’re at a disadvantage because you have to explain who you are,” Jennifer Leitman, senior vice president of marketing and creative services at Great American Country, tells Marketing Daily. “Our whole name is Great American Country, and we wanted to express that.”

The new brand identity, which launches Oct. 1, is intended to express the channel's offerings that have expanded from the channel’s beginnings as a country music network, Leitman says. In recent months, the channel has launched programs such as “Farm Kings” (which chronicles a farming family in Pennsylvania) and “Celebrity Motorhomes” (which showcases the mobile homes of celebrities), expanding beyond its former country music roots. 

“What we’re moving to is ‘country’ as a sense of place,” Leitman says. “We’re about the entire country from coast to coast.”

To augment the new designation, the network is launching a redesigned logo that takes its cue from the American flag, featuring three red stripes against a white background. 

“With a network our size, the more visual cues, the better,” Leitman says. “There’s no mistake when you see [the logo], what we stand for.”