• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 18, 2007

Gaming network GSN, which has been trying to elevate its profile and expand its programming umbrella, is launching a re-branding effort, replete with a new tagline: "Get in the Game."

The effort also includes a refashioned on-air tenor and look, designed to capture the "range of emotions that real people feel when watching or playing games," the network said. Those feelings will be "personified" via appearances by real "contestants" and GSN hosts, including Chuck Woolery.

Besides the overarching "Get in the Game" tagline, offshoots such as "Get in the Drama" and "Get in the Action" will be deployed, perhaps to dovetail with specific relevant programs. GSN's agency Big Picture group, based in Los Angeles, assisted in the work.

Part of the impetus for the campaign is the network's decision to expand beyond its traditional on-air offerings of typical game shows. It was once the Game Show Network before taking on its current acronym, GSN, and jumping into off-net reality shows, such as "The Amazing Race" and originals, like the teen National Vocabulary Championship. That event, spearheaded by GSN, will be the basis for a future network documentary about the ups and downs of the participants.

In addition, there is a significant push into the still-strong poker genre with the addition of the World Poker Tour in early 2008. Dena Kaplan, GSN's senior vice president, marketing, said the initiative "will help deepen viewer's emotional connection with the brand."

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation are co-owners of the network, which has also pushed into interactive connections and opportunities with viewers.