TV & Radio Sponsorship Displays Covid-19 Resilience

Aldi and Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off: German discount supermarket chain has had a major impact on UK retail over the last couple of decades – and currently takes around 8% share of the grocery market. But so far it has not really convinced customers that it stands for quality. Hence its partnership with Bake Off, designed to help the brand broaden its appeal. Unveiling the deal, Aldi UK marketing director Sean McGinty described the series as “the perfect partner for Aldi. The feel good show appeals to all ages, and underpins Aldi’s quality positioning and light hearted tone.” The show is a top performer for Channel 4, securing around 9-10 million viewers per episode. The deal also included spin-offs Bake Off: An Extra Slice and Junior Bake Off – giving Aldi’s quality message a broad reach.

MoneySuperMarket and Film on 4: Still with Channel 4, 2020 saw comparison website MoneySuperMarket sign a 12 month, multi-million-pound partnership with C4’s ‘Film on 4’. A wide-ranging deal, this gives the platform a presence around all films aired across Channel 4, E4, More4 and pre-9pm on Film4, as well the extensive collection available to stream on All 4. All told, the deal means that the brand’s idents will be visible around 2260 films, ranging from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to The Festival. The sponsorship campaign reinforces the brand’s overarching strategy, which focuses on the ‘Money Calm Bull’. Discussing the deal, Mel Stonier, head of brand & brand communications at MoneySuperMarket, said the platform “is committed to helping people reduce financial anxiety by saving money. We believe that when you’re Money Calm, everything else becomes a bit easier to deal with. This partnership will bring to life the cool-headedness of the Money Calm Bull as we settle down to watch our favourite films.” The deal was brokered by Mediacom. A spokesman said: “Positioning the Money Calm Bull up against the drama, emotions and adrenaline of the UK’s most loved films felt like the perfect partnership.”

Jaguar & Sky Documentaries: Car brand Jaguar joined forces with Sky Media this year for the launch of a new channel Sky Documentaries. Celebrating creativity, innovation and a desire to disrupt the status quo, Sky Documentaries airs feature-length, series and original documentaries from HBO, Showtime, Hulu and Sky. To complement the channel’s reportage, Jaguar is offering viewers a behind the scenes insight into its development processes via short films at the beginning and end of documentary segments. The 15-second clips that bookend programmes highlight how Jaguar’s physical and digital development is intertwined. Explaining the rationale for the deal, Anthony Bradbury, marketing director, Jaguar Land Rover UK said: “Partnering with Sky Documentaries is a perfect opportunity for us to connect with a new audience in an exciting way. Jaguar’s mission is to take ordinary and make it extraordinary. Even the most frequent commutes become a rewarding experience in a Jaguar - whether that be the thrill of the drive, the passion for technology or an admiration for craftmanship.”

Sky Arts & National Theatre Live: This is actually a kind of reverse TV sponsorship, with Sky Arts (the channel) sponsoring NT Live. The partnership was already up and running pre-Covid-19 but was renewed this year for a further three years. With live performance suffering severely at the hands of the pandemic, one interesting innovation was the decision to screen two of the theatre’s hit productions on Sky Arts. Jane Eyre, a National Theatre co-production with Bristol Old Vic, and Twelfth Night will air on Sky Arts in December. Emma Keith, head of broadcast and NT Live said: “We’re delighted that Sky Arts is continuing its headline sponsorship of National Theatre Live, a partnership based on our shared goals of bringing arts and culture to everyone across the UK. Theatre and cinema have been greatly affected due to the pandemic and many challenges remain, however we are committed to sharing our work with audiences. We are thrilled that Jane Eyre and Twelfth Night will be shown on Sky Arts, the first time NT Live titles will be seen on the small screen.”

Virgin V Festival & ITV2: Covid-19 has inspired some innovative partnerships which, while not quite TV sponsorships, have a similar impact. For example, ITV2 green lit a three-part special which brought the V Festival to the nation, virtually. Recorded at the festival’s Chelmsford site, Hylands Park, each one-hour episode featured a mix of live music performances, a nostalgic look back at the most iconic V Festival sets of all time and exclusive interviews between headliners and hosts. Produced by Twofour, all of this was achieved with performers, audience and crew adhering to strict social distancing guidelines. Alongside the three-hour TV experience, an integrated media campaign conceived and executed by Manning Gottlieb OMD ran across: TV; VOD; Sponsorship Idents; Print; a partnership with Global Radio’s Capital FM; Digital and Social. David Brindley, chief creative officer, Twofour, said: “We can’t substitute the joy of muddy boots, beer tents and the unpredictable British weather, but we hope that these three evenings of first rate entertainment with much loved-performers will inspire ITV viewers to recreate that festival feeling at home.” Virgin Media’s V Festival 2020 aired on ITV2 on 21^st-23^rd August, with an ITV premier following each evening.

Barclaycard & Global: Again, this is not really a media sponsorship, but it is an example of how TV, radio and online platforms have been able to provide a stopgap solution until things return to normal for events. In this case, Barclaycard has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with media group Global that sees it become headline sponsor of high-profile events including Capital Summertime Ball and the Jingle Bell Ball. The Summertime Ball 2020 was due to take place in June but was cancelled due to coronavirus. Instead the company broadcast a two-hour TV programme showing highlights from the concert over the last 11 years. When the deal was struck, The Jingle Bell Ball was still scheduled to go ahead as planned – but has since been cancelled. “We are committed to ensuring that now, more than ever, the show continues to go on for entertainment fans, and our new partnership with Global will help do just that,” said Dan Mathieson, head of sponsorship at Barclaycard. “Global’s network of gigs and concerts also means that we are able to give our cardholders something to look forward to when the lockdown lifts by offering exclusive presales and perks to some of UK’s most celebrated music events,” he added.

TalkTalk & Heart Breakfast Show: 2020 saw TalkTalk renew its sponsorship of the Heart breakfast show (another Global radio brand). The extended contract kicked off with a new initiative, Heart and TalkTalk’s Family Timetable, delivering a host of digital video content designed to support families during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Timetable provided regular activities that families could look forward to throughout the week, such as dance classes, cooking ideas and science experiments. In addition, TalkTalk had a presence on Heart’s website, on Global Player and the brand’s social media channels across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. All of which underlines the fact that a radio sponsorship goes well beyond audio. David Parslow, marketing director at TalkTalk, said: “Keeping people connected has always been at the core of everything we do at TalkTalk and this sentiment has never been more important than it is now. We are pleased to be able to help loyal listeners through these uncertain times, and support health and wellbeing through the sponsorship.”

TSB and Channel 4’s Unsung Heroes: Covid-19 has presented tactical opportunities to achieve brand engagement while showing support for the people who have kept Britain moving during the current crisis. TSB, for example, had been looking for a meaningful way to recognise key workers and decided that C4’s hour-long ad funded programme idea, celebrating UK heroes, would be the perfect vehicle for them. The programme celebrates the numerous people from teachers to delivery drivers, supermarket staff to food industry workers, power workers, cleaners to carers and refuse collectors to bus drivers - to name just a few - who are keeping the nation functioning. Around the show were TSB Idents featuring real TSB staff - thanking all the other workers in the film for keeping the nation running. There was also social and digital TSB branded content that supported and amplified the reach of the programme. Pete Markey, chief marketing officer at TSB, said: “Working with Channel 4 gives us great platform to say thank you to Britain’s unsung heroes – those people who are helping others, providing services or simply helping us to go about our daily business. We think this is incredibly important and it’s at the heart of our latest ‘people helping people’ campaign, which also showcases the ways we are helping our customers through this current crisis.”