Broadcast sponsorship ‘has limit’
Advertisers should look beyond simple sponsorship of television programmes, Laser commercial director Paul Chard will tell advertisers and agencies at a presentation in London today (Wednesday).
Programme sponsorship currently accounts for about 1.5 per cent of ITV’s total advertising revenue, which last year amounted to 21m in national deals alone. “Sponsorship will mature at about four or five per cent of total revenue,” Chard predicts.
However, while there remains significant potential for further growth in broadcast sponsorship, growth will be restricted by ITV’s internal policy of “responsible broadcasting”, the desire to sustain sponsorship’s value by limiting its volume and linking it only with the best programmes.
Advertisers should consider the benefits of brand association through other activities, he says. Development funding – where clients sponsor pilot programmes and programmes used as sales development tools – is one avenue for exploration, says Chard. Licensing, merchandising and barter are other options.
“The Krypton Factor might not be a sponsorship opportunity,” he explains. “But I see no reason why the famous K could not be licensed to, say, Kellogg’s, as an on-pack promotion with in-pack games based on the programme to stimulate purchase.”
Laser/Granada recently licensed Coronation Street to News International which is using the soap as a scratchcard promotion.
New research, charting audience attitudes to TV sponsorship, will be unveiled today. The study, conducted by the Sponsorship Research Group, sets out to assess loyalty to different channels and acceptability of different types of deals.