Co-op Bank and CIS in £4m sponsorship deal for The Bill
The Co-operative Bank and Co-operative Insurance Society are to sponsor popular police drama The Bill on ITV1. It is the first time that both brands have been linked with a broadcast sponsorship.
ITV Sales is understood to have been looking for &£4m for the sponsorship of the twice-weekly police drama. The sponsorship will also include mid-week re-runs and a Saturday evening omnibus on ITV3, branded trailers, an online presence and off-screen licensing activity.
Four separate products for both the Co-operative Bank and Co-operative Insurance Society will receive exposure during the 12-month sponsorship. Each episode of The Bill will also end with a sponsorship credit that features logos for the two financial services brands, as well as for sister online banking brand Smile. All three brands are part of Co-operative Financial Services, which was formed in 2002 and is a business unit within the Co-operative Group.
David Newman, director of marketing management for Co-operative Financial Services, says: “We want to get consumers to start to understand a linkage between the Co-operative Bank, Co-operative Insurance Society and Smile.”
He adds that the sponsorship is a good fit because it links mass market consumer brands with one of the UK’s most popular dramas, which is seen by almost 12 million viewers per week, according to BARB figures for January to October.
