Benecol sponsors Classic FM Live in year-long partnership

BenecolClassic FM, the UK’s biggest commercial radio station, has signed Benecol, the cholesterol lowering brand, as the sponsor of Classic FM Live. It is part of a 12-month partnership between the two brands.

The deal will include on-air and online activity, and aims to build on Benecol’s existing sponsorship of Classic FM Requests.

It will also include the sponsorship of Classic FM Live, at the Royal Albert Hall, on April 16. The event will be Benecol co-branded and will include experiential activity including sampling the products during the event.

In line with Benecol’s Take Control of Your Cholesterol strapline, Classic FM listeners will be able to “take control” of the concert’s music content by voting for one of five pieces of music.

Benecol currently sponsors the station’s Weekday Requests Show, which is on air during weekdays between 1pm and 3pm, and Saturdays between 11am and 1pm.

Benecol marketing manager Esther Van Onselen says: “Classic FM and Benecol’s audiences are closely related, and the partnership will help consumers to keep Benecol and cholesterol at the front of their minds.”

Benecol, which is owned by Finnish company Raisio, has already used TV sponsorship to target its core audience of older consumers. In December 2007, it sponsored The Alan Titchmarsh Show, on ITV1, which included broadcast and online sponsorship, as well as mobile interactive bumpers. It is thought the deal with Classic FM is its first radio work.