VOD Advertising
ITV Sponsorships
ITV Sponsorships Agency: Sponsorships on ITV with One Day
Target households nationwide with ITV’s trusted programming
ITV is one of the biggest and most recognised commercial networks in the UK, home to series like Coronation Street, I'm a Celebrity, Love Island, and This Morning – and as it's adapted to digital streaming habits, it's attracted 33 million registered users on ITVX, and counting.
Sponsorship is a great way for brands to pick and choose specific programmes, genres or TV events they want to be associated with, and to guarantee their ads are positioned right in front of vast audiences across the country.
Businesses can sponsor primetime shows, kids' series on CITV, mainstream and premium content on ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4, or ITVBe (formerly ITV Quiz), or be featured prominently on ITV1, the most-watched channel within a network that reported 15 billion viewing hours last year!
The Advantages of ITV Sponsorships
Sponsorship can be part of an ad strategy, but there are some fundamental contrasts between a paid-for ad and a sponsorship deal. The latter means brands are more closely aligned with the event or show they're sponsoring and can be showcased at the start and end of each episode to improve recall.
ITV is a great option for businesses interested in commercial TV sponsorships, with an estimated 30 million+ adults watching at least one show per week, ensuring companies build visibility across diverse demographics.
Viewers who recognise brands and link them with credible shows like soaps, reality series and sporting events also trust those businesses, and perceive them as familiar.
Unlike a general TV ad, sponsorship graphics and the brand name are shown in spots where audiences are paying attention, such as after the title credits, minimising the likelihood that viewers will look away.
ITVX enables brands to mix broadcast sponsorships with on-demand features on the network’s streaming channel, with additional access to data targeting to ensure they can focus on the audience segments they most want to engage with.
The ITV Sponsorship Model
ITV offers two ways to structure a sponsorship: businesses can either pick specific programmes they'd like to be featured on and associated with, or select a 'strand' or genre of programming that aligns with the types of shows and broadcasts their core viewers watch.
Programme sponsorships link brands with specific shows or series, including the well-known and most-watched series we’ve mentioned above.
Genre-based sponsorships enable sponsors to pick the ITV channel that's most relevant to them, and the types of shows they want to sponsor. That could, for example, be sponsorship of movies shown on ITV2 or drama series broadcast on ITV3.
Each sponsorship package typically includes short snippets, or indents, that feature the sponsor’s brand before and after the series or show airs, and often before and after ad breaks.
While there is scope to customise sponsorship agreements, the model is replicated across ITV. Although brands usually need to steer clear of a 'sales-focused' approach, the enormous audience and direct engagement can drive substantial improvements in brand familiarity.
Types of ITV Sponsorships
Programme-Specific Sponsorships
Sponsoring a selected show is ideal for brands that want to grow recognition quickly, ensuring their messaging and graphics reflect the key values or lifestyle factors that shows represent – such as positioning a homeware or interior décor brand during cookery and home makeover programming.
Themed ITV Sponsorship
These sponsorships mean the company chooses where it wants to be seen, selecting specific ITV channels that match the types of shows its target audiences watch, and then identifying the genres that will most appeal to them. These broader sponsorship campaigns ensure brand messaging is displayed across the whole category rather than alongside a single series.
Event Sponsorship on ITV
Brands sponsor events, whether major sporting tournaments like the World Cup or culturally significant episodes like the final of I'm a Celebrity, ensuring they're seen by as many people as possible, capitalising on dates when particularly huge audiences are expected to tune in.
ITVX Digital Sponsorship
Digital and streaming sponsorships place brand creatives before and after episodes and ad breaks when users are watching ITVX from any device. The difference is that ITVX sponsorship placements are on-demand, allowing them to be targeted to specific groups and user segments.
Who Are ITV Sponsorships For?
The size of ITV's viewer base and the variety of scheduling and programming make the channel an attractive option for almost any brand sponsorship placement, and the introduction of digital sponsorships also means this is a more cost-effective advertising opportunity than most businesses realise! We currently work with, as an idea:
Consumer brands that want to boost mass awareness by sponsoring family-friendly programming and trusted, long-lasting series like Emmerdale and Coronation Street.
FMCG companies and retailers that use emotive brand sponsorships and storytelling ads to improve the way audiences resonate with their promotions and boost purchase intent.
Travel and finance businesses, building credibility and scaling the impact of their advertising activities by sponsoring channels and series with nationwide reach.
One Day also collaborates with public sector organisations and charities, who utilise ITV sponsorships to widen awareness of their latest campaigns through mainstream broadcast advertising.
Why Use ITV Sponsorships?
ITV sponsorships are successful because they give brands a way to insert their graphics, logos and promotional messaging into a media environment that is familiar and recognisable, and a place where audiences are receptive and trust the information displayed.
Studies have quantified that levels of consumer affinity with a brand, where they have an emotional reaction or a positive response to the business, increase by around 20% following sponsorship agreements.
Consumers are more likely to consider brands they might not have heard of before when they've seen sponsorship placements, while businesses also gain better long-term recognition for their branding, products, or services.
Using a mix of broadcast and streaming placements reinforces the continuity of sponsorship ads and improves exposure frequency, with the added benefit of more strategic targeting for ITVX sponsorships.
The best advice is to consult our uniquely experienced sponsorship and broadcast advertising consultants, because the outcomes you achieve will depend on careful selection of sponsorship placements!
How Can One Day Help?
One Day is a specialist advertising, marketing and creative agency that gives client brands of all sizes access to expert assistance when designing, optimising and managing sponsorship campaigns. Our focus on measurable returns and developing standout creatives that get your message across is vital to ensuring your campaigns align with the right programmes, broadcasts and audiences.
We offer fully integrated, end-to-end support, starting with advice around the right sponsorship placements and agreements, negotiating airtime, developing media for each indent spot, and monitoring the impact once your campaigns are live.
Media Case Studies.
Read about some of our work and cases ranging from Pay-per-Click, Out-of-Home, Digital Ads, TV Advertising, Paid Social and more.
B2B Lead Generation - PPC, Paid Social and Creative
Pet Food Retailer - Out-of-Home Campaign
Footwear E-Commerce - Paid Social and PPC
Meet the Media Planning Team
Klaudia
Head of Department
Shelby
Media Planning & Buying
Scott
Media Planning & Buying
“ITV sponsorships are in consistent demand, and if I were to give one tip, I'd say it's as important to think about context as it is content or the length of airtime. Brands that are naturally linked to a viewer's favourite programme, for example, are also the ones they will remember, trust, and think of when they're next making a purchasing decision.”
Ricardo Seixas, Founder and CEO, One Day Agency
Frequently Asked Questions.
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There is some truth to the assumption that digital sponsorships can be more affordable and customisable. Still, it's important to note that mainstream, mass-audience sponsorships remain highly effective.
Brands looking for the best of both worlds can combine emotive brand placements during popular shows with ITVX sponsorships for streaming service users.
