Coronation Street Signs First Product Placement Deal

November 7, 2011
By Francesca de Lacey | No Comments

go on…leave us a comment about this article >

The residents of Coronation Street will soon become regular customers of Nationwide following a deal between the building society and ITV to replace an unbranded prop cash-machine with a Nationwide-branded ATM in Dev Alahan’s convenience store.

Product placement has been permissible on British TV shows since February 2011 but got off to a slow start with only around half a dozen deals struck in the first six months. ITV was the first to sign a placement of significance when it gave Nestlé’s Dolce Gusto coffee maker daily exposure on This Morning. The financials involved were not to be sniffed at, Nestlé’s deal was valued at an estimated £100,000.

The latest Coronation Street placement, an ATM and branded swing-board outside the store, is also thought to be a six-figure sum based on an initial four-month placement deal. Nick Price, Head of Content at MPG Media Contacts, who were the brokers of the Nationwide deal says, “This is the first product placements for one of ITV’s flagship peak-time shows, we believe it will be the tipping point for a wave of new product placement deals over the coming year.” Nationwide’s Marketing Director Andy McQueen said, “We’re really excited to be working with Coronation Street. We are always looking for new ways to engage with our existing members and new customers and feel that this partnership fits in really well with our overall marketing approach.”

Gary Knight is the Commercial Content Director at ITV, “Editorial integrity remains at the heart of what we do as we continue to talk our clients about a number of product placement opportunities, spanning a range of programmes and channels.” Ofcom’s new regulations regarding placement state that products must be editorially justified, not gratuitously added to a storyline or scene, and there mustn’t be any ‘undue prominence’ given to a product. A small letter ‘p’ must be shown on screen during programme credits to alert viewers to the existence of placement within the show.

Some forecasts estimate the placement market in the UK could grow very quickly and be worth up to £100m every year. The forecasts are based on the US placement market, where brands have featured in TV shows for years. These products are typically obscured when the shows are imported to the UK. The blurred-out Coke glasses on the desk of The X Factor’s judging podium is perhaps one high-profile placement that British audiences may have spotted. Ofcom however have been more restrained with their predictions, forecasting a slower take-up that may eventually be worth £25m-£30m annually. In either case, the chance for an advertiser to buy not only commercial airtime but have the option reinforce it with exposure within programming is surely a very tempting proposition.

Nationwide’s brand will appear on Coronation Street from the 14th November. Ofcom place some limitations on the type of products suitable for placement – alcohol remains excluded from paid-deals so the Rovers will continue to serve its widely know yet entirely fictitious beer, Newton and Ridley.