Comedy Central Primetime Sponsorship - Awareness & Consideration
Impact on the marketing funnel?
Awareness Stage: This is the top of the funnel where prospects are first made aware of a brand, product, or service. Sponsorships in events, sport teams, or even content creators all serve the purpose of exposing the brand to a very wide range of people, often in context that the audience is not really actively looking for that brand but spotting it because it's associated with something they already value or enjoy.
Consideration Stage: While sponsorships are largely top-of-the-funnel efforts, creating consideration is possible if the brand partnership adds credibility, relevance, or amplifies the story to the audience. For example, a brand will be more appealing to an eco-conscious consumer if the brand sponsors an environment-focused event.
Our approach was that by sponsoring a primetime TV slot on the Comedy Channel in the UK, it would help improve awareness for Lebara, a telco brand who at the time had low national awareness and align the humorous nature of the wider campaign created.
Let’s take a look at several key benefits and tactics:
1. Audience Targeting:
Demographic Alignment: Comedy channels typically attract a broad audience, often skewing towards younger adults who are tech-savvy and more likely to switch telco providers. These viewers are also highly engaged during primetime.
Emotional Connection: Comedy is associated with positive emotions, which can create a favorable context for the brand's message, making it more memorable.
2. Brand Awareness and Recall:
High Visibility: Primetime slots offer maximum visibility due to high viewership. Repeated exposure to the brand during these peak times can significantly boost brand recognition and recall.
Association with Popular Content: Associating the brand with well-loved shows can transfer positive associations from the content to the brand itself, enhancing its image.
3. Positioning and Differentiation:
Building a Fun, Relatable Image: Sponsorship of the Comedy Channel helped position the telco brand as fun, approachable, and customer-friendly, which can differentiate it from competitors that may be perceived as more corporate or serious.
Creativity in Advertising: Comedy allows for creative and humorous advertising, which can stand out more than conventional ads, particularly in a saturated market like telecoms.
4. Cross-Promotion and Engagement:
Interactive Campaigns: We integrated cross-promotional activities, like social media contests & interactive ads, during the sponsorship. This encourages viewers to engage with the brand beyond the TV spot, extending the campaign's reach.
Content Sponsorship: By sponsoring specifically the Primetime slot of the channel, this allowed for custom branding opportunities that made the brand more relatable and visible.
5. Cost-Effective Reach:
National Reach Without National Cost: While national TV campaigns can be expensive, targeting a specific channel that aligns well with the brand's target audience can offer a more cost-effective way to achieve broad reach.
Longevity: TV sponsorship often includes multiple appearances and mentions throughout a show, providing consistent exposure at a fraction of the cost of multiple standalone ads.
6. Leveraging TV's Credibility:
Building Trust: TV is viewed as a credible medium, and being associated with established programming can lend the telco brand legitimacy and trustworthiness, which is crucial for a low-awareness brand.
7. Measuring Impact:
Tracking Brand Lift: We measured the campaign's effectiveness through brand lift studies, tracking metrics such as brand awareness, recall, and consideration before and after the sponsorship.
8. Follow-Up Campaigns:
Complementary Channels: After building initial awareness through TV, we followed up with digital and social media campaigns to further engage the audience and drive conversions.
Localised Offers: As we were focusing on specific regions within the UK, we created localized offers or promotions that are advertised during these slots, making the message more relevant to the viewers.
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