Cadbury And Coronation Street In Possible Sponsorship Deal

Granada Television, makers of Coronation Street, maintain that press rumours predicting that Cadbury will sponsor The Street are purely speculative.

Granada say that Cadbury is just the latest company they have been in touch with regarding possible sponsorship: in the past other companies have included Pedigree Petfoods and Allied Domecq.

This week’s Marketing however includes specific details in its report: the deal is said to be worth £10m and is expected to be signed within the next two weeks; the one-year sponsorship could be running by May this year; as well as on-screen sponsorship credits, Cadbury may also be able to run ads featuring its products and characters from the show; new products and packaging are another possibility.

One of the potential obstacles to the deal is how Coronation Street’s characters would be used. A concern among other ITV companies is that the deal would mean a reduction in Cadbury’s television advertising budget. Granada apparently held a meeting earlier this week with all the major ITVcontractors to discuss the possible financial repercussions of the deal.

The sponsorship deal could coincide with the launch of new TV corporate branding work for Cadbury, undertaken through GGT.