Unilever Signs Record UK Airtime Deal
Unilever has signed a £320m contract with Carlton and Granada to advertise on ITV for the next four years, in the largest advertising deal of its kind in the UK.
The deal to promote brands including Persil, Dove and Lynx breaks new ground in the relationship between media owners and advertisers and is thought to have secured substantial discounts for Unilever.
The agreement comes at an important time for Carlton and Granada, which are expected to post losses this week following the recent collapse of ITV Digital (see Administrators Confirm ITV Digital Sale). Unilever’s decision to purchase an unprecedented four years worth of airtime represents a vote of confidence in ITV, which has seen ad revenues decline in the tough economic climate. However, Unilever would have sought extremely competitive terms for the deal, which could represent discounts of up to 25% from the usual rates.
Unilever’s UK media manager, Edwin Sharpe, said: “Our portfolio of brands needs the drive and strength of television as the primary channel to achieve its communication objectives. As ITV will continue to be the major provider of commercial impacts for some years to come there is a natural fit to this long-term arrangement.”
Earlier in the year Unilever signed a five year, £61m pan-European advertising deal with JCDecaux to promote its brands across JCDecaux’s network of sites in 22 European countries (see JCDecaux Secures £61m Deal With Unilever). Prior to that the world’s largest advertiser struck a deal with AOL Time Warner that was regarded as the biggest global cross-media marketing agreement in history (see AOL And Unilever Strike Global Cross-Media Deal).
Unilever: 020 7822 5252 www.unilever.com Granada: 020 7620 1620 www.granada.co.uk Carlton: 020 7663 6363 www.carlton.com
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