Brands can find perfect match on Love Island
LOVE ISLAND 2018 draws to an end tonight. Love it or loathe it, the reality TV show has been one of this summer’s most talked about subjects. And whatever your opinion on ITV’s runaway hit, it highlights some key brand and marketing lessons.
It’s safe to say Love Island has enjoyed a popularity and influence most brands can only dream of, and plenty have cottoned on to the benefits of being associated with it: from headline sponsor, Superdrug, to Kellogg’s Cornflakes and Lucozade Zero.
It’s easy to see why.
The show, which is on for eight weeks, attracted a peak audience of 3.4 million to its first episode in the current series. Millions of viewers, many 16- to 34-year-olds, have been tuning in to catch up on the villa drama – a lucrative audience that marketers ordinarily find hard to reach on terrestrial TV because of their preference for streaming services, such as Netflix.
The show’s online influence is impressive too - last year, it reportedly enjoyed 280 million video views across social media and five billion Twitter impressions. A quick search for #loveisland on Instagram while writing this has revealed more than 359,000 posts.
Brand association and influencer marketing are not new.
Google searches for the term ‘influencer marketing’ increased by 325% in 2017, according to an Influencer Marketing Hub survey.
We all know that being linked to, or endorsed by, a popular TV show can help sell products, boost brand awareness or magnify a campaign’s impact. The same applies to being linked to influencers, events or celebrities.
The basic premise is that by using the current popularity and authority of a TV show, you can build your brand’s reputation and visibility.
However, it isn’t always a recipe for success, and businesses would be wise to tread carefully when considering whether to align their brand with another.
Brand partnerships must make sense for both parties. The association between a brand and a TV show should feel authentic and natural if it is to resonate with a business’ target audience.
Last year, Superdrug worked with ITV to deliver exclusive, branded, multi-platform content that was relevant, entertaining and in line with Love Island’s unique tone of voice. The result? The high street chain posted a 16% increase in pre-tax profits for 2017 at £92.9m, compared to £80.4m during the previous year, helped by fans of the show who rushed to buy bronzer, make-up and hair products. It also saw a 900% increase in brand search terms during last year’s show, with 200,000 online visits after each episode.
TV sponsorships drive long-term brand awareness and positive brand associations that can pay dividends – provided the show is a success, of course.
A study commissioned by Thinkbox last year suggested viewers of a TV show were more likely to regard the sponsoring brand as popular or successful than non-viewers, with the research indicating that the benefits of TV sponsorship are long-lasting.
While not all businesses have the budget to sponsor hit TV shows, many have social media channels – an inexpensive opportunity for smaller brands to gain cultural relevance by joining the conversation.
To make the most of a trending show, you’ll need to be reactive and brand-relevant though. For inspiration, look to New Look’s Instagram memes featuring Love Island quotes.
The key is to ensure you tap into the cultural agenda of your target audience. Do your research. Who are you trying to reach? What are they talking about? Which events are they heading to? Who are their influencers? Where can you add value?
Don’t jump onto a hashtag simply because it’s trending or link up with a show just because an opportunity presents itself. People can spot an inauthentic partnership a mile off – at best they’re ineffective, at worst they can damage your reputation and the trust in your brand.
And remember, there is always an element of risk involved in aligning your brand with another that you have no control over.
In 2007, the fifth edition of Channel 4’s Celebrity Big Brother was at the centre of an international race row after accusations that some housemates were displaying racist and bullying behaviour. One of the programme’s main sponsors at the time, Carphone Warehouse, pulled their support for the show because the alleged behaviour was against their brand values.
While the positives of aligning with a popular TV show can be enticing, it is not a decision to be taken lightly.
As in life, people judge brands by the company they keep; and reputation and trust, which are slowly gained, can be all-too-quickly lost.