For the fifth year TalkTalk has renewed its sponsorship of The X Factor (the UK’s top rated TV show) and for the show’s 10th series the mobile, broadband and pay TV brand’s activation is again fronted by a 30-spot series of in-show idents.
All 30 bespoke idents, part of an integrated CHI&Partners show sponsorship campaign, feature animated characters coming to life to enjoy The X Factor on the brand’s pay TV platform ‘YouView’ TalkTalk TV.
The TV idents air before and after all ad breaks in the show, as well as on ITV Player’s catch-up service.
The idents all follow a similar creative pattern like these examples:
Created by Colin Smith & Angus Vine and directed by Us through Academy, the idents all feature the tagline ‘TalkTalk TV, Britain’s fastest growing TV service, is proud to sponsor The X Factor and The X Factor Live Final’.
They also all promote the sponsor’s X factor Final show ticket competition (exclusive to Talk Talk customers) and drive viewers towards its Facebook and Twitter platforms to enter the competition and benefit from exclusive show-related updates including a new show Q&A feature.
The Facebook-led X Factor Final ticket competition sees the sponsor give away four ‘money-can’t-buy’ tickets to the Wembley Arena final show.
TalkTalk customers can also enter a weekly prize draw, while brand Facebook fans can watch a weekly live X Factor Q&A sessions with judges and competitors, plus X Factor weekly play lists and behind-the-scenes videos.
The activation works in creative and strategic synch with TalkTalk’s brand ethos of providing a brighter home for everyone.
The brand’s sponsorship rights extend beyond the main ITV show and also include the Xtra Factor and The X Factor USA, plus the The X Factor Live Final.
The idents and competition are supported by significant media weight in above the line executions, digital and social media work.
Comment
TalkTalk’s £20m-plus renewal of its X Factor sponsorship (with ITV and producers Syco and Freemantle) is part of its ongoing fight against rivals BT, BSkyB and Virgin Media to win customers to pay TV services (linked with telecoms and broadband offerings).
The targeting objective behind the partnership is to use the music talent show as a platform to engage with the eight million Freeview digital terrestrial TV households that cannot record programmes on their set-top boxes and are ‘value-seeking customers who want a little more TV, not a lot’.
Indeed, the brand’s X Factor work creatively links to Talk Talk’s umbrella ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us’ campaign which promotes its TV service.
This campaign’s spearhead spot, with more than a nod towards Toy Story’s creative approach, features an animated astronaut on a living room odyssey which follows him move through the family home making his way to the sofa with his ballerina sweetheart to watch television.
The spot was created by Neil Clarke and Jay Philips and directed by Si & Ad through Academy.
Despite the X Factor rating falling from its 15.5m average audience in 2010 when TalkTalk first began its sponsorship to between nine and 11 million for the current episodes to date, TalkTalk aims to get significant leverage from its 12-week sponsorship of the show.
Last year Talk Talk’s own research showed that more than 46 million people saw at least one of the idents in 2012.
For this year’s 2013 series, collectively the idents will air for almost an hour across the entire series (and the same for the US version of the show broadcast on ITV2).
Given the premium prices ITV charges for regular TV slots during The X Factor, the idents combined airtime is worth more than £10m at rate card value.
‘You could say it [our X Factor sponsorship] is a Freeview assault, it is the perfect property to be engaged with to drive our TV service,’ explains TalkTalk Commercial Director Tristia Clarke.
‘One of the original reasons for the launch of YouView was a way to enhance Freeview. The sheer scale of X Factor is of course very important, it is the biggest show on UK TV, but it also allows proper engagement with customers. You can make offers, such as tickets, and drive customer engagement in a way you can’t sponsoring, say, drama.’
Links
TalkTalk X Factor Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TalkTalkXFactor
TalkTalk X Factor Ticket Competition
http://www.talktalkxfactorwintickets.com/qa/qa.php
X Factor Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/TheXFactor
Talk Talk X Factor Website
https://twitter.com/TalkTalkXFactor
X Factor Website
