As part of a ‘landmark’ product placement deal, Costa and Co-op are launching store façades on Coronation Street.
The fictional sites will open tonight as part of a new extended Coronation Street set, following a deal struck between ITV and the respective brands in January.
As well as shop fronts, viewers will see other branded assets such as posters, bags and cups integrated into the show. Additionally, both firms will be able to extend the ITV partnership off air, and have use of the soap’s assets.
“Incorporating product placement on this scale is something we have wanted to do for some time,” commented Mark Trinder, ITV’s sales director.
Although this is the network’s biggest product placement deal to date, it has a long-standing history as an adopter of product placement.
Following the lift of a long-time ban, ITV landed the UK’s first ever product placement agreement in 2011, with Dolce Gusto. The first peak-time example of product placement was subsequently seen on Coronation Street, with a Nationwide ATM installed inside an on-screen shop.
Some shows, such as Channel 4’s Eat The Week, which has an agreement with Iceland, are conceived with advertisers in tow from the start.
“Though live TV still has a massive audience reach, viewing habits are changing as more people each year utilise catch-up services to view programmes. This leaves advertisers increasingly cut out of the equation as viewers find it easier to skip ad breaks,” said Gemma Butler, an associate director of marketing at the Chartered Institute of Marketing, in an interview with The Guardian earlier this year.
“The fact that a British institution like Coronation Street has made the decision to feature brands within the show gives licence to other programmes who may have been wary of product placement to look again at its potential for advertising revenue.”
The store façades from both brands will be making their small-screen debut this evening.
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