Post by sallywebster on Nov 14, 2006 18:39:25 GMT
From BBC News Online
Confectionery giant Cadbury's is to end its £10m-a-year sponsorship of ITV soap Coronation Street. Cadbury's, which has sponsored the show for 10 years, said it wanted to look at new opportunities for its brand.
Cadbury's latest two-year deal with Coronation Street expires at the end of 2007. The company said it had agreed with ITV that if the broadcaster found a replacement sponsor before then, it would end its involvement earlier.
Cadbury's - whose adverts appear at the start and end of each episode of the soap - said that it had taken the decision to end the deal after refocusing its marketing strategy. "Nothing lasts for ever," a Cadbury's spokesman said. "Ten years is an awful long time for a sponsorship deal. Right now, we felt it didn't meet the needs of our marketing strategy."
The deal was seen as a landmark development in television sponsorship when it was signed in 1996. Coronation Street regularly attracts more than 10 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched programmes on television and an extremely lucrative shop window for advertisers.
Confectionery giant Cadbury's is to end its £10m-a-year sponsorship of ITV soap Coronation Street. Cadbury's, which has sponsored the show for 10 years, said it wanted to look at new opportunities for its brand.
Cadbury's latest two-year deal with Coronation Street expires at the end of 2007. The company said it had agreed with ITV that if the broadcaster found a replacement sponsor before then, it would end its involvement earlier.
Cadbury's - whose adverts appear at the start and end of each episode of the soap - said that it had taken the decision to end the deal after refocusing its marketing strategy. "Nothing lasts for ever," a Cadbury's spokesman said. "Ten years is an awful long time for a sponsorship deal. Right now, we felt it didn't meet the needs of our marketing strategy."
The deal was seen as a landmark development in television sponsorship when it was signed in 1996. Coronation Street regularly attracts more than 10 million viewers, making it one of the most-watched programmes on television and an extremely lucrative shop window for advertisers.
