Channel 4 offers food ad subsidies

by Alison Donnelly, Marketing 30-Sep-08, 08:51

LONDON - Channel 4 hopes to persuade more food brands to invest in TV advertising by offering to subsidise the making of ads that run on its channels.

The broadcaster's ad sales team has set aside £1m to offer help to new-to-TV or lapsed food advertisers; they will also be able to work with 4creative, Channel 4's in-house creative agency.

The scheme is a response to food brands' perceived reluctance to increase TV adspend. According to Nielsen, there

was a modest 7% increase in the sector's spend on TV this year, compared with a 66% increase in its digital spend. The discrepancy highlights a shift away from broadcast ad campaigns toward more integrated online promotions.

Channel 4's initiative will also allow the advertisers use of its food programming assets in their promotional work.

Brands will be able to develop microsites on the food section of www.channel4.com, and use the tag 'As featured on Channel4.com/food' in TV advertising and on product packaging.