UK supermarket Sainsbury’s has debuted their exciting new Christmas advertisement today, featuring Roald Dahl’s universally beloved character the BFG.

Set to premier on ITV1 at 8:15pm on Friday 1^st November during Coronation Street, the ad follows the 24-foot friendly giant as he embarks on a new adventure with Sainsbury’s employee Sophie. In a TV first, real-life Sainsbury’s colleague ‘Sophie’ embarks on a journey with the Big Friendly Giant (the BFG), showcasing the delicious flavours of Sainsbury’s festive Taste the Difference range.

The deal was negotiated and managed by Born Licensing, licensing agent for Roald Dahl Story Company. RDSC engaged Born Licensing to bring to life their global partnership and licensing strategy, facilitating ATL campaigns which truly harness the unique storytelling qualities of their IP in an authentic way.

Born Licensing, in collaboration with the Roald Dahl Story Company, worked with Sainsbury’s creative agency, NCA, to ensure this new iteration of the BFG came to life with authenticity. Fans of the beloved book will be delighted to see famous references from the story including snozzcumbers, Frobscottle, and dream jars feature in this magical Christmas campaign. 

The extensive partnership will see the BFG appear across TV, print, outdoor, social media, direct mail, and PR.

“Christmas is the most competitive period for British advertisers and licensing a generationally adored character like the BFG is a sure fire way to capture attention. This is a brilliant example of how powerful advertising can be when combining cherished IP with brilliant creative.”

David Born, Founder and CEO of Born Licensing

“At the Roald Dahl Story Company storytelling is at the heart of what we do and we’re always on the lookout for opportunities to bring our beloved characters and stories to life in new ways, through bespoke and authentic partnerships and marketing campaigns. The BFG is the perfect fit for Sainsbury’s in creating a big Christmas.

Alice O’Brien, Head of Global Commercial Partnerships at the Roald Dahl Story Company

The power of Roald Dahl’s unique stories and characters is evidenced in Sainsbury’s desire to collaborate on the biggest marketing moment of the year. The partnership provided the opportunity to tell their story in a new and innovative way, harnessing the nostalgic love that the BFG brings to generations of audiences.

NCA and Ogilvy were behind the Creative with Rogue Films producing the TVC. The longform” film with cutdowns was directed by award winning Director Sam Brown. Post-production and VFX were done by Electric Theatre Company.

“By collaborating with Sainsbury’s to bring Roald Dahl’s beloved BFG to life in a new story, we hope the nation is as captivated as we are to see two old friends back together this Christmas.”

The BFG is perfect for Sainsbury’s mission to create a Big Christmas for all. Having only snozzcumbers to devour in Giant Country, his curiosity for good food leads to an adventure of discovery and wonderment with Sainsbury’s Sophie in order to bring the magic of Christmas to everyone.”

Natalie Hopkins, Director of Global Product and Partnerships at the Roald Dahl Story Company

This brand-new campaign comes as more and more audiences are enjoying Roald Dahl’s iconic stories being brought to life. Recently, stage adaptations of The Witches and The Enormous Crocodile opened to critical acclaim and sell-out shows, Paul King’s Wonka became an international box-office smash and Wes Anderson’s cinematic adaptation of Roald Dahl’s adult short story The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar received numerous plaudits including an Academy Award. Brand new publishing inspired by Roald Dahl’s The Twits by Greg James and Chris Smith landed in the Top 10 Children’s Hardback charts upon release, and fans the world over continue to devour Roald Dahl products and enjoy partnerships like The Twits and Charlie & The Chocolate Factory Afternoon Teas in London.

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Branston, renowned for bringing families together around the dinner table, is teaming up with Netflix’s animated film That Christmas to embrace the magic of Christmas. This partnership, brought to life by Activation, brings the holiday spirit directly to supermarket shelves, enhancing visibility and deepening the brand’s connection with families during one of the most important retail periods of the year.

With That Christmas set to premiere on 4 December, Branston’s in-store activations will ensure shoppers are immersed in festive joy from the moment they step in-store. Based on Richard Curtis’s beloved children’s books, the film weaves together tales of love, family, and holiday mishaps, celebrating the timeless spirit of togetherness that makes Christmas so special.

“Bringing That Christmas into the retail space allows us to connect with families in a festive, meaningful way. By integrating the film’s spirit into our promotions, we’re blending Branston’s warmth with the joy of the holiday season.”

Claire Steward, Account Director, Activation

The key objective of this campaign is to boost visibility and drive purchases during this crucial period for Branston. Launching exclusively at Sainsbury’s, the first activation features striking snow-capped point-of-sale displays and strategically placed floor stickers, guiding shoppers directly to Branston’s shelves. Shoppers can also take part in the “Win a Christmas to Remember” promotion through the Nectar loyalty program, encouraging both trial and acquisition with the incentive of a high-value reward.

This collaboration between Branston and That Christmas unites two brands with a shared focus on bringing families together. By aligning their messaging with the warmth and nostalgia of festive celebrations, both reinforce their roles as key ingredients for family gatherings.

As the season progresses, more activations will follow, including the launch of limited-edition jars, designed to elevate the in-store experience and drive excitement. Find out more about Branston and That Christmas on the Branston website.

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Activation teams up with Tilda for a flavourful campaign promoting their ready-to-heat flavoured rice pouches. Tilda is a much-loved, multicultural British brand, and Activation jumped at the chance to elevate their latest product range.

The aim? To grab shoppers’ attention along the path to purchase with a creative idea that combines ease and convenience with the exciting possibility of unlocking a world of flavour.

CREATE TA-DAA! WITH TILDA!

The concept is simple: Tilda flavoured rice adds the TA-DAA! to teatime. Looking to create something new and inspiring? Count on Tilda to transform dinner into a plate to be proud of. Easy experimentation meets remarkable results. The idea needed to be light-hearted, snappy, ownable, and inspirational. But most importantly, visually exciting and engaging!

The concept is built on the insight that millennials, the target audience, are adventurous and keen to try new things. However, they fear failure and don’t have time for experiments that might not work. Tilda offers a solution, allowing them to explore new flavours and cuisines, elevating their mealtimes.

Activation Across the Shopper Journey

At the heart of the promotion is the chance for shoppers to win a flavour-filled holiday for two! Choose from flavour adventures in Jamaica, Mexico, Portugal, or Greece, perfectly linking back to Tilda’s product flavours.

They also gave away 80 individual prizes to be won over 80 days, including everything from air fryers to Tilda bundles, all centred around the brand campaign ‘Elevate your plate’. Consumers simply need to purchase a pack of Tilda ready-to-heat flavoured rice to enter.

Activation has worked across the entire shopper journey, utilising various touchpoints both online and offline:

• In-Store: FSDUs, retailer magazine ads, aisle fins, and more.
• Social Media: Paid and organic social creatives alongside TikTok-specific content.
• Out-of-Home (OOH): 14 and 6 sheets at key locations and on the Tube.

The campaign launched on 1st May and runs until 19th July, and can be seen at https://www.tilda-tadaa.com

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Following the success of last year’s “No More Hairy Moments” campaign with Wilkinson Sword, Activation is thrilled to announce their latest collaboration. This time, Wilkinson Sword has partnered with Morrisons to launch an exclusive free razor offer for Morrisons More Cardholders. Cardholders can choose between the Hydro 5 from Wilkinson Sword’s men’s line or the Intuition Moisture from the women’s line. 

“A ‘Free’ offer hadn’t been activated through the Morrisons More Card before so we were excited to be involved in this retailer exclusive, working closely with both teams for maximum creative output in bringing the retailer and brand together.” 

Dan Hirons, Co-Founder of Activation

The key objective was to continue to encourage consumer trials of their male and female products in a market category that is primarily driven by routine purchase decisions and brand loyalty. This meant they needed to stand out and attract attention so shoppers would choose Wilkinson Sword over competitors. 

Since the offer could not be communicated directly on the packaging, Activation leveraged retailer media and point-of-sale (POS) materials to deliver the message. The creative team developed engaging radio scripts, fully branded shipper designs, and co-branded floor stickers, barkers, and hanging flags to ensure maximum visibility in stores. 

This collaboration between Wilkinson Sword and Morrisons demonstrates the power of strategic brand partnerships. Both brands benefit from the crossover of their audiences; Morrisons More Cardholders gain access to high-quality grooming products, while Wilkinson Sword reaches a broad and diverse customer base through Morrisons’ extensive retail network. 

The success of this campaign highlights the potential for extraordinary brand partnerships. By leveraging each other’s strengths, Wilkinson Sword and Morrisons have created a compelling offer that enhances customer loyalty and broadens market reach. This is just the beginning of what is expected to be many more exciting collaborations in the future. Shoutout to IPM Members Activation for their exceptional work in bringing this campaign to life. 

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TLC Worldwide UK is thrilled to announce the launch of its exciting summer campaign in partnership with Aldi, which offers free sports lessons to kids across the UK.

The “Get a Taste for Sport” campaign aims to encourage children to embrace a new sport this summer, with over 50 different sports to choose from, delivered by TLC Worldwide UK’s National Sports Network.

The campaign, which is live in Aldi stores across England, Scotland, and Wales, will run from 19th June 2023 until 31st July 2023. Every customer is rewarded when they spend over £30 in store. Participating customers can claim a complimentary kids sports session at one of the thousands of venues within TLC Worldwide’s National Sports Network. Whether it’s skating, dancing, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair football, tennis, squash, martial arts, shinty, shooting, outdoor action sports, water sports, golf, gymnastics, combat sports, football, basketball, archery, badminton, or one of many others, TLC Worldwide UK ensures a wide array of options to cater to every child’s interests, with a range of accessible sports available.

“At TLC Worldwide, we believe in the power of sports to foster growth, build character, and create unforgettable experiences for children,” said John Pearson, Managing Director at TLC Worldwide UK. “Through our partnership with Aldi, we are delighted to provide children with the opportunity to discover their passion for sports through free lessons. We aim to inspire and motivate them to lead active and healthy lives.”

To participate in this exciting campaign, customers need only spend £30 in any Aldi store. Upon meeting the spending threshold, customers will receive a voucher with instructions on how to claim their free kids sports lesson via the campaign website. Full campaign details and terms and conditions can be found at freesportssessions.aldi.co.uk/terms.

As a component of the initiative, TLC enlisted the assistance of influencers to endorse the messaging and contribute to the campaign’s promotion. Additionally, TLC collaborated with sports associations and their ambassadors to enhance the promotion efforts. All promotional content related to the campaign can be discovered by utilising the hashtag #tasteforsport.

TLC Worldwide and Aldi are committed to promoting the benefits of physical activity and fostering a love for sports among children. By offering these free sports lessons, the campaign aims to make sports more accessible, helping children discover new interests and develop valuable skills.

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Sales promotion specialist, SPARK, is proud to announce that it has become the UK representative for travel products from Travel + Leisure Co. At unbeatable prices, these products offer access to an extensive range of hotels, resorts, cruises, and tours.

”We’re delighted to be working with the fantastic and experienced team at SPARK to bring our Tailored Travel Services and Solutions to the UK market”, said Jess McCrorie, Director Strategic Partnerships at Travel + Leisure Co.  “With over 75% of UK adults wanting a holiday abroad this year*, we’re excited to be able to offer a unique platform that will help Brands encourage their Customers to see more of the world, for less.”

With over 45 years of experience in the travel industry and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Travel + Leisure Co. has over 4 million members worldwide, 600,000 hotels, and 4,000 resorts. Their access to the biggest closed user group discounts in the market beats leading online booking platforms.

Recent research* indicates that 64% of UK adults are planning to take a holiday this year, so offering savings on hotels, holidays and other travel perks is a great way to associate a brand with some of the happiest memories and experiences felt by consumers.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Travel + Leisure and helping them access the UK market”, said Dave Pearson, CEO at SPARK. “Travel can be such an inspirational motivator and the solutions that Travel + Leisure have established worldwide is an exciting development for the UK.  Travel is still a brilliant promotional tool, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis where working with Travel + Leisure we can help consumers continue to enjoy worldwide travel experiences for less through brand partnerships and promotions.”

To find out more about SPARKs impactful promotions, please visit wearespark

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Opinion from David Pearson CEO at SPARK

A recent study by Emarsys, into customer loyalty in the UK, revealed that over half of UK respondents had left a brand they’d previously been loyal to in order to save money. Clearly, inflation is having an impact.

So what does this teach us about customer loyalty going into 2023?

The Emarsys’ second annual Customer Loyalty Index, which includes a survey of 2,000 UK consumers, reports that seven in 10 of those surveyed said they would be more loyal to brands that offer incentives and rewards.

However, as Mark Choueke, retail expert and author of the index, commented: “To drive meaningful customer loyalty, customer-centricity is no longer enough. Brands and marketers must now aim for customer obsession. Marketers have to really get to know each customer and internalise their habits and preferences ……..”.

Easier said than done? Perhaps not.

Behavioural science is an area that is increasingly used by brands to connect with customers, determine their needs, and foster loyalty, and it really makes sense. Psychologists have demonstrated that 80% of the decisions we make are influenced by factors we are unaware of. So, ASKING consumers why they do something will only yield 20% of the truth. To discover non-conscious attitudes requires specialist research techniques with a scientific base.

Discovering what your consumers are not telling you is crucial to engaging with them, and will help you determine which rewards or offers are relatable to their personal needs.

If you want to increase brand effectiveness and customer retention throughout 2023, talk to SPARK about our innovative psychology tools and how our insights can ignite your marketing strategies.

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SPARK has recently completed another great sales promotion campaign, working with Mozillion, mobile’s first marketplace!

Mozillion is the trusted online marketplace for new and certified refurbished phones, allowing customers to buy and sell with confidence. To reward those making a qualifying purchase, Mozillion teamed up with SPARK to offer customers a pair of free ODEON cinema tickets.

Customers receive a claim code which is redeemable on a website built and managed by SPARK. The customer is guided through the process to obtain their free ODEON voucher which can be used to book online or at the box office.

The promotion runs across ODEON cinemas nationwide, encompassing both Luxe and Non-Luxe venues, giving customers plenty of choice for where to use their vouchers.

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To celebrate St. Pancras station’s heritage as a station ‘built of beer’, TWELVE Agency have worked with the station to launch this year’s beer festival, a train carriage bar ‘pop up’, for visitors of the station to ‘hop on’ and ‘hop off’ with the chance to win up to 100 prizes a day in partnership with station pubs and bars. St. Pancras will welcome visitors to claim beer tickets which will include a range of prizes to be redeemed straight away, as well as facts about the station’s long-standing relationship with the beer industry.   

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Cat Among The Pigeons work with Pipers Crisps to launch new marketing campaign, exclusive to wholesale and the on-trade, rewarding stockists with the chance to instantly win Red Letter Day Prizes.

The Savour the Moment campaign runs from April through to June, and offers the opportunity to win experience day prizes worth £500 or £100 with every promotional case. The campaign will follow last year’s hugely popular and successful of on-trade promotion, The Great Taste Tour, which helped Pipers become the fastest growing premium snack brand^{[1 ]} and win multiple IPM awards!

Savour The Moment is being comprehensively supported with digital and trade press advertising, social media and tailored wholesaler promotions and point of sale material. Along with creating the campaign and supporting comms, Cat Among The Pigeons also created a new promotional microsite. To enter customers simply visit the microsite or scan the QR code on case to find out instantly if they have won a Red Letter Day experience. Additionally, every entrant can claim 15% off any Red Letter Day experience, regardless of whether they win.

Chiara Boscarato, Brand Manager for Pipers Crisps at PepsiCo, comments: “The last few years have been a challenge for wholesalers and on-trade outlets, so this promotion is solely aimed at giving back to operators. We want to offer our support to stockists through some fantastic prizes that are up for grabs. As confidence returns and more consumers resume visiting outlets, we want to support operators optimize their cash margins by offering the customers a diverse range of flavours from a sought after premium snack brand. 

“Just like last year’s Great Taste Tour campaign, the Savour The Moment campaign also celebrates the great taste and special combinations of ingredients that go into our crisps. Last year’s campaign set a real benchmark for us, so we have also extended the promotion by a month, giving the on-trade even more chances to get their hands on a winning case.”

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