With brand owner SHS Drinks announcing it has struck an exclusive deal for WKD to be the Official Alcohol Partner of  Love Island series 8, a major summer campaign of support for the UK’s favourite RTD will amplify the association with the hit ITV2 show.

Love Island is a relationship-based reality show featuring a cast of singles hoping to find love in the sun and win the hearts of the nation. The programme format has transcended from TV show to cultural phenomenon over recent years and the 2022 partnership will provide WKD with extensive co-branded opportunities and form the focal point for the brand’s marketing support this year.

Love Island series 8 will air across the summer. Comprehensive plans to leverage WKD’s Official Partner status and maximise the tie-in will comprise broadcast media, co-branded pack designs, on-pack promotions, cash and carry displays and wholesaler activation, and a huge social, digital and influencer campaign, including exclusive WKD-themed content featuring Islanders.

Meanwhile, a Love Island promotion as part of an activation in pubs and bars will feature for the first time this year as an additional strand of the campaign, further increasing awareness amongst convenience shoppers.

The 2022 association marks the second consecutive year that WKD has partnered with Love Island; last year’s link-up was so positively received by consumers and customers alike that a further deal for 2022 was sought. Last year’s series was 2021’s most-watched commercial programme for 18 to 25-year-olds (the WKD core target); the series achieved an average of 4.2m total UK viewers per episode; at its peak, 11k programme-related tweets per minute were posted.

The high-profile tie-in will see WKD on TV with ads showcasing the programme association. Airing across ITV2, ITV Hub, video-on-demand (VOD) and the official Love Island app, the broadcast elements of the campaign will reach 7.2m UK viewers.

Bringing the partnership to life at the point of purchase and generating rate of sale for stockists, two impactful co-branded initiatives will cement the sponsorship association in the eyes of the consumer:

1. A striking co-branded design will appear on limited edition WKD Pink 700ml bottles. Complemented by contrasting campaign-themed gold cap closures, the fully sleeved special edition bottles are set to be the summer’s ‘must-have’ item for fans of the show and WKD. SHS anticipates huge interest amongst shoppers keen to hunt down these Instagrammable bottles which are perfect for sharing either on social media or in a poured glass.
2. Featuring a standout design inspired by the iconic Love Island Beach Hut, a co-branded offer on all WKD 10-packs and 12-packs will create opportunities to win exclusive Love Island merchandise, including tote bags, phone cases and the show’s legendary personalised water bottles.

• Exclusively in Northern Ireland, a ‘Win a Window’ activity will engage consumers and drive sales. With a QR code entry mechanic, purchasers of WKD can win the bundle of Love Island and WKD goodies featured in participating stores’ window displays. The prize packages will include co-branded cool-bags and glassware, plus WKD inflatables, bucket-hats and sunglasses.

Social media highlights

Love Island viewers have an insatiable hunger for information and gossip about the show and participants, and WKD has a range of UK-wide initiatives to satisfy their needs:

• A WKD takeover of the Love Island app will engage with over 2m active users⁴
• A vast social media campaign will reach 7m consumers
• WKD will have special on-set access to film branded Love Island content
• Islanders will take part in #YourWKDSide activities in the Beach Hut
• WKD will feature on Love Island’s Instagram accounts, reaching 3m followers

Brendan Loughran, Head of Business Unit (Ireland) at SHS Drinks, says: “We’re really proud to be linking with Love Island for a second time; we’re the perfect couple and just meant to be together! The programme is a TV phenomenon with huge reach and fans can’t get enough of it. In a fragmented media landscape, the continued success of Love Island highlights just how much our target consumers still relish a shared media experience. Last year, Love Island attracted three times more all-important 18-25 viewers than other similar programme formats.

“Consumer and trade feedback was extremely positive last year and we’re back with an all-inclusive package deal that’s even bigger and better. Consumers in Northern Ireland are going to see WKD and Love Island brands partnered up on TV, partnered up on-shelf, partnered up in retailers’ impactful window displays and partnered up on social media.

In addition, this year we’ll be filming exclusive WKD content on location in the sun and also setting Islanders some of our very own cheeky ‘YourWKDSide’ challenges. As 2022’s winning couple, WKD and Love Island are going to serve up some sizzling summer fun to entertain, engage and engender sales growth.”

The post WKD partners with Love Island for a second year first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

The 8.5% ABV vodka spirit-based brand was created over a decade ago by two college graduates and launched in Northern Ireland in 2021. Since then, Four Loko has taken the RTD market by storm, becoming a go-to drinks brand for many Millennial and Gen Z consumers who are looking to create epic stories and memorable nights.

This May, Four Loko will introduce Strawberry Lemonade and Tropical to its core range of four established flavours which include Four Loko Blue, Fruit Punch, Sour Apple and Gold; the most popular in Northern Ireland.

With their eye-catching, vibrant versions of the original camouflage packaging, fused in fluorescent cherry red, aqua blue and yellow, these new kids on the block will be sure to stand out from the crowd on-shelf.

Not only will Four Loko’s vibrant packaging catch the eyes of consumers here, but the new fruit-filled, edgy flavours will bring a new twist to the table and really pack a punch! Strawberry Lemonade is full of the sweetness of fresh strawberries and the fizz of sparkling lemonade and Tropical is bursting with summer flavours including pineapple.

Four Loko offers its target 18–24-year-old audience the perfect at-home, unconventional, full-flavoured, ready to drink solution, in a convenient 440ml can format with an ABV of 8.5%.

Brand Manager from Richmond Marketing, Gina Holland said: “Flavoured alcoholic beverages have been a key sub-category for some time and category growth in Northern Ireland is being fuelled by innovation within the traditional Ready To Drink space.

“We’re delighted to be offering new Four Loko flavours which are going to be genuinely exciting for Northern Ireland consumers, just in time for summer.

“The marketing drive behind Four Loko to create ‘Epic Stories’, is what gravitates Gen Z and Millennial’s to pick up a can before any event.”

Four Loko is exclusively disturbed in Northern Ireland by independent sales and marketing company Richmond Marketing. Strawberry Lemonade and Tropical flavours will be available to purchase from Wineflair, Supervalu & Centra from May 2022.

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The no.1 RTD brand¹ is the Official Alcohol Partner of ITV2 and ITV Hub’s Love Island. The exclusive deal provides WKD enviable associations with the phenomenally successful programme. With this series’ episodes securing 2021’s biggest digital channel audiences, WKD is making significant impact with consumers and driving incremental sales for stockists through its Love Island tie-in.

TV campaign

WKD is back on TV throughout the summer with a sequence of humorous ads showcasing the Love Island association. The executions employ the brand’s trademark wit and feature a group of WKD bottles enjoying life in their very own sun-drenched villa. Mirroring recognisable settings from the show and drawing on well-known Love Island themes, the ads take a tongue-in-cheek look at Island life. The campaign features the strapline ‘WKD coupled up with Love Island; Love it!’. Aside from the core TV channel, the ads are also viewed extensively through non-TV devices, via the hugely popular Love Island app, and across WKD social channels.

Limited Edition Packs

To re-enforce the high-profile Love Island association at the point of purchase, two unique initiatives feature on almost one million WKD packs:

Two impactful Love Island co-branded designs appear on limited edition 700ml bottles of WKD Pink. A fully sleeved approach delivers ultimate shelf stand-out, creating a powerful in-store presence; this format is the summer’s ‘must-have’ RTD pack, with consumers keen to secure one for those all-important Instagram shots. Additionally, a special Love Island label design complements the approach of the sleeved pack and ensures that promotional stock reaches all channels and is accessible by as many consumers as possible. Both bottles are available in regular and £2.99 price-marked pack (PMP) versions – with the PMP configurations available exclusively to independents.

With vibrant, striking graphics featuring inflatable pink flamingos, a co-branded consumer competition offering opportunities to win thousands of items of exclusive Love Island and WKD merchandise or money off future purchases appears on key WKD multipacks. The activity – which runs across 4x275ml WKD Blue (PMP only, priced at £4.99); 10-packs (10x275ml WKD Blue and 10x275ml WKD variety pack) and 12x275ml WKD Blue – provides a chance to win with every pack purchased.

Share the love

To share the love and provide the inside line on Island life, WKD has enlisted previous contestant and leading social media influencer Chris Taylor as brand ambassador. Through a series of weekly videos created exclusively for WKD, Chris offers comment and insight to his 1.1 million followers.

Further activities on WKD social channels ensure that those hungry for gossip and extra details about participants aren’t left wanting. A comprehensive social media campaign includes competitions to win merchandise and sought-after prizes, with one lucky winner set to secure the ultimate in money-can’t-buy prizes: a pair of tickets to the Love Island Final Screening party, interviews with Islanders’ friends and family and behind-the-scenes footage of the sun-kissed location and villa accommodation

Perfect match

Alison Gray, head of brand – WKD, at owner SHS Drinks, says: “WKD and Love Island are the perfect match: we were made for each other. With our witty TV ads and a million packs both spotlighting the Love Island association – plus chances to win tickets to the programme’s Live Final – we know we chose the right partner. Our consumers enjoy Love Island with a passion, and our high-profile coupling up with the programme is driving summer sales for retailers in Northern Ireland.”

The post WKD loved up with Love Island first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.