TV3 to sponsor advertising industry ‘Oscars’

TV3 Group is to sponsor what it is dubbing "the Oscars of the Irish advertising industry", and will produce advertising-themed content as it bids to strengthen its relationship with Irish advertisers.

The broadcaster will be the headline sponsor for the ADFX awards, a ceremony held biannually by the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI). It will take place this year in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on September 4th. "We're going to really Oscar it up," says TV3 commercial director Pat Kiely.

In an unusual move influenced by the competitive threat of UTV Ireland, TV3 has also decided to announce details of its 2015 schedule next Wednesday, months ahead of when it would normally do so.

Advertisers, agencies, clients and press have been invited to "a show" in the Shelbourne Hotel at which it will reveal more about its planned twice-weekly soap opera and unveil "new faces" that will feature in its line-up of shows in autumn 2014 and "into 2015".

Kiely says the sponsorship of IAPI’s awards is “really indicative of where our strategy is going into 2015”. The broadcaster is on a mission to remind advertisers that, unlike various UK channels that court local advertisers, its full schedule is targeted at the Irish market.

“We are the only broadcaster who is solely focused on the local advertising market in our business,” says Kiely. “ADFX works for us as a broadcaster and it works for us particularly this year with the change in the marketplace.”

TV3 will lose its rights to broadcast Coronation Street, Emmerdale and certain other ITV Studios programming in January 2015, which is when UTV will launch its Republic of Ireland service.

The soap-rights swoop by UTV, which this week appointed former RTÉ executive Mary Curtis as its head of channel, has forced TV3 to speed up its reinvention as a content producer with more diverse revenue streams, including format sales and studio rental fees. However, most of TV3's income will continue to come from the traditional television commercial break.

"Television is still holding its own in terms of share of reach and share of spend," says IAPI chief executive Tania Banotti. The ADFX awards, which recognise effective campaigns that have had a proven impact on product sales or consumer behaviour, have received a record 60 entries this year. "It's an indication that ad land is picking itself up off the carpet," says Banotti.

The ceremony “won’t be a chicken dinner in the Burlington”, instead highlighting the creativity of the industry, she adds, while Kiely says related content planned by TV3 potentially includes talking heads discussing their favourite advertising campaigns.